You can hate on Taylor Swift all you want, but she was right about one thing: how does it feel to be 22? You guessed it – happy, free, confused & lonely at the same time. I turned 22 just last week, and my fellow double deuces can relate – those 4 adjectives pretty much sum up what the next year of our lives will hold.
For starters, we’re happy. We’re finally getting ready to graduate college after a long four years. With our best friends at our sides, we are attempting to live up our last year of freedom before the real world sets in. We’re comfortable in our skin and in the home we’ve made for ourselves on-campus, and are truly appreciating this whole thing called “college.”
We’re also free. We’re at the top of the ranks now, and we’re not held down by anybody telling us you can’t do something. Go out on a Wednesday night? Why not. Take an extra course just because you want to? Sure. We finally feel independent and ready to tackle any challenge or decision that needs to be made. We don’t need permission anymore – this is fully our life.
Now, as you might guess, all of this is leaving us a little confused. We may be aware of our potential and excited to begin the next phase of our life –but where will that start? Will I be moving home? Am I going to stay in Boston? People are going to grad school, what? We’re thinking: what the heck happens next – and how am I going to get there.
Along with the confusion, we start to feel a little lonely. We’re on our own now, and we have to make whatever decision is going to be right for us in the next phase of our lives. We won’t be living in dorms where new friends are automatic, and our current friends might not be as accessible as they are right now. It’s a scary thought – that even though you have tons of family, friends, co-workers and maybe even a significant other, we’re really quite alone in this world.
So what to do with all of these emotions?
My suggestion:
Enjoy the happy moments.
Appreciate your freedom, and follow your dreams.
Conquer the confusion – whatever path you take will lead you somewhere great.
Embrace the people around you, and know that the loneliness is only fleeting.