Everything Sucks When You’re A 20-Something

When you’re a 20-something, you feel like you aren’t allowed to do anything for yourself. You feel like, if you’re not busy every second of every day, then you are falling behind. You are under so much pressure to succeed in your career, in your social life, and in your love life that you barely have a second to breathe. You can’t remember the last relaxing day you had. A vacation is long overdue, but you aren’t sure if taking time off would set you back.

When you’re a 20-something, you feel like you are losing all your friends. Every year, the time between seeing them grows further and further apart. There are some people you used to see in between classes every single day and now you’re lucky if you meet up with them once a month. Age is pulling you apart and you’re not taking it well.

When you’re a 20-something, you get accused of being lazy, even though you have been working your ass off since graduation. Family will judge you for sleeping until noon, even if you didn’t get home from work until two in the morning. Then they will judge you for eating junk, even though you spent the last two hours at the gym. You feel like you can’t even check your work email without being accused of being a technology obsessed millennial who’s always on their phone.

When you’re a 20-something, you always feel like you’re disappointing someone. Your grandmother, who keeps asking you if you’re getting married yet when you barely even have time to sleep outside of your work hours, let alone go on dates. Your friends, who keep asking if you’re free to get drinks over the weekend, when you barely have the energy to barhop anymore. Yourself, because you feel like you should be further in your career right now, even though you’re still young enough that most people are impressed you have a career at all.

When you’re a 20-something, you’re broke. You’re either still living at home with your parents, feeling like a child because your mother and father are paying for your groceries — or you’re living on your own, feeling like you’re wasting money because even the crummiest apartment is at least 2,000 dollars per month. You want to save for your future, but that is impossible to do unless you have family supporting you. Otherwise, you’re spending money as quickly as you’re earning it. You’re lucky if you can afford a trip to the movies or a novelty drink at the bar.

When you’re a 20-something, you feel like you’re falling behind, even when you are far ahead. You feel like you should have gotten engaged already or gotten your big break already or gotten a place of your own already. You feel like you’re hitting milestones at all the wrong times.

When you’re a 20-something, everything sucks. You feel like you aren’t doing anything right. You feel like your lost — and the only consolation is that everyone else feels the same way.