Making mistakes is a part of life, and we all know there are some lessons we insist on learning the hard way, no matter what anyone says. Your 20s are a decade of figuring out who you are while learning how to make your own way in the world. No one is perfect, and you’re bound to take a couple missteps along the way. But it’s not the mistake itself, but how you recover from it that really matters.
- Putting too much energy into a guy. Chances are, the guy you date for 6 months when you’re 21 isn’t going to be the guy you spend the rest of your life with. But for some reason, a lot of us tend to go searching for a serious relationship when dating around would probably be a lot more productive, not to mention a lot more fun.
- Prioritizing partying over school or work. Don’t pretend like there wasn’t a stretch in your early 20s where you showed up to class or work every Friday extremely hungover due to Thursday night partying. Weeknight drinking was the norm for awhile, and it probably took a particularly rough Friday all-day meeting or exam to show you the error of your ways.
- Having no idea what to ask for in bed. You’ve probably figured out along the way that most guys aren’t going to know what you like in bed if you don’t tell them. And when you’re just learning what it is you want, that can be difficult. We’re all guilty of settling for mediocre sex and thinking that’s the norm, but hopefully the more you experiment, the more you learn about yourself and what you like in bed.
- Getting into petty fights with friends. Friendship in your 20s is a lot different than friendship when you’re a teenager. For one, you’re going to have a lot less time to hang out doing nothing, and keeping in touch is going to take a bit more effort. Adjusting might take a little time, and getting into little tiffs about things that don’t matter isn’t going to help you maintain any friendships.
- Taking a job just for the money. Student loans need to be paid— believe me, I get it. But your 20s are the perfect time to figure out a way to get on the right track towards a career you’ll love. If you don’t do it in your 20s when you don’t have any dependents to worry about, what makes you think you’ll ever do it?
- Thinking you won’t have to work your ass off for that career you’ll love. Leaving the little bubble that is college to enter the real world is a shock for everyone. A lot of millennials tend to think they’ll be able to walk right into a high paying job and everything will be easy. Not the case. You have to be willing to work for what you want, and for a lot of us that means low paying internships, part time jobs, and extra hours to prove ourselves. The good news is, it will pay off.
- Letting a guy ruin a friendship. Whether you hate your best friend’s boyfriend, or you both like the same guy, choosing a guy over a good friend is never a good idea. Guys will come and go, but your bestie should be forever.
- Neglecting to follow a budget. Managing your money is something that takes practice. There are always going to be things you think you need, and without a solid budget, you’re more likely to make bad impulse purchase decisions. Who hasn’t bought an amazing dress on sale, only to realize later than they’re just a bit short on rent? Lenient return policies are a 20-something’s best friend.
- Worrying too much what people think. Other people are always going to have an opinion, whether you ask for it or not. Navigating who actually has your best interests at heart, and who doesn’t can be tricky, but eventually it should just come down to what you want.
- Sleeping with a guy for the wrong reasons. Whether you were way too drunk, you wanted him to like you, or you were just bored, our 20s are usually prime time for mistakes of a sexual nature. With the prevalence of hook up culture, it’s a lot harder to separate dating from sex, and it can take a little longer to figure out that waiting to have sex with a guy might be more your style than casual sex.
