I'm 22 and it kinda just feels like I'm wasting away. i hope life gets better, as a 14 year old I wanted to achieve all my goals at 20 years old. I can barely function sometimes...I hope things get better
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
i had the same exact thoughts at your age, i hope this is read as encouragement but turning 25 really does mature your brain. it felt like gaining consciousness, things make sense, i still have problems but they don’t feel so devastating. things do get better
I'm 27 and honestly still haven't achieved all my goods. Don't be too hard on yourself. You're a good artist and a lot of stressful shit is happening in the world right now. It's okay to have days where all you can do is rest.
I’m 24 and feel the same way. Things aren’t great in the world rn but when I think about it I’m much farther than I was at 19, not as much as I’d like but it all came in time. Even came out this year, there’s always time ✨
I feel the same... Like I used to want to write books and comics and all the creative mediums but now I don't even reliably feel good enough to get out of bed
I'm 22 myself and yeah I feel this
But I think for me it helps to remind myself I still have plenty of time left, and stressing about it is unhelpful
So I try to give myself credit for what I can do, instead of focusing on what I haven't done
Unfortunately the nature of the world pushes people into unrealistic and oftentimes entirely alien ideas of what accomplishment looks like. I was functionally the same at 20 as I was at 18, and to imagine myself having accomplished anything major by 22 is like imagining the impossible.
Just be patient and kind with yourself, life is a 50-70 year journey through adulthood, most don't figure it out for a long, long time. With age comes perspective and proportion, know the future will be better.
At 18 I was hoping I would get to transition by the time I'm 20
I started HRT at 23
I'm now almost 30 and I am ready to make my 30ies the time of my life
you've got more time than you think. life just feels fast right now, it's not forever. The Adult World is fucking overwhelming, the society around us is built like total ass. You're doing better for what you're working with than you think
I'm late 20s and I felt like that (or felt like I messed up my Most Critical decisions) at ~25... But life goes on and there's so much more to see and do. And things I thought were catastrophic at 25, I moved on from and healed (sorta). I rediscovered old dreams and hopes. Life is long
Tldr don't buy into the idea that your best years are behind you after age 20 or 30 or 40. Fuck that noise. Life is "over" when you stop caring or wanting to care. I know people who stopped caring at age 25. And I know people who are 30, 40 who have so much love for the world despite its failings
Same boat here, 22, feeling like I've wasted my life. But ultimately life gets better. Because we deserve it to get better. We deserve to lead happy and fulfilled lives and that's why we are gonna make it happen
My worst time regarding my identity and goals happened when I was around 20-22 years old (I can't/won't compare my specific experiences to yours because that's impossible) and at times I thought my life was over, but I'm 26 now and here I am! Just keep going, even if it's one day at a time.
Young man, i have good and bad news for you.
First the bad, it‘s only going to go downhill from your days of youthful vigor, naps are the peak thing to do.
The good? You stop giving a damn and generally worry less due to calcium deposits in the braen or something.
the way i like to think about it, we all could die at any moment. and i don't mean that in a doomer "we're all gonna die soon in an atomic blast" say, i mean that anyone can die any moment. car accidents and building collapses and crimes can strike at any time.
i know that sounds grim, but i mean it in a positive way. anyone can die at any moment, but you haven't died yet have you? you're alive and breathing and your heart is beating and as long as that's true you should put that life and breath and blood into something good that makes you happy.
life sucks shit and then you die and nothing you did actually mattered, and that's awesome because who wants the burden of decisions that matter on their shoulders!!!
At 22? There's no way people are supposed to have everything figured out by then. It's okay to not be exactly where you want. There's a good amount of life ahead of you.
I'm 28 and I sometimes barely know what the hell I'm doing, BUT
I'm a lot better than I was at 21. Hell, better than when I was 25. Things do improve; it just took me a lot more time and a lot more experience to really feel and understand that
I got my first "real" job (as in one in a field I cared about) at around 30. It was, I shit you not, moving from over a decade working fast food to working for my favorite video game studio. At 40 I got what's basically my dream job on that studio's narrative team.
I tell this story at the drop of a hat because I thought I was beyond cooked. I believed for so long that a McDonalds on the outskirts of Tampa was the only place that would hire me. They literally did not believe me that I was moving to Seattle, let alone what for.
You are so, so young, man. Your life is just beginning and you already have so much skill. I can't ever say things will change for people, but all I ask young folks is to never turn away from an opportunity because they don't believe in themselves. I almost did, but taking it changed my life.
