20 Specific Feelings You Feel At 20
1. That moment of horror when you realize you don’t know how to cook anything more complicated than Easy Mac, and immediately Google “how to cook chicken.”
2. You catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and realize you’ll probably never be more in shape ever again. Your so-called “flaws” aren’t going to miraculously improve any time soon, so you might as well accept — and be thrilled with — the way you look today.
3. That overwhelming urge for an adventure. It doesn’t matter how you satisfy it – by studying abroad, by taking a road trip, by exploring a new part of your hometown — but make sure you do.
4. You feel old for the first time when you mention Lindsay Lohan and your little sister says, “Who’s that?”
5. The nod you exchange with the cashier at the liquor store that doesn’t ask for ID.
6. That beautiful moment where you feel rich and successful because you made a little extra money this week…
7. … Immediately followed by that soul-crushing moment of checking your bank account. Your net worth peaked after your summer job at 18 and has been on a steady, horrifying decline ever since.
8. That sweet moment of relief when you take off your shoes after a long night of dancing. You’ll spend the next few days picking at the blisters where your shoes rubbed painfully against your skin, but it’ll be worth it.
9. You stand up at a party after having one drink too many. You feel hazy and giddy and have to catch your balance against the arm of the couch.
10. You spend an hour entranced in whatever your professor is saying, take diligent notes, and walk out of class feeling grateful for your education.
11. Whenever you explain a pop culture reference to your parents, or help someone older use a piece of technology, you’re reminded of how effortlessly these things come to you. One day, you’ll be the one who needs help starting their iHoverboard.
12. One day, it occurs to you that it isn’t necessary to act a certain way for your friends to like you. This is liberating. Keep on being your weird self.
13. That moment when you see college freshmen who are SO EXCITED to wear their school IDs on a school lanyard around their neck at all times. You might think they’re lame, but then you flash back to how excited you were to be a newbie on campus, too.
14. When you scroll down your newsfeed and are confused by how many of your former high school classmates are now getting engaged, married, or having kids.
15. Sometimes it seems like every other inhabitant of this planet but you is gliding through life and hashtagging everything #blessed or #perfect. Why is everything so easy for them, but so hard for you?
16. That moment where you know you’re making a horrible decision, but you go through with it, anyway.
17. If you live away from home, you catch yourself doing little things — like putting the roll of toilet paper over the top, like Mom does it, instead of under the bottom, like your roommate prefers — just because it reminds you of home.
18. The moment the first piece of hair falls to the ground and you think, “Shit, this is not going to be a good haircut.”
19. You have two Buzzfeed tabs open while iMessaging a string of emojis to your best friend and GIRLS is playing in the background. Congratulations, you’re a Millennial.
20. You wish you could stop time. If only you could be 20 years old forever.