"20 Things to Do in Your 20's"

"20 Things to Know if You're in Your 20's"

"20 Mistakes to Avoid Making in Your 20's"

... The list just goes on and on. The internet is obsessed with "twentysomethings" and it's kind of weird, honestly. As a twentysomething - a twenty-two year old, to be more specific, I'm getting kind of tired of people telling me all of these things I need to do before I'm 30. 

What if things don't change and I go into my 30's the way I am right now; single. Or what if I find someone but in our 40's we realize that it's not going to work out. Do I have to stop dating, having that "one night that I'll never forget," going to dinner by myself, not regretting things, or taking risks, etc. just because I'm not a twentysomething anymore? 

Where did this sudden obsession come from? Everyone who is anyone wants to give us 20+ year olds advice all of the damn time, and while I appreciate it, I'd like to just enjoy having the "freedom" to do what I want without having anyone telling me what I should and shouldn't do. Let me make mistakes because that's one of the best ways to learn. Let me make my own decisions. 

And making my own decisions brings up another point. Going through high school I felt like there was a pressure to do one of two things upon graduating high school: go to college or join the Army. There wasn't an inbetween. We grow up under this impression that you're going to be a total failure if you don't get that degree. And don't worry, you can't just get ANY degree. You need one that's going to get you money. It's sad, if you ask me. There's a pressure to be successful. 

Well I've got news for you; 

In high school I was a pretty big "overachiever" as some people might say. I auditioned for every single musical and was cast - in a lead/supporting role for two of the four years, I was in the marching band for all four years, my junior year I was the color guard captain and my senior year I was a drum major. For two years I was on the science MACC team. I was in a choir almost every semester of high school, in the "top" Chamber Ensemble for my last two years. I participated in All County and All District choir countless times - my senior year I was one of the top 15 Alto 1's in the District. I had solos in things like Night on Broadway. I auditioned for plays. I had a lot of friends. I got good grades..... 

and guess what? 

I've been pretty "unsuccessful" in college. And by unsuccessful I mean I'm 22 years old and while I "should" be graduating in the spring, I still haven't gotten my degree. I spent three semesters at RU, and then a year at VT. I've officially taken off almost a year and a half from school. 

But I don't think I've been unsuccessful. I just think I've learned what I do and don't want to do. That's what college is, anyway. Finding out that you don't want to be that wildlife science major that you thought you wanted to be, or realizing that you really don't want to be stuck in an office, behind a desk, for the rest of your life. Who cares if you're not graduating with the people you were "supposed" to graduate with. At least you're not going to be miserable. So if you want to take that semester off and figure your life out, do it!! It's healthy for you. Because that's what I did! I've taken a year off school and I've found out what I really want to do with my life.

I thought I wanted to be a theatre major. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the theatre and appreciate every last thing about the field. It's a tough field. It takes a lot of determination, dedication, self-control, and passion for the lifestyle. You've got to be willing to take chances, and sometimes even ending up with whatever it is, there may not be pay.

But no, while I love everything about theatre, my real passion lies with working with kids. I grew up knowing good and well that people would think that I want to be a teacher/work with kids all because my mom is a teacher. That's not the reason. It could have influenced me, sure. My mother is one of the most selfless, loving, and driven teachers that I know (I might be a little biased!) I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree. By taking a year off, I've been able to get a full time job working at a daycare, and I've never been happier to see those kids every day. They make me happy. They make me feel like I'm really doing something good, and I'm good at doing it. I like helping others. I love taking to their parents every morning. And I consider myself very lucky to have finally discovered all of that.

So what's my advice for all of you twentysomethings?

Do what you want. Make yourself happy. Hang out with your friends, have that extra glass of wine just because it's Monday, watch that really bad movie on Netflix, go to that bar that you said you would never go to.... or don't do any of that!! The beautiful thing about life is that you've got options, and you should take advantage of that!

And that's all I've got to say about that..... Sorry. This is my first "real" blog post. And it's probably really jumbled and sporadic, and for that I apologize. I'm listening to Lorde, so I'm just kind of writing...

xoxo