Tools for Your Twenties:

- By S.P.

Entering your twenties is perhaps the most anticipated event of your entire adolescence. The allure of adult life, its freedom, and independence is dizzying. Not to mention the rom-coms that have populated your naive child-mind since, systematically filling heads with wildly unrealistic expectations. No, your life will likely not pan out like a Julia Roberts movie. But hey, it might. That’s part of the beauty of your twenties - you have no idea what’s in store. To make the transition a little easier, I have compiled some quintessential pieces of advice to remember while entering the ominous unknown. 

1. Save! Save! Save!

Starting off with finances straight away is a bit of a downer. But so is the rainy day that hits you out of nowhere! Building a safety net to fall back on will have you kissing your past self. As tempting as it seems, avoid that high-end lipgloss or choose to stay in once in a while. Growing up means securing your future, and every step you take toward that goal will be in your best interest. 

2. Keep your circle small:

If your high school experience was anything like mine, suffice it to say the road wasn’t exactly unproblematic. Drama belongs in your teenage years. Part of maturing is realising who is going to track your location on a blind date and who wants to air your dirty laundry. Avoid the chaos and surround yourself with people you know are going to uplift you. In your twenties, you will meet so many people - majority will come and go. That’s okay, too. 

3. People-pleasing is overrated. 

Once you begin navigating life on your own, unsolicited advice becomes the main form of currency. From adults who don’t want you to repeat their mistakes to friends who recommend their lifestyles over yours - everyone seems to know best. In the end, the person who has to deal with it all is you. It is crucial to trust your gut. Prioritise your needs and happiness rather than running yourself ragged. Pleasing everyone is an impossible task, anyway. Why bother when you can go to bed with a smile on your face instead?

4. Watch out for the cycles:

I’ve enlisted a Pinterest quote to help explain this one. So, it goes: “Life is a repeated cycle of getting lost and then finding yourself again. There are many smaller cycles within that cycle where you get lost to a smaller degree” - Jay Woodman. Pay attention to the smaller cycles. If you do something for long enough, it will become commonplace - even if it shouldn’t. You don’t want to be trapped in a toxic relationship, look up, and wonder where the last 6 months went. Check yourself. Feeling down? Put on a cute outfit and see a friend before self-pity becomes the new socializing.

5. Twenties = Transformation

I’ve saved this one for last because it's quite a sobering realisation. What makes your twenties so exciting is the expectations - the notions you’ve built up in your head. You will soon realise, storybook realities are exactly that. Real life looks more like microwave dinners and laundry during your free time. Throughout your twenties, you will imagine your life in 20,000 different ways. Likely, none of them will come to fruition, and that’s perfectly fine. Embrace the changes as you encounter them; you will find that the journey is what matters most.