#IfIWere22

Dear Avery,

I came across this fantastic idea for a blog series called “If I were 22”. The series was inspired by the well-respected and thought provoking President of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington.

I love this idea of going back to an age that is quite possibly one of the scariest yet exciting times of your life. At 22, you are fresh out of college, the world is your oyster, and you have no idea what is to come. Will you succeed in your career? Will you fail? Will find a partner to share your life with right away? Will stay where you are, or will you move? You’ll have so many questions and so little answers. Take a minute to think back and reflect on what you’ve learned, who you’ve turned out to be thus far, and the dreaming of what’s to come… is something I find myself doing often.

Personally, I had just graduated, was planning a wedding, and had no job. I’ve ALWAYS had a job. For 4 months, I searched and searched for a job to fulfill my psychology major dream… but learned that it was not that easy. Most jobs of that nature required so much more schooling and experience. What I’m trying to say, my career track didn’t go to plan… in fact, turned out better than I ever imagined.

But life at that time is more than your career, its personal too.

Here’s what’s to come at 22:

• If you end up living in your college town, realize that not everyone will do that. Some friends will move, and some will stay. You will ultimately need to restart your networking efforts.

• The real world gave you an out for being a naïve college student, but now you are an adult. You have bills to pay for yourself, now. Woohoo!

• You’ll learn a lot about yourself: your limits, your expectations, your desires, etc

• Drama and acne never really go away. You think these two things will go away after your schooling years. But no, they come back in all forms.

• You’ll find that some people are completely happy with doing mundane work and tasks with no real desire to do more. You’ll find people who put in 110% every day to move up as quickly as they can. You’ll also find people who are somewhere in-between. You’ll learn to deal with everyone in their own ways.

• Calling your mom will be more important now than ever. Keep doing that. It’s good for both of you.

• Finding a life partner will be hard for some, and easy for others. Try your hardest to resist the urge to compare what others have and you don’t.

• Loud bar scenes become less and less fun. Finding a quiet wine bar to sit and enjoy your company becomes well worth it. Wine bars? Say what?? Yeah, I wouldn’t have believed that at 22 either. 😉

• If you are ever given the opportunity to travel, you’ll regret it if don’t take advantage. You aren’t too tied down to anything yet… so go.

My twenties (yes, I’m still in them) have been the best years of my life, and at 22, you are only just beginning the adventure. So enjoy!

With love,

Aunt Megs