As a child, the world seemed infinite and powerful. Everything was worth
exploring and your quest for learning was never complete. Then you awkwardly
stumbled into your teens and began to understand society as
a parasitic cesspool of evil people trying to take all your money,
make you miserable and punish you with irrelevant rules you were desperate to
challenge. Once you finally tasted freedom after crawling from the terror
gauntlet known as 'high school' you began to take gratuitous advantage of
things like legal drinking and credit cards....That is, until all the people
your parents warned you about who were actually trying to take
all your money, make you miserable and punish you with irrelevant rules succeed
in doing so.
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Words from my favourite TV show character. |
Enter your mid-twenties: a time in your life when you can make decisions
with the wisdom of earlier years and have fun without all the
serious repercussions. It's arguably the best part of your life with the least
amount of responsibility, and that makes a whole lot of awesome. While I
hit my exact mid-twenties this week, I am apt to speak of all the things we
quarter century old humans are ripe to take advantage of (and get away
with). The list is just wonderful, and can include things like:
1) Mooching
Times have changed in the most mind-bending, absurdly different ways, as
they tend to do while humans continue to surmount
every impossibility ever. One great way things are way different
than they used to be lies in the case of young adults, many of whom are recent
grads entering the workforce and trying to sketch some sort of path in life.
Because of the recent emphasis on post-secondary education over the past few
decades, 20-something year olds are spending more time in the classroom and
less time in places like wedding chapels, full time jobs and namely vaginas (at
least unprotected vaginas).
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'Please, sir...I want half my tuition back' |
Because of our current tendency to settle down much later in life,
we've been given the social normative nod to stay more
financially dependent throughout this stage of life. It's still okay to
take money from older people who actually have a decent credit rating and
something called 'disposable income'. We may not be operating on the most
liberal budget, but the generation of young adults in the 21st century has a
hell of a lot more they can do than their much more limited predecessors.
There's no shame in accepting some support in doing what you really want.
2) Partying
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Sometimes I really question Google Images. |
Yes, our youthful bodies are still amazing
capsules absorbing alcohol and pizza at a rate that will not sustain
itself later in life. Remember this the next time you're downing jello shots
like they're absolutely essential to your being on earth. Our recovery times
consist of a sleep in and greasy breakfast and we're primed for a new night of
turning our bodies into a jar of sanitizer. In ten years that shit will
take an entire week before we've totally purged ourselves after a night of
binge drinking.
Partying also serves
an equally important function for us (other than turning into the worlds best
male belly dancer): social networking. Indeed we go out because we're at the
height of our social lives and combining a hip venue with excessive drinking is
the best way to broaden your connections. This urge won't last forever because
other things become more important, but when you have the time and energy to
invest in this aspect of life you'll want to squeeze out every drop of
relationship-building-ness.
3) Travelling
Young people make excuses for this one plenty of times over, but for
most people in their twenties travelling is completely feasible. There won't be
any other time in your life when you'll have this kind of mobility, so take
advantage of it and go where you've always wanted to. Secondly, the type of
travelling your body can afford at this point isn't going to last forever. If
you wait until you're old and falling apart to go anywhere, chances are you'll
be watching the world pass from a wheelchair inside a climate-controlled old
person tank.
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On the other hand, this is totally a bus I'd want to be on. |
That fear you feel when you know you can drop everything and go
somewhere far away is usually what stops you from embarking - that's usually
where the excuses come from. But I've never heard any traveled person
tell me they wished they hadn't gone and stayed home and settled down early. That
just doesn't happen. In fact, generally ignoring any want of travel now results
in lots of regret later on, so what are you waiting for? GET OUT THERE!
4) Risk-Taking
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Then again, I'm probably not the best person to be
advising on risk taking. |
Perhaps scariest of all is our ability to take
risks. Now is the time to try as many new things as possible, experiment and
learn about yourself. Our quest for self-knowledge is never
as pertinent as it is in our twenties, but with great learning comes
great risk. Luckily, at this point you probably don't have that much
collateral, and having little to lose means your options are plenty. Yes, there
is always a chance you'll pull and epic failure and fall flat on your face; but
at this age, your recovery is minimal.
Much of your success here will rely on resiliency - something that may
be a bit of use when you're older, too - so why not build it early? Heck, if
you can't take a few hits, what kind of stories will you have as a senior? Your
grandchildren will think you're a smelly old boring fart because you always
listened to your parents and followed all the rules. Please....don't be THAT
guy. For your sake and your grandchildren's.
I've hashed out a small list with a big impact on your mid-twenties. There's
certainly more to add, but currently I'm too busy mooching, partying,
travelling and risk-taking to write out the rest. Let's hope you are, too.
Safe Travels,
Aaron Turpin