11 Things I Love About My Late 20s

There are a lot of things to miss that we don’t realize leave you too soon as you near 30 (RIP 2am fast food runs and mornings without hangovers), but there’s a lot of things to love about the final years of 20-dom. The late 20s is actually so chill and enjoyable and kind of where it’s at.

1. I love that I don’t have to revisit the second coming of low-rise flare jeans or platform shoes again. I’ve been through those trends already, no thank you.

2. The lack of FOMO. There’s no fear of missing out in your late-20s. You’ve had enough late night tacos and all-night stoned convos and spontaneous more tacos to know that you’re not missing much. You’ve learned that another opportunity for fun or craziness will arise eventually, and the opportunities you have missed don’t actually come to define you.

3. I love hot showers and bath bombs. These two things are a transcendent experience for a late 20-something. This alone time in your bathroom isn’t just a step toward cleanliness any longer; it’s your own personal spa haven. No one tells you how much sleepier and tiresome you become every day at this age. You think it comes much later in life, but you are mistaken. A nice warm soak eases the weight of adulthood. Nothing feels as good as taking a quiet moment to oneself.

4. I love that I don’t have to feel guilty for canceling on plans because there’s a 70% chance the friend I’m meeting up with was pulling to cancel or will cancel our upcoming replacement hang anyway. We can just text each other while watching Broad City in our own respective apartments and it’ll be like we’re basically together.

5. Friends in general at this age are more enjoyable. The ones who have stuck around this long already have proven worthiness and sustainability. Plus, after years of trial and error, you know which ones to go to for what. There’s your old roommate you know to bring when you don’t have a buddy to watch that shitty rom com, or there’s your old coworker who is always down to swap 90s hip hop Spotify links with. Everything and everyone has a more concrete purpose at this age.

6. There’s pleasure in dating in your late 20s. It’s arguably harder at this age, what with our generation growing increasingly non-committal and seeking only instant gratification via right swipes and double taps, but it’s a lot easier too. I may not know what I want, but by now I’ve kissed enough frogs (and by frogs I mean the unemployed aspiring whatever, the “professional” musician, the socially awkward nerd, the guys who post gym selfies) to know what I don’t.

7. With age comes the love of routines. I didn’t think I would ever be into a daily regime, but as your days grow increasingly fuller with work, responsibilities, and other such adult things, it’s a comfort to have parts of my life, like when to wake up or what to eat for dinner or when to work out, that don’t require any additional thought or time to prepare. Planning ahead or having constant criteria is crucial.

8. I’m into this sudden affinity for succulents and home goods. There’s something so thrilling about cute lil plants in even cuter lil containers and placing it atop a reclaimed wooden coffee table painted turquoise you picked up from a flea market. If you don’t already have a child or pet, caring for a plant feels equally adult-like. Building your bedroom’s color theme or deciding your living room’s modern yet rustic aesthetic is the new decorating your high school locker.

9. I love the lack of pettiness. Sure, there will always be whispers and gossip and talk behind backs but overall the cattiness between females or friend groups is slim. Ain’t nobody got time for that. If anything, women in their mid to late 20s get closer together, the bonds thicker, as we learn more over time that it’s not each other we should be against- it’s men.

10. The love of sleep. Sleep is good. Staying up past midnight stumbling from bar to bar was also good. But being in my cushy bed and fluffy comforter by 10:30p feels even better.

11. The teen years are spent finding a place to fit in. The early to mid 20s are spent refining those choices and making your edits. Here in the late-20s, you’ve settled into your skin, and even with the faint emergence of laugh lines and widening hips, this skin feels pretty good.