the “not knowing” is what makes it beautiful and exciting

Ask almost anyone in their immediate post-collegiate years or mid-to-late-twenties about the dreaded "life checklist" (you know...graduate, find a job, get married, buy a house, learn to iron, understand the intricacies of what gets wine stains out of carpet, have a baby, have another baby, house-train a puppy...you get the idea) and a little black cloud will surely appear above their head. This "checklist" carries with it unrealistic expectations that promote a strange breed of anxiety, particularly in women in their 20's, to hurriedly tick off so-called rites of passage on their march toward their 30's. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against getting married or having kids (I am engaged, after all) but the idea that a woman in her 20's can be wildly successful for that point in her life (i.e. graduated college, post-grad degree, stable job, etc.) but can still feel "behind" their peers because a certain checkpoint hasn't been crossed is completely beyond me.

These words of wisdom from interior and fashion stylist Erin Gates were just the reminder I needed to enjoy where I am in my life right now. Too much time worrying about "what ifs" "why nots" and "how comes" keep so many of us in our 20's from enjoying some of the best times of our lives. But, like Gates, even if I do know that the best really is yet to come, I want to continue to enjoy the excitement and the unknown of this decade, at least for a few more years.

Read Gates's ode to her years as a twentysomething here: Dear John Letter to My 20's