If I Have Learned Anything in my 20s...

"Ah the panic years..." Do you recognize this quote? It references the panic of our 20s. The panic to be perfect. To post the perfect highlight reels and content on social media to pursuade your friends and aquaintances to think you have your life figured out. The panic to actually have life figured out with the amazing career, picture perfect marriage, and kids and your dream house. All of this while also not taking your 20s for granted and balancing a social life where you go out with friends, end up on random side quests, travel, and create stories to tell your grandkids in decades when the panic years are much more reminiscent.

It's okay to panic. It's okay to not know what's going on and where you're going next or where you're meant to be. Some may have it figured out, that they wanted to do the whole marriage and settling down thing and are sure of their path (or at least it seems that way). But, I'm here to offer you some comfort. There are way more of us that have no idea of where our path leads and what we want. And if I have learned anything in my 20s so far it would be these tips...

Be authentic. I know that sounds so corny but truly just be authentic. Use this time to explore and learn what it even means to be authentic!!! Who are you?! Do you know? Once you get to the root of who you are, what you value, and what you desire then it becomes much easier to navigate the panic years in every way possible. You start to walk through life with an authentic air to you. People are attracted to authenticity because it is so rare these days so you will attract opportunities others don't. You will also learn to disern between opportunities that you should and should not take. When you are not grounded in yourself you may be willing to take any job offer or lead you can to just feel like you are doing something successful in your 20s. Then you may end up miserable because you didn't realize that path was not meant for you. When you live authentically you also meet people who are more aligned for you. You date in a higher vibrational frequency because you will attract the type of partner who may adore your weird side and admire your ambition. So seriously, go on your Eat, Pray, Love journeys or hibernate for months and heal. Just find yourself.

Reach out to that friend. I don't care if you haven't talked to them in months or if you guys were never that close. I believe if you get a fleeting thought about a random person that you may have connected with in the past and you get this feeling like you should reach out and catch up, then it is for a reason!!! I promise it may feel awkward and scary at first but they will surely be so happy to hear from you. You will literally make someone's day just by reaching out and grabbing a coffee because it shows that person that someone was thinking of them. Often when I do this I end up having really meaningful conversations that remind me that other people in their 20s are just as lost as me. It turns into a great bonding opportunity and perhaps even a chance for networking. Often times, networking is what will get your foot in the door into many new places you may have never even thought of. You never know where this friend may be now and they may be able to help you jumpstart a career or keep an ear out for more paths you could go down. At least you get a chance to share a moment of unity in this chaos and perhaps build on a budding friendship.

Be patient. I struggle with this horribly. I am not afraid to admit this or other shortcomings because of the whole living authentically to myself concept (it includes also sharing authentically on the internet). I'm learning that God's plan or the Universe's plan has it's own divine timing. We cannot control how our lives are meant to play out no matter how hard we try. This isn't to say we don't have free will over lives because of course we must always take actions to move our lives ahead. We cannot have everything handed to us. But it's exactly this: we need to learn the effort of hardwork and discipline to show God how badly we want our dreams to come true. We must match the frequency that the universe is looking for that declairs we are ready for the next step. So sometimes we come into these slow seasons. The months drag on in your job that you know you "shouldn't" be in because you have a college degree. You find yourself wasting away in bed more often and lacking energy. Your whole life is spiraling yet you're also content? These are the seasons where God is preparing you and testing you. Eventually you must get up and put in the work to change something. Move your life ahead. At the same time God is giving you this slow season to prepare you for the faster one. The one where you finally set off on the right course.

And it will happen. We will all find our way. Sometimes life falling apart is really life falling into the right places. As long as you are yourself you will end up where you belong.