This post contains mentions of depression and eating disorders.
There's a lot of societal pressure to not "waste" your 20s, as if things like success and love aren't possible after your 30th birthday. However, it's also important to remember that the way you spend your youth will impact your future.
Recently, Redditor u/sageagios asked, "How did you 'waste' your 20s?"
Here are 17 of the top answers:
1. "I pursued a career in a field that wasn’t right for me."
2. "[Being] too scared of my parents to stand up to them and live life how I want."
3. "Being too shy."
4. "I did a PhD. The first time I made more than $30k in a year, I was 31 years old. Fuck academia."
5. "Got married way too young."
6. "No ambition. Lack of foresight. No goals. I spent so much time stressing out about my future that I never actually lived in the present."
7. "For me, it was too much ambition early on in life, and then by the time my 20s came around, I became very disillusioned."
8. "Treating the love of my life all wrong because I thought I was all right."
9. "Far too much time spent on my career and not nearly enough on friends and family. Can't say it wasn't financially rewarding, but I'd give that all up for more time with friends and family who have since died."
10. "Didn't really have a game plan for making a living, and waited too long to figure one out. Also was too caught up in my feelings to act on a lot of good dating options I didn't realize I had, which would have been fun."
"Things worked out great anyways, but still."
11. "Drinking heavily. Heeeavily. Will never get those years back. Thankfully, I realized that while I couldn't go back and change the start, I could decide to change the ending."
12. "Being scared of people and letting people take advantage of me."
"People would borrow what little money I had (with and without permission) and never pay me back."
13. "Being sad about a failed relationship and career."
14. "I wallowed in grief and got high. A wasted waste of a decade."
15. "Depression. Spent seven years of college in my dorm/ apartment reading books and taking naps."
16. "I spent the entirety gripped by an eating disorder. Obsessed with food, weight — in and out of hospital, harming organs, teeth, mental health. Such a waste of a prime decade. Wish I could turn back time."
17. And finally: "I always thought I was already too old [to do things]."
What made you feel like you "wasted" your 20s? How did you turn things around? And what advice would you give to people in their 20s now? Share your answers in the comments!
Some entries have been edited for length/clarity.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.
The National Eating Disorders Association helpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 crisis support, text “NEDA” to 741741.