At 20s, we are all fresh, new members of adult society, and as much as we may like to think we have it all figured out, we usually don’t.
You find yourself in a state of turbulence, change and growth, which means that even deciding what to have for lunch can sometimes seem like a life-altering decision.
Your love life is a depiction of these transitions, and that is entirely okay. In fact, it’s the way it should be. With that said, here are five things you should realize about love in your twenties:
1. These are your selfish years. Be selfish
Now is the time in your life to make decisions — right or wrong — that suit you, not everyone else. So do yourself a favor and don’t waste your 20s drowning your sorrows. Put to rest the constant complaints surrounding your love life. If you spend all of your time focusing on someone else, you’ll rob yourself of the opportunity to do things that are entirely for you.
2. You are going to make mistakes
We are all hypocrites and assh*les at some time or another when it comes to love and relationships. We will preach to everyone within earshot and then turn around and do what we warned someone else not to do. Why? Because most of us have to learn the hard way in order to learn at all. And that’s okay. A lot of us haven’t even figured ourselves out enough to know what we want or need in someone else.
3. You will fall in love with a complete assh*le
Unless you are extremely lucky and equipped with amazing judgment, you will probably fall in love with a complete jerk and get your heart broken once, twice or maybe even multiple times. You will continuously try to see the best in other people, even when there might be nothing good there to see and you will probably feel like a total idiot after it’s all said and done.
4. It is okay to be single
Being single for a few months or for a few years does not mean that you are destined to spend the rest of your life forever alone. Being single is actually awesome and until you get over the negative stigma associated with your single status and learn to love and embrace it, you probably aren’t really ready for a relationship.
5. Forget your timeline
Do yourself a favor and let go of any specific romantic timelines you have set for yourself. This is not a facet of your life you should stress about with deadlines. Regardless of whether you’re single, in a long-term relationship, engaged or married, it doesn’t matter.
Don’t panic about not being in the place you expected to be romantically at any point in your twenties. You are only in the first quarter of life; wherever you are at right now, embrace the hell out of it.
