I've been twenty-five for almost a month now ⎯ and it still feels weird to say it. Since my birthday, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on what I thought twenty-five would bring me and why I'm glad I had so many misconceptions about where my life would lead so far. So here's a list of things I didn't do before turning the big two five:
1 | Get married
When I was younger, I always believed that by twenty-five, I would be married and ready to start a family. The idea behind this was that everyone in their mid-twenties were adults and that's what adults do. Where I'm at now, marriage isn't something that is completely off the table, but it definitely couldn't be further from mine and my partner's mind. We already share our lives together in all the ways that matter.
2 | Stay at the same job
This is probably the most important thing I didn't do. I always imagined that the first job you were hired at after college would be something that you would stay at a while and grow into. While this is true for many people still, it isn't always the case. Sometimes there's no where for you to grow and sometimes the job just isn't the right fit. All in all, I'm glad that I had the chance to move states and explore new opportunities. I would highly recommend that approach!
3 | Travel
I list this not as a way of me saying that I don't travel, but to explain that travel isn't everything. I feel like the world today expects all young people to go on these great trips in far off places and learn great lessons. To me this is both impractical (how are these people paying for these things?!) and unreasonable with all the responsibilities given to newly minted college grads. That being said, I do believe in taking every opportunity available to travel and have been blessed with a job that allows me to travel West for business!
4 | Buy a house
I am about as far away from purchasing a house as one could possibly get at the moment. I'm not even sure how someone decides to purchase a house, but maybe that's because most of the housing market in my neighborhood runs upwards of half a million dollars(!).
5 | Act like I have my life together
The most shocking realization of turning twenty-five is that I didn't suddenly receive a book of knowledge on how to be an adult ⎯ I'm still winging it like everyone else I know! But no real surprise there as many of you know, I've been winging it since '92.