I had to share this article with you guys. I read this article on Jessica Lynn Jensen blog and since then, I always refer back to it when I am down and I need something to lift me up. If you want to read more about this and follow Jessica's blog, go to TODAYWASMEANINGFUL.
I was able to get the whole of this article from the her blog and not my idea or writing.
"When I was thirteen, I couldn’t
wait to be eighteen. I thought i’d know it all by then- have all the
answers and that prized freedom. and when I was sixteen, I planned to be
married by age twenty-three with two kids. I'll always smile to myself when I
think about how time changes things. And when I turned twenty four I made
a list of as many goals as I had in years. By my 25th birthday, i’d
accomplished them all.
And a funny thing happens about the
time you turn twenty five. People start asking about marriage and kids and
houses. And you begin to worry about savings, retirement, and health insurance.
You start spending your money on plates, pots, new tires - short term
sacrifices for long term gains, right? And sometimes you start to compare your
25 years with everyone else’s. You wonder if you’re on the right track because
it’s different from all the people you’re surrounded by. You start going to
your friends’ weddings and buying baby gifts for second birthdays and
suddenly you realize you’re at the exact age that seemed so far away just five
years ago.
I’ve always liked including myself
in the 20 something category. Growing up, but not quite grown up. You’re
an adult, but still recognize that you’re part kid. I’ve enjoyed the navigating
of adulthood and all of my new first time experiences - a new job, my first
‘grown-up’ paycheck. Growth - being old enough to rent a car. But it
seems like the older i’ve gotten, the more aware i’ve become of my short-lived
stay in the ‘twenties’ and the pressure to fit the mold of all of the rest of
the twentyfivers.
I’ve started to think about how
easy it is to become controlled by our age and the expectation of what your age
signifies to everyone else. How old you should be by the time you graduate, buy
your first house, get married, have kids, start your retirement. suddenly it
seems like there are all these benchmarks to meet, even when they don’t match
the goals you are trying to reach.
Forget molds.
Because as easy it is to forget,
you’re free to do what you want with your life. The problem is, that can
be quite the responsibility, to live your life the way you want to, rather than
they way you are expected to especially if that means taking a big jump
and especially when that jump may feel like a free fall. Maybe quit your
first job and go back to school if that feels right. Get married or don’t. Maybe
you drop out of school or chop off your hair. Maybe you change your mind. End
a relationship that no longer serves you. Become a different person.
Maybe you move away or move back home or maybe you’re scared to do these things
because it’s uncomfortable and unexpected. Maybe it’s because you don’t know if
everything would fall into place or you’re scared what that would mean if it
did.
And when you’re in your twenties, I
hope you buy a plane ticket to paris. I hope you get lost wandering all of the
streets. I hope you travel the world and read lots of new books. I hope
you have interesting conversations over warm cups of tea. I hope you
drink out of mason jars while dancing barefoot in the grass. I hope you have a
water fight in central park. Set goals and change them. Quit your day
job. I hope you don’t do any of these things or that you do them
all. Write a book. Change your mind. Start new friendships and let go of
the ones that you need to. Say goodbye to all of the things that have kept you
stagnant and vow to keep moving forward.
I hope your fifties mean going back
to school or starting yoga. I hope your forties include falling in love with
someone new- a friend, child, or partner. I hope you stay up all night
laughing with your friends and when you’re thirty, learn something new. I hope
your life is one of wisdom and youth, adventure and old age - no matter what
year it was that you were born.
But what I really mean to say is
that, I hope you aren’t held back because of a number and that you don’t rush
into things because it feels like time is slipping by. I hope you do what’s
right for you - hold on, slow down and breathe in. Your age is your
age but more importantly, your life is your life. Don’t change your
journey so that it matches someone elses. We need to walk different paths so
the whole world can be explored. Revel in the differences and enjoy where you
are.
Here. Right here."
You can read more on this article at because i'm twentysomething. © Jessica Lynn Jensen and “todaywasmeaningful” blog site
Thank you Jessica and todaywasmeaningful blog for this article. It has truly inspired me and I hope others get inspired by it.
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