The Realities of the Roaring Twenties: Beyond the Glamor
August 8, 2024
Writer: Emilie Claire Nason
Editor: Gretchen Quill
I recently turned 21, and my mother gifted me a journal for my birthday. She told me these are the years I will cherish, the stories I will share with my future children, and the years of freedom I will never regain. While I appreciate her wisdom and the journal, my first entry suggested her perspective might need some adjustment.
"Dear diary, I turned 21 two days ago, and so far, all I've done is stress about an internship and the upcoming LSAT. Oh, and I also went to the dentist."
The more I reflected on this entry, the more I realized that while one's 20s are indeed filled with exciting moments and valuable lessons, they are also fraught with anxiety, routine, and disappointments. Like many other rising seniors, I spent the summer before my final year working tirelessly at an internship, studying for a life-determining test, and occasionally finding time to tan. The college summers I idealized as a child—filled with travel, parties, and forming meaningful relationships with friends—are far from the reality. In today's world, school is riddled with anxiety over grades and relationships, while internships and the stress of future job prospects consume summers.
I understand that summers like this are essential for building my desired future, but no one talks about how distressing they can be. People often say, "Your 20s are the most fun you'll ever have," but they rarely acknowledge that "Your 20s are some of the most terrifying years you'll face." The daunting thoughts of leaving college without succeeding, graduating without a plan, or graduating with a plan but being overwhelmed by the prospect of becoming a full-fledged adult—paying rent, securing insurance, working a 9-to-5 job—are intimidating. No one discusses the disappointment of having grandiose dreams but needing to be realistic about the future, finding a stable job, or pursuing further education before truly starting one's life. No one mentions the contrast between Saturday night fun and the Sunday grind. No one talks about relationships that falter after college because life intervenes. All anyone talks about is success. While this is positive (I suppose) because it implies success is attainable, it is also frightening not knowing how one's life will unfold. It's scary standing on the brink of the unknown. Feeling scared is okay; it's probably more normal than not being scared about the future.
So, what is this reflection really about? Being overwhelmed by your 20s and unsure of what to do? Perhaps. Being afraid of the future? Certainly. However, my primary takeaway is that everyone reminisces about the good times in their 20s because the positives outweigh the negatives. Everyone experiences the same stress and anxiety about the future, yet they all recount the fun they had. This doesn't mean they didn't face the same challenges we do today; it simply means the unknown has a way of resolving itself. One day, we will share stories of our college days with our children or a random 20-year-old. We will talk about our first jobs or graduate school after college. We will share memories of the fun we had and the moments we cherished. We will reassure them that everything will work out.
One thought that comforts me is knowing that one day I might give my future daughter a journal and encourage her to cherish these years. Because even though they are tumultuous, emotional, and stressful, they are filled with youth, vibrancy, lessons, and freedoms we will never regain. So, when things get tough—when you don't score well on the MCAT, LSAT, or GRE, when you don’t get the job offer you wanted, when you have to room with a stranger in an unfamiliar city, when your relationship falls apart, when your friends move away, when you feel lost—know that everyone goes through this. Everyone emerges on the other side and still fondly recalls these years because, despite the fear, they are some of the best years we will have, even if we don’t know it yet. Understand that you are not alone if you haven’t felt fabulous about your 20s. Understand that the unknown is only as daunting as you make it. Take a breath, find the good in each day, cherish those moments, and know that the excitement, eagerness, and vigor you feel now will be what you look back on and remember because, in the end, everything worked out just fine.
