#early adulthood

[uniquelyme03]

Hello, everybody! I want to remain anonymous for now, but you can call me Nicole (it’s my middle name) I am 23 years old. I created this to share moments in my life that I felt like I didn’t belong, simply because of my interests, or just because of who I am. All of my stories will date back to my childhood, teenage years, and even early adult hood. I want to do this to show people that even though it seems impossible there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[cxrrently]

and all these different youths, they start catching up with you

[zoetheneko]

Not going into details, but here's an accurate drawing of my current inner mood. In real life, things have been looking out for me since the beginning of the year and im happy and proud of myself. ☺️

[montgomerybishop]

I'm a cat to a girl in her twenties

I’m the first cat to a girl in her twenties, 

I’m cradled, coddled, and kissed. 

She’s clawed, cuddled, and captivated

By the black-bellied, velvet baby of the house. 

I’m the first cat to a girl in her twenties, 

My mother tongue is not my mother’s tongue. 

We sing at each other in foreign voices. 

She coos my name, sweet Lillies on lips. 

I’m the first cat to a girl in her twenties, 

We trade in affection and comforts, 

In forehead kisses and soft beds, 

In the luxury of singular and quiet love. 

I’m the first cat to a girl in her twenties. 

Her finger reaches across the canvas, 

And, unlike Adam, I connect the bridge, 

In a religious ritual practiced daily. 

I’m the first cat to a girl in her twenties, 

The steadfast companion to all her landmarks. 

Consistent in her growing life. 

Her darling. 

One day, she’ll be thirty and I’ll be ten. 

She’ll have fat handed babies, and I’ll have arthritis. 

But we’ll both always remember that once

I was the first cat to a girl in her twenties. 

[wretchfulreading]

I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig-tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up mind which of the figs I would choose.

- The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

[umaralikhokharbristol-ii]

My Drawing Of A BMW - Own Conceptual Design Idea [Uni. Work Drawn Part Uni & Home - 2008]

[a-moon-whisperer]

Lately, I've been amused by all this chatter (online especially) about how women need to act their age. What does that even look like? Who decides what is age-appropriate behavior for a woman of a certain age?

I've seen so many variations of "you're 30, act like it" directed towards women who are simply living their lives and enjoying themselves. Women aren't infantilizing themselves just because they are nostalgic about girlhood or enjoy the colour pink. Since girlhood, women are expected to set aside their desires in the name of being the more mature and responsible gender. The same demands aren't made of men, and yet that doesn't stop us from taking them seriously. We don't question their intelligence or their capacity for leadership despite their supposed lack of maturity. Many of us are still searching for clarity and purpose in our late twenties and early thirties, we're still experimenting with our self-expression and trying to figure out who we want to be. Why should we set aside the fun and frivolity of youth once we reach the age of 25? The implication here seems to be that we need to 'settle down'- the time for play is over and we should relegate ourselves to being properly grown-up women who lead stagnant, unexciting lives.

Why should the fun, growth and exploration of young adulthood last only a decade when we have our whole lives ahead of us? I don't see anything wrong with having 'girlish' interests either- surely, growth doesn't mean rejecting everything we loved in our younger years? Admonishing our younger selves as stupid and silly instead of honouring the lessons of childhood and adolescence is what actually stunts growth. I'm not saying we shouldn't think about the cultural obsession with girlhood more critically, but the conversations I've observed so far have lacked nuance. We shouldn't accidentally regress into prescribing age-appropriate behaviour for women while trying to critique cultural attitudes towards ageing. I don't believe all hell breaks loose just because a 26-year-old refers to herself as a 'girl' or because many young women still identify with their teenage selves.

Anyway, I just think women should prioritize joy and pleasure at every age and we shouldn't be afraid of being a bit silly! Because that is an important part of what it means to have autonomy over our lives!

[little-figgy-blog]

My first try at Cornell notes