Why Our 20s Are The Most Humbling Time Of Our Lives

From curing a hangover to making some of the toughest decisions in lives, our 20s are the years that define us. By the time we hit 35, we have sailed through 80 percent of our lives’ important milestones. The 20s is the decade that teaches us about relationships, our wage growth, our social circle, etc. Our personalities change from being a bunch of teenagers wanting to be adults to a bunch of adults wanting to be teenagers again. We juggle grad school, internships, first jobs, breakups, and a lot more, and while we’re busy juggling multiple aspects of our lives, we learn some of the most important lessons in our 20s. As soon as we enter the age of twenties, we tend to get anxious, and we tend to worry about our future plans. We see people getting married, we see people settling down, we see friends becoming CEOs of companies, and we basically see a lot of changes around us. It’s transformation galore. That’s why the 20s are the most defining moments of our lives. Here’s a lowdown reaffirming the same:

1. We Learn To Maintain An Inner Circle

From accepting every Tom, Dick, and Harry’s friend requests to filtering the list out and limiting your friend circle to only those who matter is what the 20s is all about. We stop looking for more friends and we start cherishing the bonds that truly matter. Instead of having dozens of friendships, we have a few good friends who we can count on without thinking twice. Although we are all busy with our own lives and responsibilities and trying to earn our livelihood to make a mark for ourselves, we maintain friendships without demands and expectations. That’s what ‘adulting’ is all about, right?

2. Keeping A Check On Our Expenses

We have now successfully crawled out of the cocoon that our parents spun for us. We are now officially adults and that means that we take care of ourselves and live independently. Although our parents are always there for us, our self-respect and self-esteem don’t let us borrow financial resources from them anymore. While it’s not a bad thing to spend the money that our parents have earned for us, it’s also nice to earn for ourselves and buy ourselves goodies and essentials with our hard-earned money. I bought my iPhone with my own money and oh boy that was a feeling of accomplishment! But, it also does make a difference when we start spending our own money because we feel the pinch on our bank accounts, don’t we?

3. We Start Appreciating The Little Joys Of Life

Okay, maybe we just start appreciating Netflix and a tub of ice-cream. But, we also learn to spend some quality time frequently. We like to listen to music and just let the clock tick. We also appreciate walks amidst the beauty of nature. We tend to travel more and look for experiences to cherish rather than spending on tangible things. We become more aware of our surroundings and our blessings. We learn about loss, when we lose our pets or dear ones. We learn about valuing relationships when we see our friends go away to different cities, and we learn about the importance of family when we find ourselves swimming in a pool of problems. We see things as they are and we start appreciating the things that we are blessed with.

4. We Stop Following The Herd

Throughout our school and college days, we’re afraid to do things differently because we feel comfort in following the norm. But, in our twenties, we unleash the rebel in ourselves and start doing things differently. We refuse to mimic Sharma Ji’s beta and we take it upon ourselves to nurture our own potential and caliber. Our twenties teach us that our decisions should be ours and not what our neighbors or relatives decide for us. We become more inclined towards our dreams and aspirations and we finally get rid of the handcuffs of society’s expectations. Now, that is a liberating feeling, isn’t it?

5. We Take More Risks And We Are Happy Doing So

Be it the solo trip to Ladakh, quitting the boring IT job or heading out to out to volunteer for an NGO in a remote village, we take more risks than ever. And we do so happily. We are hungry for more – more travel, more lessons, more money, more happiness, more love, etc. To get what we really wish for, we end up taking risks. It’s almost certain that these risks either teach us a lesson for life or they give us an interesting fable to tell our friends, family, and maybe our future kids too.

Our 20s are the most memorable part of our lives because we start our journey of life on our own terms. We travel even when we’re broke, we laugh even when we’re hurt, we grow even when we fail, and we learn even when we have nothing to look forward to. It might not be the most glamorous time of our life, but it certainly is one that defines us in more than one way. We focus on important things and we learn important life lessons that show us that life isn’t a bed full of roses. It’s all about how we take charge of our life and make it as beautiful as the bed full of roses that is so often talked about and seldom witnessed.

What are your 20s like? Do you have any specific moment from your 20s that you cherish forever? Let us know in the comments below.

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Author

Anjala Farahath