How I (kind of) figured out my twenties
There comes a time in life where you begin to reevaluate your work, love, and personal relationships. This ponder usually ends in a mental breakdown, and happens in your twenties — I was 21. That is when I (kind of) figured everything out.
With diploma in hand, and my dreams to be the next big journalist dashed, I packed my boxes and headed back to my childhood desk. It is then I asked, what is a 21-year-old to do with a drowning career and a Fed Loans bill with no hopes of getting paid? She deals.
She gets her act together and starts a life not many understand. I’ve spent the last year explaining that I will never have a steady income, and insurance is a thing of the past. I spend too much money traveling to jobs that pay too little, and I have succumb to my mother who unmakes my bed every night. But I am living and I did not fold to the pressures of money and a secure job.
I watched as my college friends fumbled to find employment, and failed to overcome their fears. I watched as they loved and lost, as they worked for dead ends, and chose back up plans. I watched and I learned, and am here to say that our dreams can come true. This is a work in progress, but here is what I’ve learned so far:
Be a dreamer
From a young age I was a dreamer, like many kids are. Unfortunately for my parents, I never grew out of it. Your dreams might seem crazy, but embrace them anyways. In the end, someone has to do it right? It always works out for someone.
Embrace your age
It usually takes people an hour or so to realize I’m young. Once they do the conversation proceeds: “How old are you?” “22” “Shouldn’t you be at a bar?” “I don’t actually drink.” This is a hard thing to cope with, but over time I’ve learned to embrace my age and use it as a tool. Not many people can say they pitch business ideas to people twice their age, and do it with confident.
Always evaluate
Evaluate every situation. If you feel things aren’t right, or that job you thought would push you to success is falling short, evaluate. Think of what you really want, and listen to the signs. If I never spelt an editors name wrong I would be lugging around a camera shooting footage of trees for “news.”
You are in the exact right place
It might not feel like it now, and you are probably crying in a ball on the floor, but you are in the exact right place and the exact right time. Sure that internship was all you ever wanted, and he had to be Mr. Right. But it wasn’t, and he wasn’t. There is a reason, and one day you stumble into it.
By: Shelby Chapman
This article originally appeared on Levo League.