Probably worth mentioning that the reason my manager/some coworkers didn't believe me about where I was going is that I'm Obviously Autistic in a way that inspired high-school-level bullying from fellow adults who were also working a fast food job.
I've felt much the same at the time. I'm 25 now and feeling like things are slowly getting better. I am still very far away from doing a lot of the things I want to and occasionally that haunts me to an unreasonable degree ("Look how much time I wasted/am wasting!"), but I'm getting there.
People want anyone over the age of 18 to be an adult, because on a technicality, they are. Think of it as the embarkation point of your adult life, because it takes like a decade of "being an adult" to really understand what that even is, to find that stability to realize who you really are.
Bro, I'm 24, and honestly I'm just trying to keep the pieces together. It's okay. Life's something you're allowed to enjoy now, not just when you're done living it.
i am freshly 33 and i promise things get better. literally up until around 30 i felt the same way, and i was in an abusive household and relationship, but things have turned around massively and every day now i wake up thankful i never did anything drastic. i promise it gets better. i truly do. ❤️
I'm 25 and I sympathize hard with your current situation. It really doesn't help that the current state of the world makes it extremely difficult to see a positive future ahead for us, but if you keep surviving and growing there will be something good to look forward to!
You may or may not hear this often, I know I heard it a lot in my 20s, but things really do suddenly improve in your 30s. You're in the target demographic, you've found more direction in your life, a steady job. I promise it gets better. You just have to get through the unknown that is your 20s 🤗
Same here! Disabilities, new laws attacking immigrants and pandemic basically destroyed my expectations of my early 20's, I'm 28 and I'm finally feeling like things are starting to settle down. It does get better with time!
my guy i am 37 and i still feel like this routinely. your happiness and fulfillment don’t have a shelf life, take things at yr own pace and look for yr future possibilities, cause you got tons of time to figure things out
also tbh yr doing great for 22… at 22 i was flunking out of college and mostly just wallowing in listless depression, you meanwhile have already cultivated creative skills! that’s worth taking stock of!
we all have to function at our own paces, no matter what other people say. and imo, theres no such thing as too late. im in a program for people who didnt finish highschool to help get our diplomas, and some people in it are in their 50s! there is always time! being a teen sucked anyway
You have to think of your 20s as starting from scatch. You JUST turned 18 a few years ago. You only have 4 years experience. You are new to being an adult, your brain isn't even fully done developing and even when it is, your 20s are for learning footing to be a fully experienced adult later on.
Mid 20s here, graduated college not too long ago. I still feel nearly the same as I did when I got out of high school. Thankful its over, initially hopeful that my life is finally beginning, but everything is making it impossible to advance or grow at all, myself included.
I didn’t want to be alive until I was 20, I didn’t grow past my old self until I was 23, I’m 25 now and I’m honored.Things get better, set your vision high and grow into yourself
You’ll be fine so long as you do that, and take pause to appreciate your own condition as well as others, and the world
It totally is! That's when mine hit. But things do get a lot better. I nearly died on my last few days at 29, and the recovery was awful for my 30s, but there's this weird calm+happiness+focus that comes with leaving your 20s that I wouldn't have guessed.
Yes. And I had it consecutively the last half of my 20s. I turn 30 this year... And I've kept feeling like I've wasted my 20s.and I did. Almost EVERYONE wastes their 20s. 30s is where's it's at lol my life is finally picking up and I'm finding my place. Stick in there!
I've had several in life I think and I'm 32? It's because I had kept moving the goalpost to not do that one thing and set that goalpost out a few years every time. To be honest after I hit 27 I went into full, "fuck it, we ball," mode with life and I'm just riding things out purely out of spite.
Spite for my depression, spite for the sudoku ideation, spite for the devil who abused me, spite for those who bullied me relentlessly during my school days, spite for the dysphoria I deal with. Spite is powerful.
Honestly, I consider the 20s to be the real growing up period. You’re figuring out your identity as an adult when, before in your teens, you’re were still held back by stuff like school and parents/living at home.
Now you’re old enough to do work and/or school, drink, smoke, live on your own, eat what you want, stay out late, see r-rated movies, anything sex-related, vote, military, whatever. Even moreso when you have adult money you can do what you want with.
It definitely is a culture shock from having no experience in the adult world to suddenly having this freedom. However, that freedom also includes real world stuff you weren’t really able to face as an adolescent. Not living up to childhood expectations is part of that.
if it's any consolation, my early 20s were a mess and late 20s were hell for reasons that a divorce fixed.
