How I think you should live your life in your 20s

As this is my first Substack post for the 30 people I know, I figured I’d write about myself so anyone new can understand who I am. Recently, I moved to NYC and I am currently working to make friends in my post-college era. I realized in doing so that I’ll never be the prettiest, smartest or the most successful woman in NYC, but I could potentially be the most interesting.

So with that in mind, I went to an event in Brooklyn where young people gathered to play Mahjong—a Chinese 4 player game where you compete to make sets of tiles. I am by no standards an avid Mahjong player, but it’s a unique enough game that I figured I would meet lots of interesting people. The most common question you get when meeting people in NYC is “when did you move here/how long have you been living in the city?” and “what do you do for work?” Now, the second question is easy, I say I work in journalism and politics. However, the first question I’ve started to answer it with something like this:

“Well, let me tell you my 15-second life story. I just finished living in West Africa for a year and got back to the states in May, then I moved to NYC in June. And then my fiancé and I broke up in July, and now I am here.”

Almost every single time I repeated these few sentences, people are a bit shell-shocked. They don’t know where to start in asking questions or what to say. However, I find that dropping this bombshell of information allows for a much more interesting conversation and helps people open up about themselves. It breaks the ice so we don’t just talk about the weather and work.

So what was the point of this story? It’s to explain that I love seeking out experiences that allow me to have these stories. I follow adventure and passion wherever I go. Here in NYC, I am trying to make it as a journalist and in conservative politics with a background in chemistry. If that isn’t a major career change, I’m not sure what is.

I build my life on cherishing my own values, deepening my relationships, living in the moment, and saying yes to just about everything. Making friends in a huge city is difficult when you’re afraid to put yourself out there or embarrass yourself at happy hour karaoke.

As you get to know me, you’ll learn that I spread myself too thin, try to do too much, and sometimes fail—but, I have a lot of fun. As you grow older, you only collect more and more responsibilities. Have fun in your 20s, live your life exactly how you envision it, (within your means) because you never know what may happen when you do.

Take a chance. I moved to NYC with no job and barely a plan, just because I loved the city (and my fiancé at the time wanted to be in NYC). Now, I’ve built relationships, found a job, and even landed a great internship, although not in NYC. You never know what will happen when you take chances. And these chances just add to an ever growing collection of interesting experiences to learn from and to share with others.

Thanks for reading,

Therese