Lauren Jarvis-Gibson

I woke up today and didn’t think of you. I woke up, and didn’t wish you were there. I woke up, and didn’t feel the usual tiny hole in the pit of my stomach that liked to gnaw on my subconscious during the night. I woke up, and your name didn’t even cross through my head.

Your 20’s are about failing, dusting yourself off, and trying all over again. They are about losing people along the way, and gaining new people in your life. They are about learning how to navigate yourself along the uneven pavement sometimes by yourself, and sometimes with the help of your friends.

When I first got this I was like, ‘um why did I just buy a twenty something dollar powder? Who do I think I am, Beyonce?’ But then I tried it, and kind of felt like how Beyonce probably feels every day.

Your lack of money: You complain about your lack of money, yet…you’re going out on the weekends and wasting your paycheck on drinks? You’re going to more than one happy hour per week? And you just bought a puppy? Think long and hard about how you are spending your money and make yourself a budget. (Please actually stick to it).

You focus on what you don’t have instead of what you do have – By putting yourself down and comparing yourself to other in regards to what they have and what you don’t have, you are truly ruining your ability to see how awesome you are. Try to focus on the things you have already accomplished and the positive aspects of your life

Because in the end, you won’t be telling your grandchildren about your awesome salary, or the Mercedes Benz you got to buy when you were 24. No, you’ll tell them about the people you met in Australia, or Thailand. You’ll tell them about finally landing the job of your dreams and moving to the city you always wanted to live in.

We both climbed into our car with just our heavy and winded breaths filling the silence and I vowed to never let myself go through that hell ever again. Except we did. A week later.

How to look at myself in the mirror and 100% be ok with my flaws.

You don’t ‘have time to date’. I’m sorry but that’s not a valid excuse. If you have time to sit on your ass and watch Netflix by yourself at midnight, you have time to go for drinks with a stranger and you certainly have time to play the field.

Be selfish about your current job. Take advantage of your skills and assets, and quit the job that is making you miserable. Do not stay out of comfort or just because you think it’s the right thing for you to do. Be selfish in what job you apply for and what jobs you accept.

Please do not let anxiety become your world. Please do not let anxiety consume you. Because even though you feel like this right now, it’s just a tiny moment. A minute or a day out of millions more that you will get to experience. So even though it’s hard to breathe and to think right now, you won’t always feel this way.

You learn that you can’t do everything successfully (and that’s ok).