Today is the last full day of my twenties. As I sit here and reflect on the monumentality of that, I am brought to tears. Happy ones. Humbled by the amount of life that I have been able to experience thus far…
I could reflect on the last 365 days, but really, the past year was just the icing on a ten-layer cake that composed a decade of the most incredibly transformative years ever. The life that happened in my twenties was more than I could have imagined. The experiences and decisions that I’ve encountered are defining my lifestyle, career, relationships, health, and ultimately who I will be in my thirties.
My twenties brought me to more than 20 different countries across 5 continents and to several Wonders of the World. Of course there is still a lot on the bucket list (Iceland, Italy, Morocco, South Africa, the pyramids of Egypt, the great wall of China, Argentina, Chile, the Galapagos … so much more), but my life is only just beginning — and I do believe that the best is yet to come.
My twenties introduced me to some incredible human beings with stories and backgrounds as diverse as a rainforest. My twenties gave me an unparalleled level of empathy for others on this planet. People of all walks of life, backgrounds and ways of thinking. They have taught me that the very best kind of progress and innovation happens when diverse minds unite.
My twenties saw the purchase of my first home, and first “big girl” car. They afforded me that unparalleled feeling of ecstatic financial freedom when I paid off my student loans. No easy feat, believe me. The beginnings of my twenties saw me go through the stages of shock and denial when I got the bill for my first $14 city-priced cocktail … whereas the back half of my twenties saw my acceptance of the egregious pricing (and occasionally the desire to order more than one of those bad boys).
My twenties budded my career as a designer and taught me about business, economics, technology, and [way more than I ever wanted to know] about the nitty gritty of how the Internet works. Like, how it *really* works. They taught me how to speak nerd, but also how to put my own “geek-chic” spin on things and how to hold my own in a room of engineers and technologists — reinforcing the importance of the confluence between design and tech. My twenties introduced me to some wonderfully fascinating and brilliant people, and gave me the opportunity to work side by side with some of the greatest minds of our time. No exaggeration.
My twenties also gave me my first tattoo. And something tells me my thirties will see my second. ;-)
My twenties taught me how to be quite simply, well, me. They taught me to stand up for myself, to find my voice, and to unforgivably be my authentic self no matter what. No guilt. No shame. No judgement.
And lastly, my twenties taught me that life isn’t always full of sunshine. And that’s okay. It rains. It fucking pours sometimes. But you must pick yourself up and keep moving forward. My twenties taught me to learn from the rain. To dance in those beautifully messy puddles that it makes. Maybe to the tune of “just keep swimming”. And to keep smiling. Maybe most importantly, my twenties taught me to let nothing get in the way of the smile that I was born with. To let nothing defeat me. My twenties gave me everything that I need inside myself to be complete. To be me.
So thank you, twenties, it’s been a fantastic ride. I can’t wait to see what my thirties hold. The bar has officially been set.
Cheers.
— C