30s have been good. Honestly most people I know seem to have shitty 20s?
Absolutely, yes, and it'll get better. You're still extremely young, you're improving at art in leaps & bounds, & you're in a better mental state (relatively) than you ever have been, despite all issues. You got this, it'll be OK if you make plans & surround yourself with the right people.
I'll be 40 in less than two weeks. I just started my own business, after my career ended with a debilitating back injury. I only got my driver's license three years ago. It's never too late, we are never too broken. Don't lose hope. 🩵
Oh homie don't worry that's very much how 22 is. It takes a while to get stuff figured out, just keep doing what you can every day making small achievements and you'll build up your life how you need it to be.
40's, most of my goals still aren't achieved but I've lived through so many crisis and financial depressions that it's amazing I'm still here at all. Finally at a place where I can now look back at teen me and try to start getting things done, like now I work in wrestling and do astral photgraphy
I am in my early 30s and only really started living in the past several years. Most everyone I know spent their 20s being a mess and then subsequently unpacking that mess, things do get better!
As a 28 year old, I'm glad i have a wide range of friends, between 19 and 60, and seeing them all at different stages at different ages has really helped me see that nothing is linear
As a 25yo whose life has heavily derailed from any semblance of a plan i might have had, I do think things get better. This isn't where I expected to be, but I dont hate how it's turning out... though the prospect of turning 26 soon is terrifying to me
I'm starting to see things turning in my favor a little at 29 but I was also a med student and now a doctor in a country with a mandatory two-year service requirement like a conscription but for newly-graduated doctors. You can definitely do all of this much earlier and make better decisions sooner.
Needless to say, I'm looking forward to my 30s and having my best years then should everything work out. Better late than never. Even if it means starting my transition late, I'm fine with that. I'll make the most of it once I'm able to cross that bridge, with the support of friends and loved ones.
I am about to be 27, and things are crazy now. Looking back, I had hopes, aspirations, and a desire to be independent. Now, I feel a lot of what I wanted is out of reach. For now, I just want to survive. It's not ideal, but I know what I can and can't do and make it work. I have hope, too.
Plus, we still have a lot that could happen, so as long as you have hope, things will get better. It's scary, but don't let that paralyze you into feeling trapped.
I feel that so hard…… it’s really hard to give myself motivation to do anything i’m not completely comfortable doing and I think that heavily contributes to that feeling too. giving myself reward incentives to keep pushing and keep improving helps somewhat I’ve found
I used to tell myself I'd get everything in order by 25, I'm 26 now and it's still a ways off
but that's not just me saying "lol same"
Take care of yourself first and foremost its worth the time it takes ^^
On the other hand, remember that some would achieve things by boning over as many as possible in their lifetime. I'd rather take obscurity over infamy.
When i was younger i wanted to do a lot in my twenties too, but now i'm 24 and realised i have no idea for what i want in life, i hope o will find out what i want one day, but till then, it's better to just try to live the day by day, you not alone in this, we will get where we need, even if slowly
I'm almost 26 and only JUST starting to properly do stuff again since like middle school
It's not easy since a lot of it is new to me and makes me nervous, but I can do it and I know you will be able to do more too ^^
Being a late bloomer is completely fine (I get the anxiety though, absolutely)
I know how you feel, I wanted to do the same before I graduated HS. now i dropped out of collage twice and i still need to get my ass in gear. I guess starting off with the small stuff would be a good way to break in
I am over twice your age and while this will sound like defeatist, I can state that it never gets...'better'...you just sort of find your groove. I felt the same as you at 22 and I still felt the same at 44, I just eventually learned life is just life. You're gonna be great.
As someone who's a bit older and has the exact same feelings, worrying about those kinds of things right now will just tear you apart. Your dreams are achievable at any age, no matter how old or young you may be.
Besides, you've got like....nutso talent, so I doubt it'd be hard for you!!
oh my god yea thats just what being 22 feels like. i did NOT have my shit figured out. i was willingly unemployed and just rotting. you'll figure yourself out eventually, i promise
So, I’m turning 21 this year. I’ve been in and out of college since 18. I’ll give birth to my baby before I get my degree. My dad just bought his dream car this year, he’s 59. My fiancé is retired at 21 getting 4k monthly in retirement benefits because the military disabled him for life.
