When one is in their 30s and 40s, one’s 20s seem very far away – there is some amount of wry regret about a misspent youth or poor decisions made. Many people feel that if they had the chance to do things over again, they would make very different choices. So when Nyasha Junior asked this poignant question on Twitter, there were many, quite interesting answers:
What is the one piece of advice you would give to your 20 year old self? Obviously the question was aimed at making people think about decisions that they would have made differently during their youth; based on the way that life turned out for them later.
This gif of a woman taking off a wig seems to indicate that she wishes she had been truer to herself in her 20s. Now later in life, she probably sees no need for the artifice or effort she made to fit in with the expectations of others.
This woman’s short tweet implies some less than positive experiences in what seems to have been a bad relationship. She seems to be wishing that she had not reposed faith in someone who appears not to have deserved it.
In your 20s, the world is your oyster. A 20 year old does not feel the need to save for the future. The self-confidence to say exactly what one feels can be a hard won thing; difficult for a 20 year old to achieve.
It is impossible to make everyone happy; but women tend to try particularly hard to do this. Society (and our own families) expect self-sacrifice, expect us to be ‘nice’, people pleasers; always putting ourselves and our desires last.
Maybe this person encountered some unscrupulous colleagues back in the day; who appropriated her work as their own? Whether or not this was the case, "Keep track of every accomplishment, no one else will." is some sound good advice!
This tweet speaks about valuable perspective that age and wisdom bring: that in a healthy, equal relationship, there is no expectation of sacrifice to be made – personal, professional, emotional. This is excellent advice, but perhaps difficult to accept in one's 20s?
Yes it’s OK to prioritise your own happiness. Travel, travel, travel (several tweets in this thread urge us to travel). Don’t obsess so much about that guy! Try (for something new or ambitious)! These are good rules to live life by.
I have prioritised my own happiness always; I believe that unless I am happy, I am unable to care for and make others around me happy. Plus I deserve to be my very own VIP. I save for only one reason – to travel – jewellery means nothing to me. Guys were never important – until I met the one that mattered most. And…as I used to say in my 20s: Try! What goes of my father’s (direct translation of मेरे बाप का क्या जाता है!) So if I believe in same things now that I believed in my 20s that would mean I never grew up! so my advice to my 20 year old self would be never grow up! Now that is great advice too!
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