20 Stressful Things About Being A Twentysomething

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It seems like as an “adult,” I’m always stressed out. I don’t necessarily need that Xanax prescription quite yet, because it’s nothing a few cocktails can’t cure (although, my adult hangovers are trying to kill me, and I’m not strong enough to fight back). I just have a lot on my mind these days, which is understandable, because I have more time to think, and less time to drink.

I sometimes make the mistake of thinking I’m the only one stressing about my future 24/7, which leads me down a wormhole into a Girls-like existence. Luckily, once I start talking to the twentysomething’s around me, I’m reassured that we’re all anxiety-ridden on a regular basis. It’s confirmation that we’re all in the same boat, even if the boat is slowly sinking.

1. What I’m supposed to be doing with my life is entirely unclear, and I’m not sure if it will magically appear to me or if I’m supposed to be searching for it.
2. Blair Waldorf said, “Destiny is for losers. It’s just a stupid excuse to wait for things, instead of making them happen.” While I like living my life based on Gossip Girl quotes, it’s easier to believe in fate than to stress about the future.
3. Going home for any minor or major holiday means preparing for a Mossad level of interrogation.
4. I know I’m supposed to travel the world, but vacation days mean the only travel I’m doing is back to my hometown.
5. Real life is so expensive. I’m not even talking the luxury items, which I love. Groceries, toiletries, and basic errands all add up to beaucoup bucks.
6. The check-out line at the grocery store is stressful, as you watch those dollars quickly climb higher.
7. Everyone else’s social media updates make me wonder if they already have it all figured out.
8. The constant engagements that are always showing up on my timeline seem to get more surprising each time.
9. The future.
10. Now that 24/7 communication exists, it seems like the only time I can truly escape work is when I’m sleeping (or drinking).
11. Catching up with one of your oldest friends and realizing you have almost nothing to talk about.
12. I wonder if it gets easier living far from home forever.
13. I worry I’ll somehow get left behind, that my friends will get married, and have kids, and settle down, and that all I’ll be is the Mayor of Struggle City.
14. Being a grownup is terrifying to me, because it seems like it has the potential to be pretty boring.
15. Is there a time limit on going out? When does it turn into partying, and then turn into desperation, and then become sad? Asking for a friend, of course.
16. Over-analyzing every single choice, until it’s too late to make a choice at all… but hey, that’s what fate is for, right? Right?
17. That my liver won’t be able to regenerate on its own one day.
18. Dating.
19. Dollars.
20. That I’m missing out on “the best years of my life” (were those high school, college, or right now?) because I spend the majority of my time stressing about things that are most likely trivial, when the reality is that my life is pretty amazing.

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Margaret Abrams

Nothing Margaret writes should be taken seriously by anyone, including her parents, employers, or gentleman callers. She's currently coping with a quarterlife crisis.

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