Some of you may be too young to know the Great Depression (I don’t either, lol and this has nothing to do with this piece). My question today is: why does nobody talk about how pressuring the 20s are? Whoever lied to us that these are the best days of our lives should be captured and taken to court ASAP. Well, maybe not sentenced to perpetuity, but at least some jail time because there are some perks to being young, dumb, and broke (all the cool kids love Khalid, it’s a fact). So today, my dearest readers, we are discussing the beauty and darkness of being in your 20s in 2024 (I know, what is happening?). Can we admit that at some point in life, we all ate meat last on our plates? Well, that is one of the many reasons we need therapy, truth be told. I am bringing meat into this to hint that we are saving the best for last, and that is: the perks of the 20s because at the end of the day, we gotta stay positive. However, for a start, we are beginning with the darkness coming with your 20s.
I will speak for myself for this one, but I’ve never felt the pressure to fit into the social world; even puberty, the worst time for some people, didn’t make me feel this way. But ladies and gents, LinkedIn is going to be the death of me. I am on the verge of a panic attack whenever I scroll for more than 2 minutes on this app. The only social media detox I need is for LinkedIn. How do you people make it in life at 21? Explain this to me because I can’t perceive the concept. It is within the 20s that I started pondering about what will become of me in life, or rather who am I in this world? As if just knowing my name, my favorite food, and the fact that I have a sense of humor is not enough. But no, there has to be a title to it: undergrad, MA, MSC, Dr, officer, supervisor, director, manager, engineer, etc. And the worst thing about corporate life in 2024 is that you have to pretend you like it because there are so many choices out here; you can be who you want in life, bla bla bla. For fellows like me who were hoping I would share any nuggets of wisdom about how to beat this feeling of underachieving, I regret to inform you that I have none. Apparently, this goes on until we stop breathing since Homo sapiens are creatures of competition.
There is a whole paragraph about this thing I wanted to talk about, but my colleagues at work read my blogs, so no.
This brings me to the best part for some and the gloomiest for others: LOVE, FAMILY, & FRIENDSHIPS. There is so much pressure to find a soulmate in your 20s, and it is sickening. You are supposed to find your perfect half one way or another; if not, there’s no going back, you are dying with your cats. You would not believe what people go through just to find a partner. My 10-year-old nephew has asked me when I’m getting married this year more times than he has said, “I love my aunt,” in his whole life (this is an insult if you ask me). And nobody talks about how shattered and distorted this generation’s love is. Also, adulting is realizing that you will grow more apart from your siblings because everyone has their thing going on. Your parents are getting older, weaker, and you don’t know how long you still have together.
In retrospect though, there is beauty in being in your 20s. You are strong, hot, and healthy, yay! Think about it: you can stay up the whole day, get a few hours of sleep, and you’ll be as fresh as new. In your 20s, your DMs are overflowing with love interests, and people turn their heads to awe at your beauty/muscles or both. If you are into it, you could have healthy babies within these years! No back pain and sudden cramps when you stand up too fast, that is so cool. Also, young people are more hopeful and less bitter. I have nothing to add on this by the way!
So there you have it, my thoughts black on white. I have no conclusion because what do I know of life? Let us try to make every day count, make sure you look forward to something exciting every week (I also fail a lot). Life is every day, and every day could be your last…
First published on my blog, Chronicles of a Kigali Introvert.
