My friend posted this link on her Facebook page the other day. For those too lazy to actually go check out the article, it's The 20 Mistakes You Don't Want to Make In Your 20s and it is pretty self explanatory. Obviously I was drawn to it because:
1. I adore lists; and
2. I am currently in my early 20s - WHAT!
Whilst I agree with many of the points the author makes (Hello 'Blaming anyone else but yourself for anything in life' and 'Forgetting about the piggy bank and spending every dollar you have' - I still have eight years to figure that one out, right?), I had a weird feeling after reading it.
It took me a while to pinpoint what it was, but then I realised. I was angry! I was actually fuming that this author decided he was the one and only twenty something who had ever lived and he alone dictated the way it should be, no babies, relationships or mistakes allowed.
So of course, me being me, I analysed the shiz out of my feelings - was I just feeling inadequate, did I just tick too many of the boxes for my own liking? The answer is no. Yes, I do tick some of the boxes ('Getting comfortable like you actually deserve down time' and 'Thinking that this is the right time to fall in love' - I'm in a relationship BUT I did make that decision in my teenage years so technically...). Yes, there are times where I compare myself with others through the joys of 'social media stalking' and seem to fall really short, but the dislike I had for this overall article was something different.
The author hadn't taken into account the myriad of different twenty somethings out there. The twenty somethings who are happy being young mummies or the ones who don't figure out what they want to do until they're in their 30s. I'm not saying it's for everyone but by publishing these kind of articles that cast judgement upon people who live their lives, it's actually being a bit hypocritical. It's saying "look to challenge yourself and build your own dream"...as long as that dream aligns with MY idea of a worthwhile dream.
There are times when I've been guilty of just that. Anyone who knows me knows I can think of nothing worse than having a baby right now but two of my close friends have had babies in the last year AND THEY'RE BOTH UNDER 25! Shock horror. I remember when I found out, I was slightly thrown and had to pull myself up and realise that dreams, wishes, wants and needs come in all shapes and sizes.
This is something we all have to understand and be a lot more open minded about. As long as you're living as true to yourself as possible, why should you be concerned what someone else is doing. I mean, if they're wrong, according to the handbook of life, isn't your twenties the time to make mistakes anyway?
xx Luce
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