Katie Paysinger

I turned 20 Wednesday. Yes, I forgive all of you who didn’t wish me a happy birthday (which wasn’t very many—thank you, Facebook).
I can definitely say that I didn’t think this is what being 20 would be like. Granted, I have only been this marvelous age for a bit less than a day as of this writing; I have adapted well.
I remember when I was young and it was still OK to wear Velcro shoes and thinking when I was 20 everything would be magical. I thought I would be a grown-up college student, well on my way to having my dream job.
Not.
Sure, I am a college student and expecting a successful career. However, I don’t think I really want that as much anymore. What is the matter with just being 20 right this very second? Do I really need to be anxious and worry about where I will be in 10 years? Five years? One year? Tomorrow? No. No, I do not.
I think there is substantial pressure applied on the youth of today that we have to have our lives sorted out by the time we declare a major. Not only that, you must apply to graduate school. Graduate school! Who wants to go to graduate school? Nobody, that’s who.
Now that I am 20 and wise in all the ways that wisdom works, I am telling all you out there who read this wonderful paper that I like to call the Review that you don’t need to know what you’re going to do. And you should tell your younger siblings. And your little cousins. And the newborn that just moved in next door to your grandparent’s house.
It is just a suggestion, so we’ll see how it goes, but maybe if everyone accepted that our jobs don’t have to consume our lives, the world will be a happier place.
I want to see the world. I want to meet the people that inhabit it. I know this about myself and I know if I don’t do this, I will never be content to work in a box all day. That’s not saying that after I do I will be content to work in a box all day, but by then I will have met someone who will give me a rad job for the Travel Channel, so I don’t really need to worry about it.
Put down this newspaper (after you’ve read every last article) and go about your day. But do it with an understanding that you only have today, and if you continually worry about tomorrow, you’re not really living right now—you’re passing it by. And that is no fun. What is fun, however, is sending me a belated birthday card (unit 3251).