After reading yet another bottom of the barrel article via Huffington Post (remind me again why I still subscribe?) I couldn't help but drag my reluctant, over-tired, self into the office to write a response.
I would applaud Molly Sprayregen for writing such a generation defining article about my age bracket if only it hadn't made us sound so pitiful. 'The Brain On 23' is well written, by all means. What it lacks however, is a solid dose of reality.
Maybe Miss Sprayregen spends her days in the company of the infamous Gilmore Girls and her nights flippantly deciding between which bar to hit up and which ex to lament over, but my life at 23 looks nothing like this, so much to the point that I felt the need to take a stand for the rest of us 20-somethings who aren't passing the time swiping-left and 'being worried all the time' despite the fact that they 'don't yet have children or spouses' - her words, not mine.
You see, my life at 23 looks nearly polar opposite to that life described in the article previously mentioned. And I know I'm not alone.
By the age of 21 I held a professional title, I'd spent several years building up a resume and portfolio, I worked hard, and from an early age, and it paid off. At the age of 23 being a Mark Zuckerberg isn't the norm, and there I do agree with Miss Sprayregen. Where I disagree with her is the spectrum divide she seems to live in where either you're the 1 in 10000000 who makes something of themselves at a young age, or seemingly, you're nothing.
By 22 I was completely sober. This may not be the path everyone chooses, or needs to choose in life, but it's the path I took. I don't spend my nights in the highs of partying with my friends or the lows of Netflix binges. Instead, I just kinda coast. I know this may sound crazy, but curling up in bed with my husband to watch a movie is actually a pretty awesome night in my book. So is getting together with some friends, going for a walk, going on a date - some of my best nights have involved a few friends and a deck of cards. Novel idea, right?
This brings me to 23.
At 23 I'm both married and mothered. I have a loving husband who works hard to provide for his family. I have a beautiful 6 month old baby girl who brings meaning and joy to my life daily. I gave up the crazy career and started waiting tables so that I could spend more time doing the things I love.
23 isn't bleak. It doesn't have to be the manic highs and despairing lows that I felt were depicted in 'The Brain On 23'. In fact, though I never expected to be a sober, married, mother, waiting tables at 23, it's the best year of my life so far and I can't wait to finish it out and see what This Brain On 24 will look like!
I would applaud Molly Sprayregen for writing such a generation defining article about my age bracket if only it hadn't made us sound so pitiful. 'The Brain On 23' is well written, by all means. What it lacks however, is a solid dose of reality.
Maybe Miss Sprayregen spends her days in the company of the infamous Gilmore Girls and her nights flippantly deciding between which bar to hit up and which ex to lament over, but my life at 23 looks nothing like this, so much to the point that I felt the need to take a stand for the rest of us 20-somethings who aren't passing the time swiping-left and 'being worried all the time' despite the fact that they 'don't yet have children or spouses' - her words, not mine.
You see, my life at 23 looks nearly polar opposite to that life described in the article previously mentioned. And I know I'm not alone.
By the age of 21 I held a professional title, I'd spent several years building up a resume and portfolio, I worked hard, and from an early age, and it paid off. At the age of 23 being a Mark Zuckerberg isn't the norm, and there I do agree with Miss Sprayregen. Where I disagree with her is the spectrum divide she seems to live in where either you're the 1 in 10000000 who makes something of themselves at a young age, or seemingly, you're nothing.
By 22 I was completely sober. This may not be the path everyone chooses, or needs to choose in life, but it's the path I took. I don't spend my nights in the highs of partying with my friends or the lows of Netflix binges. Instead, I just kinda coast. I know this may sound crazy, but curling up in bed with my husband to watch a movie is actually a pretty awesome night in my book. So is getting together with some friends, going for a walk, going on a date - some of my best nights have involved a few friends and a deck of cards. Novel idea, right?This brings me to 23.
At 23 I'm both married and mothered. I have a loving husband who works hard to provide for his family. I have a beautiful 6 month old baby girl who brings meaning and joy to my life daily. I gave up the crazy career and started waiting tables so that I could spend more time doing the things I love.
23 isn't bleak. It doesn't have to be the manic highs and despairing lows that I felt were depicted in 'The Brain On 23'. In fact, though I never expected to be a sober, married, mother, waiting tables at 23, it's the best year of my life so far and I can't wait to finish it out and see what This Brain On 24 will look like!
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