What's So Bad About the Late 20's?

I was skimming through my August '14 edition of Elle when I came across an article about a woman in her thirties. She forced a few friends to come over and throw out her 20-something-year-old odd clothing because she felt like it no longer suited her age. Before I got any farther in the article I thought, "Is this what I would soon be approaching? Should I dress more for my age? Do I act my own age, and if I don't, should I?" I'm only 27 after all - and then it hit me. I'm 20-freaking-seven. Every day creeps by and every day I slowly inch my way closer to 30.

There are so many milestones we hit in our lives: the legal driving age, the legal age to drink, and then what? All the rest of the milestones we pretty much make up in our heads. Things that we think are achievements, places we'd like to be once we hit a certain age, the people we aspire to be. Did I ever think I would be married at 26? Hell no - if you asked my 22 year-old self where I thought I would be, I probably wouldn't have much of a clue. And definitely not married. I guess the world works in mysterious ways and when you least expect it, something good will happen. But as I digress, I would still like to keep in mind that we weave this path in our minds that we try to live up to.

When I hit 25 I thought, damn I am really old. A quarter of a century after all. Ha! Life was only beginning. I was 25 when I got engaged, does that count? I'd like to think so, because I knew who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Fast forward another year and I am married at 26 (queue the music for the new milestone). And Daa-da-daa! Here we are approaching our 1-year anniversary at my fabulous age of 27. My three-years-away from being 30 age.

Looking back at the Elle article, I can't help but think that the author possibly just wanted a fresh start to her life. Maybe she went through a lot in her 20's and had a phase of a wild streak. Maybe she thought that she couldn't justify her binges at Forever 21 and arguing that it is OK to dress like a college girl going out on a Thursday night. Regardless, we need to stop looking at our lives that we have to be somewhere by a certain age. We can choose our own path, regardless of which step we take or whether we take the long or short route. I'm 27 and my Facebook page is now a wedding and baby feed. What once used to be a timeline of parties, funnels, and dancing on bars is now consumed with gowns, mini-me's, houses - I could go on and on. But this is the next phase of life. I have accepted that, and even though I'm getting closer to a new decade, there's nothing wrong with enjoying the tail end of my 20's.

One of the first weddings of my friends that we attended - definitely not the last! It's only the beginning..