28 People On The Most Life-Changing Thing They Did In Their Twenties
"I gained a sense of self-worth. Then lost it. Then gained it back again. And lost it again. Then gained it back again."
By 
Kim Quindlen
1. “I broke up with the person I knew I couldn’t marry.”
-Elizabeth, 26
2. “I went back to school. I had taken some time off. And I was behind everybody else. My friends had already graduated and gotten real jobs. But I made it, and got my degree at age 26, and I wouldn’t have done anything differently.”
-Megan, 44
3. “I gained a sense of self-worth. Then lost it. Then gained it back again. And lost it again. Then gained it back again.”
-Stephen, 28
4. “Traveled internationally by myself.”
-Anna, 30
5. “I’m only 3 years in to my twenties, but not living at home and moving right into the city after college was a pretty cool experience for me. Expect for the expenses. That’s a little less cool.”
-Nick, 23
6. “I broke up with my boyfriend because I knew he wasn’t the man I wanted to marry. Even though we had just moved in together.”
-Jess, 25
7. “Moving to the city without any friends.”
-Isaiah, 24
8. Losing weight. I lost a bunch after college and it just made me realize that it can be really easy, you just have to have discipline. And I felt so much better and so much more like myself afterwards.”
-Brigid, 26
9. “Not getting married.”
-Andi, 31
10. “I moved to a new city with no friends. Didn’t turn out well for me in DC but I became a more independent person and realized I wanted to write. And I adopted a dog. And he’s pretty cool.”
-Rachel, 25
11. “I got a cat. Best decision I ever made.”
-Joan, 27
12. “I stopped doing what my friends, family, society, etc wanted me to do and started doing what I wanted to do.”
-Chelsea, 30
13. “Living paycheck to paycheck. It made me understand the value of a dollar in a way I never had before, even though I worked all through college.”
-Marc, 32
14. “I got married and had my first baby.”
-Teresa, 41
15. “Jumped out of plans in the army.”
-Brian, 36
16. “I actually started listening to my parents’ advice and figured out that they had a lot of helpful experiences that could relate to my own.”
-Marie, 28
17. “Told someone I loved them for the first time.”
-Jean, 32
18. “Transferring schools and leaving my entire family, friends, and boyfriend of 6 years behind. And then breaking up with my boyfriend and pretty much starting life over for the better.”
-Mary, 29
19. “I stayed super close to my college friends which helped me feel less alone when things in my life weren’t going the way I wanted them to.”
-Morgan, 27
20. “I stopped drinking so damn much. I still went out and had a ton of fun, but I stopped blacking out every single night. I felt a lot less bad about myself the next day when I could wake up and function and I remembered how I got home the night before. Made me feel a lot healthier too.”
-Kevin, 32
21. “I started getting help for my anxiety and it literally made the whole world look different, in the best way possible.”
-Meaghan, 29
22. “Failed at stuff. It made me a lot less scared to try new things because I had learned that failure doesn’t kill you.”
-Jerry, 34
23. “Actually figured out what a 401K is, and then when I did, I started contributing to it.”
-Emily, 30
24. “I went back to church.”
-Michael, 28
25. “I put a portion of my paycheck every two weeks into my savings account. It was a really small amount every time, but eventually it started making a difference. Still is.”
-Duane, 31
26. “I started reading as many books as I could. It helped me to still feel excited about life even when I didn’t like my job.”
-Rissa, 27
27. “Spent some money on a good quality mattress and bed sheets that were actually comfortable, instead of just picking the cheapest option possible. It’s made all the difference.”
-Tom, 27
28. “I started taking long walks when I was stressed out. Nothing helps me more than a nice, leisurely walk does.” 
-Nora, 29
