20 Things I Don’t Understand At Age 20

I’ve read a lot of articles and lists lately to the effect of “25 Things I’ve Learned by Age 25” and “What I Wish I’d Known in My 20s.” I also realized recently that all the articles I’ve posted on here have come off slightly self-righteous and know-it-all-esque. I turned twenty two months ago. So after reading some of these other writers’ lists of profound wisdom and after reflecting on my own voice coming across as a bit of a self-proclaimed 20-year-old prophet, I came to the conclusion that I should clarify the fact that I know absolutely nothing. I have infinitely more questions than I have answers. So in the spirit of this newfound mantra of uncertainty, I decided to come up with a list of the top 20 things that I just don’t have answers to. Hopefully when I’m 30 I can write a list of 30 pieces of life-altering advice for the young and naive, but until then, here’s what I simply can’t get my head around (I’m sure tomorrow I’ll wake up with 20 more):

1. Why the good die young.

2. Why so many fall in love with the wrong people.

3. How to end a close friendship.

4. How to rekindle a close friendship.

5. How to control anxiety.

6. How to cope with the loss of loved ones.

7. The stock market.

8. How to deal with uncertainty about the future.

9. Why drawing black lines on our eyelids makes us feel more attractive.

10. Why people are still watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

11. How to replace jealousy with happiness for the other person.

12. How not to lose my debit card once a month.

13. How to be honest with my parents without making them worried.

14. Why I’m so terrible with directions.

15. Whether “no regrets” and “never a failure, always a lesson” are healthy attitudes.

16. How not to have FOMO.

17. How to pay off student loans.

18. What it is about our brain chemistry that makes us “click” with certain people.

19. Whether adulthood is as boring as it seems.

20. Whether time really does seem to pass more quickly with every year.