The Not So Roaring Twenties?

When I was 15, I completed a work experience placement during my final year of school. I recall so vividly, and have never forgotten something one of the lovely ladies I was working with said: "I definitely wouldn't want to relive my teen years, but I would love to relive my twenties, they were so much fun." Well here I am at 24 and can't say I agree... Yet, anyway. Would I want to relive these years of uncertainty and confusion? I have had moments during my early twenties so far which I have enjoyed immensely. However, on the other hand I envisioned life at 24 slightly differently. Life after University is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Graduate jobs are harder to obtain. Getting that first step on the career ladder feels like a giant leap, and the constant jealous pang felt when seeing students who have just got their loan seems like it will never go away.

As kids of generation Y/millennials, whatever you want to call us. I feel although some of us will see a delay in our so called roaring twenties. Eventually we will get jobs and life will start moving again, but I feel it will be slightly later than our twenties. There will always be those people who are the same age as us and it seems like they have achieved so much more. You know the ones, who graduated the same time you did and already have the dream job, whereas you might not even know what your dream job is yet. I'm here to tell you that is OK. Its OK if you don't know what to do with your life, to be honest I feel like your not supposed to. I finished University with a plan and now that plan has gone awry. So you adapt and move on. It's OK if you don't like drinking even though the stereotypical twenty-something is someone who goes out and gets drunk every weekend. That's fine if its not your thing, its not for everybody. Don't let anyone force you to be a certain way.

I've learnt so far that to begin enjoying your twenties you have to stop comparing yourself to others, this can be crippling. I'll be honest and say that I still find myself doing it from time to time. Sometimes I think will I feel like this forever? but then I realise I'm the only one who can change this thought process. So start thinking 'I'm happy your happy' and that your time will come. This is the decade where we make mistakes, its inevitable. We'll change our minds again and again and then back again but that's what I think we should be doing. Only by experimenting will we know what we want. Or think we want.

Don't get weighed down by certain things, such as moving back home or going back to the job you had before university. At least its an income. Don't worry so much about the student loan. Start remembering that you ARE ONLY twenty something, it's not supposed to be perfect. Still so young and at some point everything will fall into place. For now just try to enjoy the bumpy journey and don't be afraid to go off the beaten track every once and a while. I'm a firm believer that your 20's should be your selfish years to work on yourself. After all we have some basic wisdom now after those cringe-worthy teen years.

Being in your 20's is so complex, much more than people like to admit. If like me one day you can be full of hope about the future and the next day, hopeless, I honestly feel stuck. I don't know when we stop feeling like this but I know that all the assumptions of what a twenty-something or what your 20's should be like, should actually be ignored. We're all different and have different paths in life. Ideally, be humble, realistic and have faith it'll work out. If not, then they'll be a Beyonce quote somewhere to help us get through.

How are your 'roaring' twenties going?