I was on pinterest (that's a shocker) & found this list on 21 ways you should take advantage of your 20's. I thought I would add my commentary onto this list.
1. Don't feel the need to respond to every text message, phone call, and email the second it reaches you. Once, upon a time, it took longer than a minute to reach someone. People used stamps and envelopes; they had answering machines they didn't check for hours, sometimes days. No one will die if you don't immediately respond to every message you receive. I feel like I need to be better about this one, sometimes I forget to spend time with the people I'm with.
2. Ask for what's owed to you. Half the time, you're not getting your needs met because you're not making them known. Your employers, romantic interests, and friends are not going to read your mind and give you what you need unless you speak up. I need to be better about this one, I'm always scared people will tell me no or make fun of what I'm asking. I shouldn't be afraid.
3. Never turn down an open bar. We are going to change this one to never turn down a chance to hang out with people you love. I think that's a bit more important & I don't really drink.
4. If you're unhappy and someone offers you a way out, take it. You don't owe your first job years of loyalty & your first-born; you don't have to stay in your city just because you're on a first-name basis with the starbucks guy. Do what feels right; the initial fear will give way to excitement. This one really hits home with me, I quit my job & started a new one. Do what feels right!
5. Take advantage of all the energy you have in your 20's. In your 30's & 40's, your body starts getting upset with you, when some 20-something babe is all, "Wanna Race?" That's not a concern when you're in your 20's - don't ever take it for granted. I know I teach zumba & that's making use of this one. But, I should definitely be taking more hikes with the husband!
6. Let your more successful friends pick up the check this time. Before you're 30, it's still okay to be working as a barista and not have your career path figured out. Save your cash and take up your lawyer-friend's offer for dinner. Use the money you saved to buy more ramen. Hahahaha, although I think this one's funny. We normally pick up the check for ourselves. :)
7. Play a sport you played in elementary school. Kickball, dodgeball. There are leagues for these games now. Get on it! Although, I never played any sport in elementary school ( I was homeschooled & there were only 2 of us, hard to play kickball or dodgeball!). I would love to join a league for this, sounds awesome!
8. Learn how to cook. Here's an idea - instead of spending all your money on ridiculously marked-up restaurant food, save your money by buying non-processed whole foods & learning how to make a meal of real food. A meal of real food is not a box of Annie's organic mac & cheese- that's processed food. A meal is something like sauteed brussel sprouts with onions and pinto beans garnished with salt & pepper. You'll thank yourself for learning how to cook when your metabolism catches up to you. My husband & I just discussed this the other night about cooking more. I feel like we're both guilty of buying a lot of processed food. We are going to try and be better about cooking more!
9. Keep making friends. Everyone complains that it's hard to make friends after college, but we still manage to find new people to flirt with and date, right? It's not that hard. You know yourself better than you ever have before, and your friends can finally reflect that. Don't cling to old friends because it's too frightening or "risky" to make new ones. I need to always remember to not be scared to make new friends!
10. Let your parents buy your plane ticket home. It can be trying to be stuck in a house with your family for a few days or a week, but vacations in your 20's can be hard to come by. Let them subsidize your trips home and do you as much as you can when you get there. Although, we don't have to fly to see our parents we do let them pay for probably more than they should!
11. Stay up late. You have all the time. Do it now & take advantage of how not tired you are. You think you're crabby now when you stay up too late? You'll never believe how terrible you feel when you do it in your 30's. I need to take advantage of this one more often, I sometimes think I'm married that means I'm old and can't do crazy things anymore. Once, in a while my husband & I should should throw responsibility out the window & stay up all night!
12. Now this next one is all about hangovers, since I've never had one & plan to never have one we can just skip this one!
13. Indulge in diner/fast food at 4 a.m. This is considered depressing behavior once you become a real adult. Repeat of #11.
14. Stop procrastinating your trip abroad. Your chance of taking a long vacation abroad diminish as you become more set in your ways and as you gain more responsibility. True that, my husband and I keep talking about taking a trip right now, before we have kids. Because, we both know that once we have kids trips might not happen or not very often.
15. Do unacceptable things to your hair. Dye it. Dread it. Shave only the left side of your head & give a crap if it grows back in a flattering manner (hint: it won't). There's no time but now. This one's kind of a funny thing, because I'm a hairstylist except for I don't do crazy things to my hair. It doesn't happen, I like that I'm a ginger & my husband likes that I'm a ginger. But, my sister (with a shaved left side) is a perfect example of this one!
16. This next one is about Burning Man, I guess it is some sort of week long event. We can skip it, my list is becoming shorter!!! :)
17. Sit down, unplug, and read non-fiction. Do this daily. None of your peers are doing it. They're playing video games and refreshing facebook and gmail chatting about nothing in particular. After a month you'll be smarter than all of them. I need to read daily, that is something that I'm not too good at. I should learn from my husband how to do that better.
18. Walk into Forever 21 and grab every single crappily-made floral dress available. Is every other girl on the street wearing it? Is it literally falling apart at the seams? Is it also actually five dollars? BUY IT IMMEDIATELY. When you get older, your clothing becomes all expensive blazers & tailored khakis and other pieces that won't break while on your body. That will be a great day- the day when your closet starts to look respectable. Though those outfits are more expensive, they also last longer & look better on you. You will be a classy human ready to take on the future. But as long as you're still in your 20's, you know the demographic of Forever 21. Game on, stretchy black dress with pockets that last about a week. I love forever 21, I don't care that's it made cheaply. That means, I will just have to buy more clothes when these fall apart. Is that horrible of me?!?
19. Take road trips. Sitting in a car for days on end isn't something your body was designed to do forever. I love road trips, I need to take more of them!
20. Don't invest in things like window curtains or throw rugs or windex. You're a young, social person who doesn't have time for things like picture-framing and broom-sweeping. No one actually expects you to maintain a bed skirt or a duvet cover in your 20's, they're the home decor equivalent of puppies/children. Well, we don't really have curtains or throw rugs. We do have window cleaner though. I do try to keep the little apartment looking nice, but sometimes the 20's win over the clean house!
21. Go to or host theme parties. Once people age out of their 20's, no one's trying to wear pajamas or saran wrap out of the house. The only theme parties that exist after your 20's are wedding, baby shower & funeral. I love theme parties, only to get my husband to come along with me! :)
Hopefully, this inspired you to take advantage of your 20's! I know I am inspired!!! If you have any other ones, be sure & comment, I would love to hear what you think should be added to the list!
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