I’m In My 20s, But I Definitely Don’t Have My Life Together Yet

Your 20s are a whirlwind of emotions. Half of your friends are getting married or are engaged and the other half have graduated college and have a stable environment and income. And then there are people like me.

Twenty-four and living with my parents, my boyfriend of six years, and our cat Tippy. It sounds like the beginning to a sitcom, but for me it’s a reality.

The world has a way of making you think you need to have everything together by the age of twenty-five (since that’s when you no longer need to pay the “under twenty-five” rental fee for a car). I assumed twenty-five was when society started to perceive you as a trustworthy adult, but I was wrong. I am still in school, I still rely on my parents, and I’m still constantly thinking, “Am I doing everything right?”

Society has made it clear that twenty-one is your party year. But once you’re twenty-four or twenty-five, you get looks when you say, “No, I’m not married and I don’t plan on being married anytime soon.” Your 20s are confusing and raw. It’s when most people find themselves, when they figure out that this is life and that this is alright. But it shouldn’t have to be that way.

Ask me on a good day how I feel and I’ll answer with, “Yeah, I’m cool with not having it all together,” but when I see my Facebook friends getting married and traveling the world, I start to question if I should buckle down and find that adult world everyone seems to have stepped into, except me.

I’m trying to come to terms with the fact that I’m picking which coffee flavor I should have in my latte instead of which wedding dress would flatter my body.

Kudos to those who have it together already, but I do not envy them anymore. If you’re similar to me and feel lost, please don’t. Binge on the HBO show “Girls,” a close to perfect portrayal of what it means to be a twenty-something in this century.

Your 20s are just like your teen years, because you enter the age group with a label slapped right onto you. It’s just like middle and high school all over again. You’re still rushing into adulthood, but the truth is that being an adult is scary and confusing. There is no right or wrong way to do things and no help given to you. That’s why you’re always left questioning where you belong.

But my advice is to just grab that extra slice of pizza and own being a twenty-something.