early access to an existential crisis lol

This video honestly broke my heart because I feel the same way about myself. Please know that I’m so happy you’re still here, and I’m so proud of you for fighting through all the darkness in your life, even if you don’t see it yourself sometimes ❤️❤️

Erik Danielson

Hey, as someone who wasted their teen years (partly because I took them for granted and partly due to other struggles), I felt a lot like you when I turned 20. Almost 3 years later, I can tell you that the regret is still kind of there, but it wasn't as important as I thought it was. I have had great things happen in my life post-turning 20, and I'm hoping for more. I think the reason we get so down about turning 20, is because of how romanticised the teenage years are. So much of popular media is set in high school, so many romance plot lines, so many novels. We form this idea of how our teens "should" be rather than accepting that reality doesn't have to be defined by the same standards. But it's hard to let that ideology go, because it's really all we know. When you reach 20, it feels like you've reached the end of a countdown where you've missed out on all these opportunities you could have had, if only you were in a better place to take them. But as time goes on, you realise that certain "teenage milestones" can be achieved throughout your life. Relationships, friendships and pretty much everything in life is up for grabs for the rest of your life. Time is fluid, and you realise that life shouldn't be defined by the decades as life goes on, life just is, and it's punctuated by things that can happen regardless of what age you are. If I can be a little vulnerable for a sec and say something a little personal, I am turning 23 and I don't share the same experiences as other people my age, especially having been through college. It gets under my skin sometimes, but I think that we shouldn't measure our successes by the lives of others, or how we are expected to live ours. You have time, and it's not borrowed time. You've earned it with every single day you're still here. And if you'll accept it from a total stranger on the Internet, I am happy you're here.