Your twenties are supposed to be your years self-discovery and wild escapades, but they're really about about dealing with your newfound adulthood. Your teenage years look like cake compared to your early twenties. You're figuring things out and trying to find your way in the world with the memories of childhood still fresh in your mind. So, the only way we can cope with life in our twenties is by reaching back and grabbing a bit of nostalgia to help us on our way. Here are your early twenties told by the best cartoons from your childhood.
You never get enough sleep. Between the freedom of going out, studying and partying at college or working full time and trying to maintain a social life, you rarely get a good night's rest. Alarms become your nemisis.
Speaking of reasons why you don't get enough sleep, if you're in college, you're always pulling all nighters doing research papers or studying during midterms and finals.
Your bank, student loans, credit scores and anything you have resembling a budget feels overwhelming. But seriously, you need to start a 401K. The earlier the better.
Dealing with your financial aid department at college (or your paycheck if you’re working) is pretty disappointing. Bills, bills, bills. Afterwards you don't even know how you manage to go out as often as you do.
You’re still pretty psyched about having an ID and when you get carded, you’re excited and feel all grown up. And when you stop getting carded (because you know the bartender so well these days), you feel kind of cool.
You find yourself trying to be fancy now that you can drink legally, but you don’t have any idea what you’re doing. You’ll figure it out though. For now, it just makes you feel super classy and sophisticated.
You have that one friend (or you are that one friend) who plans on getting wasted all the time. Which isn't really a bad thing, but no one likes a sloppy binge drinker. You'll learn your limits and test them often, but by the time you hit 25, you should be alright.
While we're on the topic of unhealthy habits, most of them are formed in your early twenties, including bad eating habits. You'll try to stay fit, but healthy food tastes gross. Plus, it’s expensive and you're on a budget.
Eating fast food is so much more convenient, cheaper and more satisfying. Get your nom on! Just hit the gym or dance extra long out on the dance floor to burn off those extra calories.
By the way, pizza does not count as bad food. Pizza becomes a staple in your food pyramid. Cheese is protein. Sauce comes from tomatoes. Therefore, pizza is actually good for you. Don't question me; just go with it.
Looking back on old pictures of yourself no longer embarrass you. You’ve begun to accept yourself as you are. You post those babies on #ThrowbackThursday with no shame!
If you are in a relationship, especially a long term one, the tradition of marriage seems to be looming over your head. If they haven't already started, soon your friends will be getting engaged and hitched in rapid succession.
If you're single, every guy you date seems to be all about beards and beer. Where is the depth? Where is the grand romance you were promised?
...You know where it is! It's on television because nothing is ever Happily Ever After. So you Netflix and Chill, duh! It becomes your go-to plan when you don’t want to go out, but you still want to kind of date someone, but you don't want the attachment because he's actually kind of a douche.
And when you like him (or anyone) in spite of this (because you see
their potential), you know that you shouldn’t. In fact, every time you feel
yourself falling for someone, you pretty much struggle with it.
And you should be very protective of your heart! Because in their early twenties, guys are terrible! Most guys are still filled with the delusion that the main goal of their twenties is to score as much as possible.
In reality, their nights usually don't turn out as great as they had hoped...
And that's the real delusion all of us need to get over.You sometimes feel like your twenties are supposed to be filled with wild nights, parties, traveling and crazy experiences. But if you don't find some balance, you'll end up like Mr. Pickles. Slow down a bit!
But at the end of the day, you realize you actually spend most of your early twenties doing the loads of laundry you've been putting off doing for weeks. If you would just do it before it piles up you wouldn't have these problems!