What do you get when you mix your last term of college + job searching + lack of sleep + endless projects + trying to not eat oatmeal for every meal + keeping your goldfish alive?
A little bit of a s l u m p.
My housemates and I have all kind of hit a wall. All of us are on extremely different collegiate journeys but are currently united in the fact that adulthood is starting to make us a little uncomfortable. There's this weird paradox of the excitement in anticipation of the future and the uncertainty and instability of it all.
It seems each day comes with a new existential crisis or another derailment of a previous solution to surviving 'adulthood.' We're in the midst of trying to define ourselves, figure out what the hell we're going to do post-grad, afford another week's worth of groceries, and simultaneously have this seemingly mythical thing called a 'social life.'
We've taken comfort in BuzzFeed articles that articulate our concerns through funny memes or witty lists, extra large glasses of wine, and of course, each other. As the last week of the term wraps up, I think it's important to reflect on all that's been accomplished and what exactly it means to be a 20-something--which this Huffington Post article equates to"hanging off the edge of a cliff." (Huh, comforting.)
ONE. You are still allowed to be undecided.
When I was seven I saw Legally Blonde. It was then that I decided I wanted to be a lawyer who owned a lot of heels. When I applied for college, I intended to be a business major. I'm now graduating with a degree in journalism and advertising with a design focus. I have a lot of random passions. I'm still trying to figure out which one will help me make a living-- and preferably not make me wear a suit.
TWO. Justification of mistake-making never expires.
Is it wrong to delight in seeing people older and more established than you make mistakes?
THREE. You can start to think independently.
We respect our parents and can never truly thank them enough for all of the resources they've provided and the fact that they are the constant in our lives that will always be there to support us. But we're allowed to start questioning things for ourselves. From who we want to vote for to what color we want to paint our bedroom, we're allowed to have strong opinions of our own about the world.
FOUR. Old people envy our 'freedom.'
My mom recently said to me (likely when I was having a breakdown about the future) "I would love to be 21 with the world at my feet." I don't think we realize how our lives are going to change and surprise us.
FIVE. We're still allowed to wear ironic, witty clothing.
*Wears narwhal t-shirt while writing introspective blog post*
SIX. Rachel Green was a waitress in her 20s and look how great her life was.
I'm about to graduate and I'm not too enthused with the idea of moving back into my high school bedroom. I'm anxious to have my own place and start living a life of my own. And honestly, it's probably still going to be a little bit before I get there. You don't have financial comfort right off the bat. And that's normal. And I think a lot of us need to be reminded that that's normal.
SEVEN. We're all scared, we're all stressed, and we're all uncertain.
Why else would the bars be so crowded?
~
The fact of the matter is that some of us will be CEOs and some of us won't. So it seems more reasonable to strive for happiness than success--but then of course, we should probably be striving to define success as happiness in the first place.
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