There’s no clock. No timer. Time doesn’t exist, your ancestors would be thrilled you can afford to season your food. There’s no timeline of when you should have things done. You have time. Youre not even finished growing physically yet, and you’ll grow emotionally forever
You’re not crazy or failing or any of that; you’re existing on a floating ball in deep space screaming with all of us because we’re sentient fish at our cores. You’re doing great hun, you’ve got this
I'm 39 and, if it helps, every year of my 30s has been better than every year of my 20s. Nobody has their shit together just a few years after high school unless they were born rich. You'll be fine.
I'm 28 and there's always time to grow and strive towards new goals. There's no thing such as too late in life to achieve what you are looking forward to! I thought I had my life together when I was 22 and I had a lot of stuff thrown my way and stopped art for a long time but now I'm back babyyy
The best thing to do is to be kind to yourself and know that you are allowed to run on your own timeline. No one else is allowed to dictate what your progress should look like!
I'm 26 and I feel about the same, due to my living conditions, though it could be worse.
I guess if I have anything to say it's just. I think it's the times right now, mostly. Things will get better, for now, just keep chipping away at long term goals and projects. One foot in front of the other.
Is okay lil critter :( marcy n the rest are 21. And we are stuck in a situation dat doesnt let us be active if at all :(. Theres days all we do is cry n not even do nothing… ur not in this situation because of you. Ur in this situation because the hand that life dealt u with n with whats u got
Ur doing great! Bought to win the full house with em n all! (Idk how baltro works) POINT IS!! Is okay to feels stuck n alones. Ur doing the best with what u gots n ur doing great :) Is okay to cry n be sads but dont lets it bring u downss :3c
I'm 35.
I wasted my 20s being a depressed and angry sad sack. I accomplished nothing in my early and mid 20s and honestly just wanted to die for years straight. I didn't really get my shit together until my late 20s and now in my 30s my life is better than it has ever been.
Don't give up.
Oh my god, I think its criminal how young people are being told that they have to have things figured out when they're 20. Absolutely the fuck not. I'm 30 something and just BARELY starting to figure things out.
You have time. SO so much more time than you think.
Comments
But I think for me it helps to remind myself I still have plenty of time left, and stressing about it is unhelpful
So I try to give myself credit for what I can do, instead of focusing on what I haven't done
I started HRT at 23
I'm now almost 30 and I am ready to make my 30ies the time of my life
All of that is difficult, but it does get better. I felt the same around your age but that was when covid was happening haha.
You are doing great! Making hella sick art and work hard!
First the bad, it‘s only going to go downhill from your days of youthful vigor, naps are the peak thing to do.
The good? You stop giving a damn and generally worry less due to calcium deposits in the braen or something.
I'm a lot better than I was at 21. Hell, better than when I was 25. Things do improve; it just took me a lot more time and a lot more experience to really feel and understand that
Typo lol
I am 24!!!!
I thought I'd be gone by now!!!!
Your art makes me happy!!! :)
You’ll be fine so long as you do that, and take pause to appreciate your own condition as well as others, and the world
a friend of mine showed me this video while we're both high and it legitimately helped a bit:
https://youtu.be/oItzG3MWCfg?si=1AHbG_oH5stvLxz3
*bullshit
30s have been good. Honestly most people I know seem to have shitty 20s?
We've been lied to for two, three generations of leadership and society on end, and we see a resurgence of a fully embraced fascism.
I will protect my siblings and spark joy.
My 20s were a complete shit-show - my 30s slightly better, I'm 41 now and feeling like I'm actually starting to hit my stride
I believe in your ability to persevere
but that's not just me saying "lol same"
Take care of yourself first and foremost its worth the time it takes ^^
It's not easy since a lot of it is new to me and makes me nervous, but I can do it and I know you will be able to do more too ^^
Being a late bloomer is completely fine (I get the anxiety though, absolutely)
Besides, you've got like....nutso talent, so I doubt it'd be hard for you!!
Anyways dude I feel that so much. You just gotta take care of yourself sometimes! It's enough just to do that.
I guess if I have anything to say it's just. I think it's the times right now, mostly. Things will get better, for now, just keep chipping away at long term goals and projects. One foot in front of the other.
U got silly critters everywhere!!!! x3
I wasted my 20s being a depressed and angry sad sack. I accomplished nothing in my early and mid 20s and honestly just wanted to die for years straight. I didn't really get my shit together until my late 20s and now in my 30s my life is better than it has ever been.
Don't give up.
I hope things get better for you. This is a difficult time to get through but I know it's possible
You have time. SO so much more time than you think.
And sometimes you never fully “figure your shit out”. I don’t expect I will. It’ll probably come and go in phases and that’s okay.