Not Quite Twenty-Five

“When you’re 25-ish, you’re old enough to know what kind of music you love, regardless of what your last boyfriend or roommate always used to play. You know how to walk in heels, how to tie a necktie, how to give a good toast at a wedding and how to make something for dinner. You don’t have to think much about skin care, home ownership or your retirement plan. Your life can look a lot of different ways when you’re 25: single, dating, engaged, married. You are working in dream jobs, pay-the-bills jobs and downright horrible jobs. You are young enough to believe that anything is possible, and you are old enough to make that belief a reality.”

"Bittersweet" by Shauna Niequist

Now I know I am not yet 25, but there is a lot of extremely relevant and valuable information in the above excerpt that I felt was noteworthy enough to share.  I like checklists, so, naturally, I like having someone tell me all the things I should know by the time I am 25.  For example, I know that I like country music more than any other genre, although I do enjoy a select few songs from almost every other genre (Except metal.  I honestly cannot think of a metal song I like).  I can walk pretty well in a pair of good-fitting heels, although, admittedly, I do not don them very often.  I can definitely make something for dinner.  I contribute this mostly to a running Monday-Night-Girl’s-Dinner I have been hosting every other week for the last two years.  I still need to work on the “tying a necktie” and “giving a toast at a wedding” bit.  But, like I said, I am not yet 25, so I have a little bit of time to master these skills. 

Anyway, my point in writing this post is not to tell you all the ways I am successful or unsuccessful in this ever-so-short list of things to accomplish by age 25.  Niequist has a lot more to say about the age in her entire chapter dedicated to it in the book “Bittersweet” (a book I HIGHLY recommend).  She talks about jobs, relationships, church…and not getting caught in a rut.

“There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming,” she pens.  And, as I read this, I sigh with relief as I realize that it is totally, 100% okay not to have it all figured out yet.  To still be “becoming”. 

In my quest for knowledge about “25” I also stumbled upon another article.  I wanted to share a couple things this young woman had to say about the ever-important age as well:

“If you are 25 or turning 25: …Happy hour is great because you can get tanked at what is essentially the late afternoon and be in bed by 9 p.m. It is OK to be in bed at 9 p.m. 25 is young, but you should never apologize for sleep because, like I said, your time to nap was three years ago.”

Can I get a hallelujah!?  I swear, people, I have been claiming a 9 o’clock curfew for quite some time now.  It is so nice to FINALLY have someone validate me on that one.

So, here’s to all you almost 25-year-olds (or 25-year-olds, or 26).  It looks like we are not alone in not quite having it all together yet.  It looks like people find our situation noteworthy and worth writing about.  I know I sure did.