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Many look back on their younger years and wish to return. I’m the opposite. While being a little kid had its joyous moments, adulthood is preferable to me. My life gets better and better with age. Twenty-three is my best age yet. Life isn’t perfect, but there are lots of positives.
I get to do what I love.
No school, no A Levels, no being told what to do. At twenty-three I am in control of my life; writing, poetry, playing music. Building a career. Adults who choose a career path that fulfils them reap fruitful rewards. This is why it’s so important to follow your passions. Find what fills you up and you will be forever grateful.
More emotionally mature.
As a teenager, I didn’t have a clue. Teens find the world to be intense and frustrating. If your crush doesn’t like you back, it’s the end of the world. Parents won’t let you out to the party? They’re ruining your life. But at twenty-three, I can handle life better. I can logically comprehend things. When something doesn’t go my way, I can (mostly) figure out how to manage it. Again, I still have personal difficulties, but I can cope with them better as an adult.
Fulfilling relationships.
I have an amazing partner, something I dreamed of and longed for during my adolescence and earlier twenties. At twenty-three I’ve found true love. Both of us had to mature in our own ways and gain life experiences to be together. Finding true love is incredible, but it only happens when you are comfortable in yourself. Having a sense of purpose in life and feeling (relatively) content means that when it comes to having a relationship, you have more to offer.
And better friendships.
In school, we befriend those in the same situation as us. We may not have much in common, but we take what we can get. As an adult, with a higher level of maturity and self-awareness, friendships become richer. It gets easier to deduce what we want from friendship. It becomes about mutual respect and fulfilling interests. Friends are supposed to build each other up, not constantly compete and put each other down. Unfortunately, children and teenagers are apt to do this, especially girls. Adult female friendships are happier and easier. Plus, as a twenty-three year-old adult it’s easier to walk away from friendships that are damaging and toxic because we are less dependent on some ‘status quo.’
Taken more seriously.
I find, at twenty-three, that I am taken more seriously in society. I am referred to as ‘miss’ or ‘ma’am’, or ‘lady’ or ‘woman’, when in a shop or restaurant. Children (and the elderly) aren’t classed as ‘people.’ They get ignored and pushed onto the fringe of society. On public transport, everyone rolls their eyes at the loud schoolkids or has to ‘make way’ for the elderly by giving up their seat. But this doesn’t happen to twenty-three year-old women.
I understand myself better, do what I love, and have someone to love. I’m in control of my life. I haven’t drunk alcohol since I was twenty, and am better off without it at twenty-three. I can manage my mental health difficulties better than at age seventeen. Life is an upwards curve. Here’s to my roaring twenties and beyond.
How old are you? Do you find life has gotten easier as you’ve grown up or harder? Let me know below!
