20 Something

I cannot speak for 20 Somethings throughout history for obvious reasons. I can, however, speak for 20 Somethings now, in 2012. We float through our 20s trying to balance the desire to behave in a way that was acceptable a short time ago with the mounting responsibilities of adulthood. Wrapping our minds around this balance is hard enough, but it seems our bodies are rejecting us as well! Long gone are the days of being able to drink all night and still make it (semi-coherently) to our 9 AM class. Now the hangovers are worse, the calories from those sugary cocktails go straight to your ass, and it is a nearly impossible feat to make it to work on time and in a respectable fashion.

Who said adults needed less sleep?

The further I venture into my 20s the more sleep I need! The recovery time after a night of drinking seems to have quadrupled. Should I indulge in a few cocktails (considerably less than what used to constitute a night of drinking) it isn't unlikely that I will spend the whole next day in bed, getting up only to dry-heave, put my feet on the floor to slow down the spins, and drink Gatorade.

20 Somethings are also having a hard time economically. I am lucky in that I have had full-positions since the day I graduated, but I have always had a second job to get by financially. Many are not so lucky and curse the $100,000 in loans they took out to go to college, only to be working part-time or still interning 5 years later. Many go back to school, putting off the job search until more jobs are available and hoping their advanced degree will give them an advantage. Most still live at home, using what they would spend on rent to chip away at their mountain of debt. While some are lazy, spoiled, or have an unrealistic sense of entitlement, the majority of us are doing what we have to do to get by.

20 Somethings struggle with relationships. Many of us are putting off marriage and having kids until our careers are (somewhat) on track. This isn't stopping us from having relationships (or flings...or dates...or one night stands) but it is extending the period of being able to date inappropriate people. We don't feel the pressure to settle down with Dave the accountant, buy a house and pop out 2.5 kids by the time we are 30. Instead, we are having fun pursuing the hot bartender who doesn't have a checking account. Maybe this isn't really a struggle, since (lets be honest) the inappropriate guys are always way more fun, but there is a problem. 20 Something women are always (at least subconsciously) on the prowl for The One. We all want to be Samantha Jones but deep down inside, most of us are Charlotte Yorks. So now we are dating inappropriate guys and trying to turn them into The One, which is an exhausting and frustrating process (for both parties) that will inevitably end in tears.

Putting off marriage and family starting has also lead to a huge increase in unmarried couples moving in together. This has been a societal taboo basically since the beginning of time and so now we have the added stigma of being a generation that can't commit. In our defense, the cost of living is at an all time high and salaries (at least for us) are at an all time low. If we want to move out of Mom and Dad's house we can either get a roommate and relive our years of living in the dorms or shack up with whatever inappropriate guy  we're dating and hope he can cover his half of the rent.




I know 20 Somethings are dealing with a lot more, these just seemed to be the most looming issues. What are you struggling with the most right now?