I’m serious y’all…”the shift” is real. There is something very defining that takes place when you reach your late twenties. Any of you late twenties folks agree?
Just the other day, I caught myself saying, “Damn! This age is so weird,” which really got me to think about this odd transition that has happened during my twenties.
I have taken time to look back on how much I have grown since I was just twenty years old. I think we do this in our late twenties because let’s face it…we are getting closer to the big 3-0 and society has put such a stigma on this age! We are forced to evaluate our past and run through it with a fine tooth comb because well, we aren’t getting any younger! Thirty isn’t so bad, right?
So what exactly do I mean when I say, “the shift?” I want to dive into this a little deeper because if you are in your late twenties, I think you know what I mean by this. Maybe you felt this change and didn’t know if anyone else felt this way. Maybe you are reading this and didn’t realize it happened, but I’m here to say, I felt it, recognized it, and it happened to me.
Something very monumental happens when you hit your late twenties. It’s safe to say life gets VERY #REAL. Your priorities take a very drastic left turn and things like Vera Bradley printed sorority letters are no longer a priority. You upgrade your meals from drive-thru fast food to subscribing to HelloFresh.
The real question I keep asking myself is, “When did I become someone in my late twenties?”
If I am being completely honest, I would say the age of 24-26 is a total blur. It’s like I jumped from 23 to 27 overnight. During these years, I felt like I was on a straight road and then all of a sudden I took an unexpected detour.
It’s safe to say I didn’t see this shift coming and I was totally not prepared for it, but how would one prepare for this anyway?
I can’t recall a time when someone older than me informed me that this would take place or how they managed this change, so when this happened to me, it’s safe to say I was blindsided!
Some of you may say, “Well Jess, this is what happens when you mature.” I see how this shift may disguise itself as maturation, but it is something beyond that. It is something that I think we do not acknowledge because, let’s be honest, these changes are hard to face.
Some of the things I notice that takes place during this shift is those of us in our late 20’s look forward to and crave nights where we can be in bed by 9:00 pm! Many nights I catch myself sitting on my sofa wondering how in the WORLD I was ever able to stay up until 3:00 am eating slices of pizza at Peppers after a night downtown! My internal clock has literally shifted from a late nighter to an early bird. How and WHEN did that happen?
Next, the event “going out” takes on an entire new meaning! Going out shifts from a night downtown to going outside/leaving the four walls of your house. Because, let’s face it, when we do go out, by definition of a bar or club, the younger crowd looks at you with mass confusion wondering who you are and what you are doing socializing past 9:00 pm!
I am saying this because this is how I use to look at the “late 20’s folks” when I was in college. Sorry folks!
I will take a little turn in a more serious direction for a moment…old friendships, this one hits home. One thing that no one has ever prepared me for is rooted friendships growing distant.
People grow apart, I know this and I’ve heard that it is hard to hang onto old friendships as you get older. It requires work to keep up and visit old friends. Am I right? This is a simple fact of life, but I will stand firm in saying this cycle begins in your late twenties.
Communication becomes rare, visits only take place for holidays and birthdays and the things you have in common hit a screeching halt and no longer progress forward and your friendships remain alive in the past.
This. This makes the shift real and as “in-your-face” as ever.
Happy things, happy, great and wonderful things do take place in your late twenties, too.
In your late twenties, you really begin to gain a sense of self and understanding for what makes you “tick.” Disclaimer…us folks in our late twenties do not have it all figured out. We did not wake up on our 26th birthday having the mindset of Gandhi and able to preach how one should live life past 26.
I wish someone older than me would have told me these things and prepared me for this change. I wish someone older than me would have told me I was on the brink of a major life event taking place. I wish someone older than me would have told me that my early twenties would fly by in a flash!
I wish someone older than me would have told me that in your late twenties is when your life truly begins.
I feel as though I have navigated through some unpredictable, life-altering storms, and do you know what? I wouldn’t change it one bit because I am exactly where I am and who I am meant to be.
Cheers to you late twenties folks who triumphed through “the shift!”