Nataliya Vaitkevich

The Truth Is, Your Twenties Will Disappoint You

You know that feeling when you’re in your late twenties and you’ve got it all figured out? Yeah, me neither.

But what I do know is that I can finish an entire bottle of white wine on a Saturday evening all by myself. You should definitely try it! To tell you the truth, if you’re reading this and you’re in your early twenties, I so envy you. I wish I was better prepared for what was about to come. Nobody warned me. Nobody.

Enjoy the parties, the hangovers, and the wasted days, because what’s about to come will hit you like a brick in the face. Before you even know it, you’ll be 28 years old, saying to yourself in the mirror that everything is going to be okay when deep down you have a hunch that it’s actually not going to be even close to okay.

And spare me the usuals! It’s not that we’re living in extraordinary times filled with uncertainty and instability. This is just the way life goes. These are the years of intense pressure and even more intense confusion. But still, I never expected it to be so… exhausting.

What’s even worse, you’ll probably find yourself in a high-power position by this age, being responsible for an entire team of people and at the same time not knowing what the heck you’re doing. If that doesn’t weaken your confidence, then I don’t know what will.

Looking back, I never expected my life to turn out the way it did. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful and thankful for the good parts of it. Hard work really paid off. But at the same time, I find myself impatient and wary. I find myself thinking about all the ways in which my life could go wrong if I’m not careful enough right at this very moment. And the sad part is, I don’t feel in control of my life. I really don’t.

I have reached a point in my life in which I don’t want to play games anymore. I want the truth. I want honesty. I want to just be able to hang out, have a few drinks, and talk about how much life sucks. But I am not confident that I can find a connection like that.

It seems like everybody is in too much of a rush, not even acknowledging the small and meaningful moments we share with each other.

I really hope I will get to see the other side of this story soon. I really do. And I truly hope you’ll be there to meet me!