Love Note For All "20 Somethings"

Being in my early 20s has been such a weird phase of life. I understand that I am considered a grown adult, but I still desire to go out to museums (like in that picture), amusement parks, concerts, movie theaters, and anything else that an adolescent would consider fun. The beautiful thing about being this age is that I actually can go do those things without anyone telling me 'no'. If I'm making enough money and I have the time, why not?

That's basically my whole mindset when it comes to being 22 years old. I'm old enough to do whatever I want and still young enough for those activities to not take too much of a toll on my body.

Then there's another part of my brain that makes me wonder about what the future holds for me. That can be a daunting and dangerous notion for me to explore. I say this because I live in a society that moves at a very fast pace. The only thing that most people can do in this country is to try and keep up. However, I have realized that that is meaningless, like chasing the wind.

I look at other "20 somethings" and see that some of them are already in their career field, moving up the corporate ladder, some are still in school, some not. Some may be working a blue collar job, some are in a customer service position. Hell, some of them are even parents! After taking note of so many different places that people, in my age group, are in life, I've come to realize that there is no straight path for anyone. We are all free to make our own way. Create our own pavement, if you will.

Once I came to that realization, the feeling of comparison slowly withered away from my heart and mind. Now, sometimes it may creep back in, but it is never strong enough to stay. I look at others and feel joyful because of the things they have accomplished. That is only proof to me that God is working constantly in all of our lives and He is going to make sure that we are all doing fine.

With that in mind, I have finally gained the confidence I needed to pursue the things that I am passionate about. Comparison is the thief of joy and I know God's word says that we are supposed to be happy and enjoy life. Therefore, doing things like creating this blog, reading books, writing movie reviews, learning Spanish, playing music, and so much more, are the reasons why I know that I am following what His word says. Because all of those things make me happy.

Granted, I still have much to learn and a lot more growing to do in my relationship with God, but I do feel lighter now. I can't really explain it, but my focus has shifted from what my society has programmed me to believe. Go to school for 12 years, then go to university for 4 or 8 more years. Then start your profession in whatever you studied and work there for the next 40 years. That is no longer plaguing my brain.

We have the freedom to do whatever we want. Thank God, for that! In this world, though, freedom comes with a price. That price can be our time, our money, our sanity, and sometimes our soul. I don't think I'm willing to give up all of that. Living a happy life, while I'm here on this earth, can be on my own terms. I believe that I can be ecstatic even if I don't have all of the materialistic things that the society attaches to happiness.

Simply just utilizing and expanding on the things that I already have to enjoy is more than enough for me. Jesus did the same thing with the loaves of bread.

Now, when it comes to my career, (because I can't just not work at all) I have stopped trying to dictate and regulate my life. I believe that God is a much better planner than I am so I have been letting him take the wheel. Although I'm sitting in the rear, fighting the urge to not be a back-seat driver, I have been very fond of where I think He's taking me.

I don't want to get into that topic just yet, but when I am in the midst of that journey you readers will surely be hearing about it.

Anyway, being a young adult has been amazing! Growing up used to intimidate me, but now that I am here and learning more about life, I'm realizing how overrated it is. Life is hard. There is no denying that. However, with the right knowledge and belief systems, I feel that life can be conquered.

We don't have to follow what the world says or soak in what society wants us to believe. Utilizing our own talents, passions, and skills, we can create whatever we want in our lives. Our time on this earth is minute, so why not be happy while we are here and make the best of our lives.

To all of the other "20 somethings" out there, you are not alone. Go be social, go after your dreams, do whatever makes you happy. Life is too short to spend a moment of it being stagnant or motionless. We are young and we will make mistakes, but it will be okay. L's don't mean "losses" like society will tell us. They mean "lessons". Let's learn from those lessons and continue to grow into the awesome adults we are meant be.

Until next time!

Jefferson K. Coe