Article by: Mary Vel Custodio

Visuals by: Charles Clark

People often say that once we reach our twenties, we should have more responsibilities, be dependent, be more physically presentable, (based on society’s common standard) focus on our career, and look forward to having a family. But we should not be boxed by what society has to say. Be free to bring the life of a teen in our twenties.

“You’re already 20, start to wear more presentable clothes, and lessen those teenage accessories.”

20 years old is when we usually prepare or start looking or at least preparing to have a job. When we say job, the top of the mind, especially with the older generation, is corporate, has no tattoos, and wears a uniform or conservative clothes. Therefore, people are already setting a standard that the twenties fashion should look employable based on their standards. 

What many do not understand is that nowadays, some workplaces are open to fashion preferences. There are also online jobs that do not require their employees to wear corporate clothes all the time. After all, they are paid based on their skills and competency, and not on what they wear.

In our twenties, we should not be scared to bring with us our free-spirited selves in terms of fashion. We can still look presentable without conforming to the common looks that society is expecting us to do.

There might be fashion limitations in various circumstances, but at the end of the day, age should not dictate our style because everyone has their fashion preferences and there should not be “age-appropriate” fashion because fashion is self-expression. If you want to retain the teenage show-stopper looks, then let it be.

“You’re already 23, yet you still don’t have a love life?”

Already having our first love and heartbreak back from our teenage years is also not a requirement before stepping into the twenties– we can still look for first love. At this age, we can still fall in love and have that feeling of a spotlight when we feel that we are the main character of a love story just like how teenagers feel when they have their crushes and explore love life.

At the same time, staying single in our twenties is not a problem because some of us are enjoying our current status, or are content with the love that we are receiving from the people around us just like our family and friends. While some of us feel more empowered and independent when we can do and enjoy things by ourselves.

We have different reasons why we choose to remain single in our twenties. Making a love-life decision should make us happy, and not pressured because of the dictatorship of the social standard.

“You’re 25, it seems like you are still undecided on what career to choose.”

The teenage years are when people join school organizations, contests, excel in subjects, etc. It is the age group of self-discovery since it is when people have their curiosity going and have their ambitions. But, in our twenties, we can still discover and mold our talent and change our career preferences. 

Some people are even stepping out of their box and looking for a new career in their forties, so why not us who's still in our twenties? 

We should not be restricting ourselves to discovering more skills and talents because self-discovery is not just for teens. We may no longer be in the puberty stage, but we can still discover something new within ourselves and continue to grow.

“You’re 28, you should be having your own family.”

It is not a crime if we do not abide by the conventional age for starting a family. Starting our own family and having a child in our mid or late 20s should not also be standard. Even in our late twenties, we can still bring our teenage joy. We can still be free-spirited people and enjoy unquantifiable achievements. After all, marriage or having a family is not the end goal for everyone.

In our late twenties, we can still be twenteens. We can adopt a pet, and enjoy being alone, or with the existing people around us. Do not let the conventional judgment of people affect the path that we are building because we know ourselves better than anyone else. 

We can live our twenties without leaving the life of a teen. Just like the fun and the self-discovery paces that we had during our teenage years, we can still bring them in our twenties. Do not restrict the teen spirit within us because age is just a numerical representation of how long we live, and not how we should live.