23 Little Mistakes You’re Allowed To Make When You’re 23

23 is a weird age. Early 20s. You can drink. You don’t have to pay for your own health insurance yet (some of us have to). We’re no longer feeling like 22.

23 is one of those years where not all of us have a ton of responsibilities yet. Embrace that! Maybe you just graduated college. Or just got your first job. 23 is a year of fresh starts.

1. Take a job you’ll laugh about one day. At 23 you’re still starting off. You’re allowed to explore different careers. Work at a bar, take a job you’ve always wanted. You have your entire life to have a career, at 23 you’re allowed to try different things and opportunities.

2. You can be a little reckless with yourself. At 23 I think we’re all allowed to be a little reckless. We are growing as people still, and are allowed to have fun and enjoy life.

3. Drink what you want. Go out, have that drink. Go day drinking. Enjoy time with your friends. When you hit your late 20s you may not be able to do this anymore. This age is much more carefree. Have fun.

4. Date the wrong person. I’m not saying you should look for the wrong person. But not everyone is right. Date around. Meet people. Find out exactly what you want in a person. And when you are dating that wrong person, let them go.

5. Make mistakes. It’s inevitable. But at 23, it’s expected. You can make mistakes. It will be okay. Don’t beat yourself up.

6. Buy that purse. Buy things you want. But learn the value of money. Indulge in yourself. Just don’t go crazy. Credit card debt is hard to make up and catch up on if you fall into a whole. Don’t go credit card happy.

7. Meet new people. Some of them come, some go. But meeting new people helps us grow. Whether they’re meant to stay in our lives or not.

8. Move to that city. Go move to a city you always wanted to. You’ll only ever be this young once.

9. Discover yourself. Laugh, cry, spend time with yourself.

10. Travel, spend your money. If there’s one thing you should do TRAVEL. Travel, travel, travel. You won’t regret it.

11. Be selfish. It’s okay to be selfish. You have the rest of your life to be selfless. I think our early 20s are meant to be somewhat selfish.

12. Have your fun. I mean it. Enjoy it. The 20s are such an interesting crossroads of life.

13. Indulge. In everything. Friends, food, family. Realize that these moments are fleeting. Enjoy them all

14. Eat that unhealthy food. But don’t forget to take care of yourself. The older we get the harder it is to burn those calories off.

15. Being young and dumb. You may be post-college but this is the only other time where you’re still considered young enough to be dumb and get away with it. Might as well use it to your advantage, right?

16. Following your heart. Even if sometimes you know it’s not meant to be.

17. Send that text. Because why not?

18. Ignore the rules. Some rules are meant to be broken.

19. Figure it out. Mistakes will be made. But you’ll get where you need to be. You will figure it all out.

20. Quit that job. If a job makes you miserable, quit. Point blank. No job is worth tears or hating your life.

21. Ditch that friend. That friend who makes you feel like shit all the time? Let them go. There’s no use to holding on to someone like that. Regardless of past.

22. Forgive. Try to realize that life is short. We can forgive people who wronged us. Most of the time we feel better after too.

23. Live.

23 is a bit of a reckless age. We’re adults, but barely. I honestly think it can be one of the best years though, because of this. It’s a period of extreme growth. A period of self discovery, pain, joy, and enjoying oneself. Mistakes are necessary.

At 23, I hope you allow yourself to be happy. I hope you grow. I hope you let others into your life. I hope you are open to experiences, and change. I hope you realize that life gets better from 23. It’s just the beginning.