What No One Tells You About Turning 26
You’re officially on the tail-end of your mid-twenties. You are a verified adult. You’ve probably lived on your own, now pay all of your bills, been in love, heartbroken, and everything in between.
No one talks about 26. You’re officially on the tail-end of your mid-twenties. You are a verified adult. You’ve probably lived on your own, now pay all of your bills, been in love, heartbroken, and everything in between.
Some of your friends are in happy relationships. Some of them are single. Some of your friends have children. Some of your friends have already accomplished so much, and some are just getting started.
No one talks about how confusing this part of your life is. Relationships become more serious and more complicated. People have more baggage and have been hurt, scarred, and let down. Your expectations are changing because of your experiences, for better or worse.
You find yourself in a relationship and you ask yourself, “Is he the one?” over and over again. You wonder if you’re wasting time or if it’s worth it. You start to create your life plan in your head, and you’re trying to follow along and see if they are part of it. You second guess, overthink, and overanalyze. You know your worth and are worried that you’ll never find The One. You download and delete dating apps like it’s the soundtrack of your life. You get nervous and anxious. You just do not know the answer.
Twenty-six is hard. The pressure gets worse day by day, week by week. The timeline gets more focused. The need for love gets louder. Your emotions gets stronger. Your worth strengthens with each encounter. You try to believe that everything happens to make you stronger and that when one door closes, another couple open. But it’s hard for you to believe that, because everyone around you is happy and you’re still figuring it out.
You remind yourself that you are in the midst of the best days of your life. You stay busy, book trips, lean on friends to make you laugh. You spend your money on experiences rather than things. You let the days go by knowing you lived and experienced everything you could.
Twenty-six should be celebrated. You’ve accomplished so much and have yet to even scratch the surface. You are empowered to be better than ever with the experiences you’ve had thus far. You love hard and want to love harder. You’ve been hurt, you’ve been happy, you’ve been confused, broken, lonely, all to get you to this place. This place where you should be prepared for the road and relationships ahead.
Let’s make 26 the year of force. Force yourself to love loud. Force yourself to find happiness. Force yourself to break down barriers. Force yourself to make hard decisions knowing you’re doing the right thing. Force yourself to focus on you. Force yourself to be uncomfortable. Force yourself to be the best version of you. 
