I always hear people say, “Enjoy your twenties; you are in your prime season right now.” I ought to stand with this saying because, deep down, I believe it’s true.
When I turned twenty, it felt like another start but an end to a closing chapter of my teen years. This new beginning would resemble WOMAN-hood… or so I thought.
I always envisioned myself conquering challenges while embracing my ability to be ambitious. But as my 20 Something years went by I started to feel as though nothing I accomplished was quite enough.
I began to question everything about myself. The society we live in views success as marked milestones: graduating with honors, landing a dream job, getting married, owning a home, traveling the world. The constant reminder of feeling “behind,” was inevitable (for many 20 Something-year olds).
The weight of “being behind” is heavy, and for so long, I allowed it to drown me in negativity. It created a sense of inadequacy that followed me, no matter what I accomplished. That voice in my head, constantly saying, “You’re not there yet. You’re falling behind.” But why?
In today’s world, where everything is so fast-paced and curated, it’s easy to feel left behind. Social media portrays how everyone is hitting milestones before their twenties are even over. People get caught in a cycle of comparison, leaving them to question their worth, their timing, and their journey altogether.
But here’s the truth I’ve learned after months of reflection and self-discovery: I am exactly where I need to be.
That doesn’t mean everything is perfect or that I have everything figured out. It simply means that my path is uniquely mine. The feeling of being “behind” was nothing more than a false narrative I was living by, one that made me measure my life based on external standards. The same external standards that did not reflect who I truly am or where I am meant to go.
One of the greatest breakthroughs I had was leaning into my spirituality. I realized that my faith was the anchor I needed to overcome these feelings. Embracing a deeper connection with myself and my beliefs allowed me to let go of the comparisons and the sense of urgency that had been putting me on edge. I could finally breathe and say, “It’s okay to be where I am right now.”
As I reflect on my journey, I take the time to write down everything I’ve accomplished over the past few years (learning to celebrate small and big goals). Some days, the list seems endless, and other days, it feels like I haven’t done enough. But when I stop to truly reflect, I see the growth, the resilience, the determination that has been slowly shaping me into the person I am today.
And that’s when I realized that I’ve been moving forward all along, even when I couldn’t see it. Sometimes the most important accomplishments aren’t visible to the world they’re internal. My growth wasn’t just about external success, but about finding inner peace, resilience, and confidence in who I am, even when things felt uncertain.
To anyone who feels like they’re “behind” in their twenties, I want you to know two things you should gain from this article…
1. Life unfolds at its own pace.
2. There is always redirection.
The time you think you’ve lost is never wasted. It’s all part of your process. This, ladies and gentlemen, is YOUR JOURNEY. A season of self-discovery, growth, and learning how to trust your own pace. Yes, some days, it will feel like you’re not where you want to be. But other days, you’ll look back and see how far you’ve come.
And that’s the beauty of being 20 Something a time to grow, evolve, and learn how to appreciate the person you are, not the person you think you should be.