Entering My Twenties

Am I officially chopped and auntie? I have until Sunday, the 26th, to find the fountain of youth and wish to turn back time. In all seriousness, I surprisingly do not feel melancholy about leaving my teenage years behind. I believe we embark on a journey of self-discovery when we enter our twenties. We start becoming more independent, slowly understanding our purpose, passions, likes, boundaries, wishes, and values. In my teens I had some type of expectation regarding how my life would go, and I could not be more wrong. I am very thankful I did not end up with what I thought I wanted. It is now where I am starting to realize what steps I need to achieve to reach my reformulated plan, what it will look like in practice. It is no longer a dream for the future, but instead it is my reality. 

I desire to spend my twenties testing things out. I am sure I will change exponentially, whether it is regarding my appearance, what I want to study, where I live, who I want to be friends with, and so on. Not everything has to be the best choice the first time around. The age of 20 presents itself to me like Pandora’s box, I do not know what to expect, but I am ready, and have some goals prepared.

• Continue Studying French (or any foreign language)

I believe speaking a second language to be a skill everyone should attempt. It is enormously useful in various situations, such as traveling, improving qualifications for a career, studying, meeting others, and personal development. J’aime étudier française!

• Ask Lots of Questions

If I have a desire to know more and am unclear or bothered about something, why not ask someone more experienced? Asking questions can often be intimidating, but not asking enough questions and feeling ashamed because I do not know enough is motivation to ask away. As young adults, we have the right to not know, to not understand. However, the older we get the more we are required to know and understand.

• Focus on the Present Moment

I need to focus on the present moment and who I am now, not who I will be in the next 10 years. Another goal may appear on my agenda that I think will be my greatest fuffilment. My entire plan might change just based on how to achieve that goal. The point is, I do not want to prioritizing the future, I would like to focus on my present self. Here and now. 

The most sensible thing I can do right now is think. Think about what fills my cup, think about what is important to me and forage ahead in that direction, contributing what I can. I need to let my future self (and God) decide her future. She will have different needs, different wishes and most importantly, she knows better about herself than I do. I know myself the best right now. 

Remember, we will have a bunch more chances to change our minds. I am sure there will be many frustrations and letdowns because something did not turn out the way you wanted, but this is the only way to reveal the path we were meant to travel on. We are young, and have a multitude of opportunities and so much more to discover within ourselves. We need to end punishing ourselves when the first choice does not end up being the best one. Because if we did not try, how would we know?

With love,

Kierstyn