The Stories Not Every 20-Something Wants To Know About

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“You’re now an adult.”

Words a 20-something doesn’t exactly hear but rather feel at a certain point of the road to adulthood. A time when your mind suddenly decides it needs an earthquake, some kind of shake to decipher how to add previous learnings and tomorrow’s aspirations together then form harmony. Harmony feels like getting paid just by being you, the luxury of both worlds: to create and to earn.

It’s that time of stocking up zest for life and building up that drive to always keep things interesting for the sake of what? Life.

“What will you do next?”

How do you want to live? Can you stay this way for long? If yes, how certain? If not, will you do something about it? What do you want? Do you even know what you want?

The big questions, so big you can’t even begin to think where to pick up. It feels like you’ve been laid back for the longest time in preparation for the day the universe kicks you, wakes you, and slaps you but still you’re not ready. The crisis comes so abruptly, there’s no quick solution but to live through the series of “I don’t knows” and “I’ll figure it out” day by dragging day.

That’s the thing about impacts. They’re uncalled for and arbitrary. What you don’t know at the moment is they always come at the right time. Only it takes a process to understand.

The process. No one exactly loves it. Especially in a generation accustomed to getting things almost instantaneously.


Jane, a girl who just broke up with her longtime boyfriend. She thought he was the one. He’s not. She strives to pick up where she left off being on her own. Few dragging months, uneasy to bear. Slowly, she comes back up. She doesn’t know when she will wake up in full acceptance of the re-route her life just took. She proceeds anyway.

One day, a river of tears and a ton of pain after, she’s a new, better person. It definitely didn’t happen overnight. Months after, probably a year even, she now understands.


A male professional named Steve just got his physical examination results. Amazed by how a piece of paper summarizes his poor choices and bad lifestyle, he has decided to affect change in his own life through his will.

He begins going to the gym every day. He can barely carry himself on through all those body weight exercises. He wakes up early in the morning. He sticks to his diet no matter how strict. He has his cheat days but he consistently burns himself out in the gym and in the office. He knows he just created a habit. His body is a clock now.

One day, he notices his need to shop for new clothes. He can carry himself now so much better. He can even lift weights now. He feels good AND looks good. Thinking about it, those days of hard work went by like a breeze and the benefits he’s been getting are greater than his expectations. Several months after, he’s now an inspiration.


Stella doesn’t even know what to prep or what to do for her 25th birthday, it’s a few weeks away. She’s working late again. She can’t seem to step out the door of that job even after identifying how demanding it is and how she craves to do something she’s better at. She exerts her greatest efforts anyway unsure why it’s taking so much out of her. She has been weighing the pros and cons for months now.

Despite the obvious struggles, she still has her gains. She recognizes that she needs to do something a thousand times over to be good at it. She doesn’t want to give up. She wants an expertise but she also wants to fulfill what she thinks is what she’s born to do. She ultimately wants to try.

Try to kick and paddle her way to her ideal life which may or may not be above what she can sustain but she dares to try. To be bruised but experienced. To be brave. To be bold. She’s more than willing to explore the depths. She’s not afraid to dig deeper.


The results speak a lot. But the process creates the bigger picture, gives the sense, ignites the passion, and enlightens the purpose and all that jazz. It’s the crème of the crop.

Trust the process. Trust yourself. At some point, somewhere a little sooner or later than 20-something people go through this phase — that challenge for growth. Unconsciously, humans have constant need for change.

There seems to be no right or wrong. It all comes down to a definitive, life-altering, and bold decision. The only way through is to BEGIN.