I’m 23, and whenever people talk about your 20s, they make it sound like this short, magical window where you’re supposed to party, date around, travel, build lifelong friendships, and constantly make memories before “real life” begins. It seems like almost everyone around my age has a full calendar, goes out every weekend, has a happy relationship, and has a solid group of friends they can always hang out with. Meanwhile, I feel like achieving even one of those things is super hard for me. Most weekends, I don’t have much going on, and meeting new friends or finding a genuine relationship feels nearly impossible. The older adults at my job don’t exactly help, either. They’re always telling stories about how hard they partied every weekend, all the crazy things they did, and how much they messed around with women when they were in their 20s. They probably don’t mean anything by it, but hearing those stories makes me feel like I’m wasting the years that are supposedly meant to be the most exciting ones of my life. I understand that people usually tell their best stories and leave out the lonely, boring, or difficult parts. Social media also makes everyone’s life look much fuller than it really is. Still, it’s hard not to compare myself when it feels like everyone else received a social life that I’m struggling to build from scratch. Why do people put so much pressure on your 20s? Is life after 30 really that much less exciting, or do people just romanticize their youth after the fact? Has anyone else felt like they weren’t making the most of their 20s while they were actually living through them? I just worry about the rest of my life being this lonely because I can predict when a women rejects me because of my income and height not matching their standards, or they either have a boyfriend or they are lesbian. It also probably doesn’t help that I live in Iowa, where there isn’t much to do here. submitted by /u/Fearless_Law2148
Originally posted by u/Fearless_Law2148 on r/AskMen