So I turned 20 in October and as much as I was dreading having to say that I'm now in my third decade, I was actually really looking forward to my 20s. There just seemed to be this air of sophistication surrounding my 20th birthday that I'd never felt before, I already felt more mature in the months leading up to it. All of a sudden mums in public said to their children 'watch this lady' and I was like 'am I really classed as a lady now?' I imagined that my 20s would bring the most exciting times in my life, I will graduate, hopefully buy my own house, get married, maybe get a dog etc. But instead I am faced with these battles:
1. Cheekbone acne/dried up spots
So you know when you're a teenager and you go through that face for about 6 years where there's never a moment with clear skin? Well it carries on, but this time that one single spot lasts 4 to 6 weeks and just dries up and creates a horrible rough patch of skin on your face, Not good. Also, all spots have relocated from your forehead and chin to cheeks and jaw. Whaaaat?
2. Under eye wrinkles/bags
Yep, I got my first wrinkle under my left eye two months ago and have never forgiven my face for it. I probably wouldn't mind having it if only they evened out! My face is already asymetrical and now it's even worse that I've aged more on my left side than my right. Saying that, I'm not wishing any more wrinkles upon myself.
3. Hangovers
WHY DID NOBODY WARN ME? In all seriousness, if you are 18 or 19, don't even bother working in a bar, spend all your time on the RIGHT side of the bar while you still have the chance to recover. Hangovers jumped on me all of a sudden and I can never get the years back where I could just get up the next morning and resume my normal life.
4. Lack of ambition and intelligence
I was WAY more clever as a teenager than I am now, I used to love maths and now I can't do any of it (and it's not through lack of practise - well, not that much). Also, I have no motivation to do anything, or if I do, it only lasts as long as my car journey. I really wish I'd put more of an effort in when I was younger and was more able to produce better outcomes because I'm really making up for it now.
5. All your friends are getting married?
Or buying houses. I have a group of friends where half of us went to uni and half of us got full-time jobs and I've got to say it's really unfair watching your friends buy brand new cars whilst I save up for weeks for a new foundation. I don't have any direct friends getting married yet, but loads of people I know are, when did I get so old?!
6. Yet you have no money ...
As mentioned above, weeks to save up for a foundation. The money I get from my part-time job pays for petrol and coffee at uni, nothing else. Goodbye new Kurt Geiger dreams
7. No more birthdays to look forward to
Apart from your 21st which I suppose is a biggy, there's no birthdays in your 20s worth celebrating that much, now I have to wait until I'm 30 to get more than 4 cards.
8. No immune system, like seriously, can't walk into a room without catching pneumonia
Especially if you go to university, or even commute via public transport. Say hello to frequent colds, stomach flu, fevers and much more. They last at least twice as long as they did last year too.
9. The majority of people you meet are arseholes
Yes, children and teenagers are probably more cruel than adults are, but adults are so rude and obnoxious, not all. Chances are, unless you say hi to me, I instantly hate you
10. It's so hard to make friends!
An expansion of above and of my previous blog post on what uni has taught me, if it takes seconds for me to decide I hate people, then it takes seconds for them to decide they hate me too. First impressions are everything.
11. You have to look your best all the time
There's no more getting away with dodgy eyeliner or slightly knotty hair because you're young, every day counts now. I'm not saying you have to look like perfection all the time, but you at least have to make an effort if you're leaving the house.
12. Learning from your mistakes
You'll constantly be looking back to your teenage years and thinking 'WHY did I do that?!' but on the plus side, you're not likely to make those mistakes again, keep learning and growing. Onwards and upwards!
13. Companies see you as replaceable
As the moral theory goes, you are treated as a 'means to an end, rather than an end in yourself'. In other words, unless you've got something that no other person can provide, you are surprisingly easy to replace, and it will hurt to see that, but life goes on
14. You NEED a hobby
Trust me on this one, if you don't have something to focus on other than you're workload, you'll give up on that too. Recently I've been feeling the Work, Sleep, Uni, Read, Repeat thing and this is not healthy! If you have a hobby, you are more likely to have more focus in everything you do and you'll use those rare few spare hours productively
15. You'll grow apart from friends
Now's the time where everybody grows up and away from one another, if you've managed to cling on to the few childhood friends you had, well done you! But once you hit your 20s, your differences become more noticeable and sadly you drift apart from people, it just gives an excuse for catch up drinks though!
16. Loneliness is inevitable.
Even if you're surrounded by people, it's still possible to feel alone. It's not that you don't have people, but they don't get you, the ones that do moved away, or moved on, and you're just here, on your own. It does get better though
17. Your soul mate is probably your best friend, not your partner
You know it, they know it, and I know it. There are certain things you do with your best friend and only your best friend.
18. Everybody's having kids and you can't even look after yourself
You heard it. Facebook is now overcome with pictures of scans, baby showers, newborns, toddlers, you name it. How do they do it? I still can't get to the top shelf of my fridge without climbing and there are people with actual humans depending on them. I applaud you
19. There's ALWAYS time for alcohol
Made a dick of yourself in work? ALCOHOL. Failed one of your university essays? ALCOHOL. Another friend is pregnant? TWICE AS MUCH ALCOHOL (because they can't have any). Fell over at the gym? ALCOHOL. (No? Just me then.)
20. The world's your oyster! Or is it?
Every time I go on instagram I have to look at travel pictures or even travel blogs! It seems so unfair that there's a whole lot of amazingness out there to discover but there is no way I can afford the time or money to explore! I'm getting there, but Bali is the dream!
This is everything I've learnt from the first couple of months of my 20s, I'm sure there's a lot more to learn but I thought these points pretty much summed up the decade! Let me know what you learned once you reached 20!
CJ x
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