20 Sad Lessons Everyone Learns In Their Twenties

Your 20s are going to teach you a lot about the world – and about yourself. Here are some harsh life lessons everyone learns in their twenties:

“Even your dream job sucks sometimes. Even the love of your life gets on your nerves sometimes.” — maybenut

“Nostalgia will start to make her presence. You will now start to look back on your childhood. (Remember, you are no longer in your childhood. You’re not a kid anymore.) When you think of memories from your past, your heart will yearn and you will shed tears.” — yonahwho

“Life isn’t a set track like school is. In school, each year you progress to the next grade if you complete certain basic requirements. Nobody in your cohort gets ahead or behind usually. Now you will see ex-classmates make 6-digits after three years with a company while you’re still making $40,000 after ten years with the company. Your friends from high school/college might get married/have children before you. It’s OKAY! It’s NORMAL. It isn’t a race. There are no more checkpoints.” — yonahwho

“You will have to make very practical (sometimes very cold) decisions about what you want from life and what you’re willing to give up. And if you don’t make them then life will make them for you.” — sirophiuchus

“You will often feel lonely. You must learn to be comfortable by yourself, alone, and find things you enjoy alone. You will have friends, but not 24/7 like high school or college.” — yonahwho

“Don’t be loyal to your job if it sucks. Sometimes quitting and finding a better working environment is worth it.” — pistachio23

“Only a couple of your friends are probably true friends.” — [deleted]

“Appreciate every day you have with your family, they won’t be around forever.” — [deleted]

“Learn to enjoy things without the need for drugs and alcohol. That shit may also take over your life later on.” — [deleted]

“There is nowhere you ‘should be’ by now. All life paths are different and equally valid.” — maybenut

“Don’t spend more money just because you are starting to earn more. Lifestyle inflation creeping in is a bitch.” — Neutrum

“You are not invincible. Stop driving like an idiot and stay out of unnecessary physical altercations.” — Neutrum

“Do stuff that makes you happy instead of doing stuff that makes you look cool.” — Neutrum

“30 comes fast so that ‘one day I’ll do such and such’ or ‘one day I’ll start such and such’ mentality turns into 10 years ago already.” — [deleted]

“Go to the fucking dentist. You can’t wait for mommy to make an appointment for you and hold your hand the whole way… Get your ass in there before it’s too late. Teeth don’t heal and once you’ve fucked them up, you’ve fucked them up. Oh and it doesn’t take much at all to screw them up. I wish my 20 year old self realized that.” — MyNameIsSkittles

“Get used to waking up early. Seriously. Crucify any love of sleeping in you have now.” — [deleted]

“If only one person is making all the effort in a friendship, it’s probably not as good as a friendship as you thought it was.” — LadyEmry

“Sometimes your best isn’t good enough. Sometimes you put everything you’ve got into something and still don’t get what you wanted.” — Fthat_ManaBar

“You are the only one responsible for your own happiness. If you’re not happy, then do what you need to do to be happy.” — slr162

“Relationships are a compromise, you WILL have to change things about yourself in order to maintain a healthy relationship. It takes hard work and effort, so be sure both of you are willing and able to provide both, the payoff is a pretty awesome feeling.” — DaftSkunk87

“Your health is no longer perfect. Peak age (biologically) is between 16 years old and 25. After that you are officially on the decline. After that, McDonalds actually does appear in your thighs. ‘Just one more’ cigarette really does hurt your cardiovascular system. If you land on your foot wrong, it may never recover back to normal like it may have in little-league.” — yonahwho