20 Things for 20-Year-Olds
Twenty-year-olds are doing things a lot differently than what our parents did, and that’s okay! Prioritizing ourselves, traveling, working, dating for fun and not feeling the pressures of societal standards feels really good. For all of us who have no idea what we’re doing, here is some advice from parents and peers on what to know in your 20’s.
1. Enjoy college! Take classes that interest you and do what you want to do. You don’t always have to follow the crowd if you don’t want to.
2. Date around! Yes, relationships are great, but you have your whole life ahead of you to take relationships more seriously. Date! Whether it’s bad or good, you learn so much about what you do and don’t want from future partners along the way.
3. When you’re young, it’s good to consider moving to a city. It’s good to live in a city while you’re young because you get an opportunity to have everything at your fingertips — jobs, bars, shopping and getting the opportunity to meet new people that are in the same place in life as you are.
4. Wear sunscreen! Wear sunscreen on your face and body, especially outside in the sun. You will thank yourself later!
5. Piggybacking off of number four, start a skincare routine if you haven’t started one already. Women stop producing collagen at around the age of 25, so it’s good to start sooner rather than later.
6. Experiment with your look! Change it up once in a while. While you’re young, experiment with makeup, hairstyles and colors just to see what works and what doesn’t. You never know what ends up working out for you!
7. Start saving money young! It’s smart to get acquainted with stocks and money saving tips now. It’ll be helpful when we’re in our 50’s and wanting to retire and enjoy life more.
8. Make sure to have a job. Even if it’s a part time job, working will teach you a lot and hold you accountable early on.
9. Because we’re already talking about working, work in the food industry at least once. It teaches you so much about waiting on people, how they treat you and how you might treat someone in the food service industry in the future.
10. Buy clothing and jewelry that are good quality — things that are timeless and can be worn forever. This goes along with the saving money part; you’re wasting more money re-buying cheap jewelry and clothes every month when you could be saving money wearing the same piece you love instead!
11. Date yourself! Take yourself out to the movies, dinner and shopping. Spoil yourself, and get to know yourself better! Find a hobby or learn something new; you never know what you can learn.
12. Don’t give in to the pressure of feeling like you need to know exactly what you’re going to do for the rest of your life. Jobs and careers are always changing, and your individual knowledge and skills will always be useful.
13. Travel! There are tons of affordable, safe and easy ways to travel if you’re willing to put in the time and research. When you’re older and have children and more responsibilities, it gets harder to travel and do the things you want to do. So, do them now!
14. Enjoy your youth and all the things that come with it, such as staying up late, rallying to the other bar and making memories. Your 20’s are the time to enjoy life without consequences.
15. Start getting active, whether it’s a daily walk or getting into a gym routine. The older you get, the harder it could be to get into.
16. Don’t compare yourself, and stop caring what others think. The truth is people aren’t looking at you as much as you think, so don’t live your life just because you think it’ll make other people happy.
17. Stop wasting your time on people who don’t care about you.
18. Be selfish. Know that you’re enough, and that you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone to feel secure and enough.
19. Don’t fear rejection. Everyone gets rejected in their life whether it’s for a job, relationships, or anything else. Allow rejection to be a door to new opportunities and think of it as something that wasn’t meant to be!
20. Lastly, take your time! We’re so young right now, and your 20’s are something to enjoy. Don’t be stressed about the major life moments in your future; enjoy your time in the present, your friends and the life you have now!