I will be 23 years old tomorrow, February 27th. I feel old, but I’m happy to have one more year to live. People who left this world early. I’m starting to realize that 23 is a special age and I don’t want to take it for granted. Because death has been in my heart since I was born. grandfather’s death. That’s why I’m grateful to be able to celebrate my birthday with my family and friends. February is also considered the month of love, but I really realized now that I have never celebrated Valentine’s Day or my birthday with a romantic partner or someone I’m interested in.
I had self-esteem issues for a while because I had never had a boyfriend or been on a date. I’ve gotten better now, but when I was in middle school and high school, I really wondered if the reason I didn’t have a boyfriend was because of my appearance or personality.
I realized it wasn’t that high of a priority on my list.
Love comes in many forms, including friends, family, and pets. However, most people believe that romantic companionship is a type of love that everyone should experience. Now, as much as I wish I had a romantic partner, I realized that a boyfriend isn’t on my list of needs right now. This column is not to say that you shouldn’t want to have a romantic partner or that you shouldn’t aspire to love. I found myself finally able to accept that when the time comes, it will come.
I’m too focused on my last year of cheerleading, classes, graduation, and post-graduation plans to have another person join my life spiral right now. I’m not against the idea of dating, but I realized that before I involve others in my life, I need to understand myself first.
I like the feeling of doing things alone, but just to be clear, being alone doesn’t mean you’re lonely. “Alone” is always mistaken for loneliness, and loneliness is always equated with sadness. There’s nothing wrong with being alone and focusing on yourself, but it took me a while to understand the idea.
If you never dabble in the dating scene or start a love life, you can become discouraged and drained. Society has put pressure on us to find a partner with whom we could potentially marry and start a family. Especially if you’re in your 20s, just that thought can be very overwhelming. My family always seemed to ask me when I was going to bring my boyfriend home. And I still do.
It took me a while to accept that I was on the perfect pace when it came to love. It can be shocking to see that the people you grew up with are starting to experience life at a faster pace than you. Sometimes when I log into Instagram, I see people with children who went to elementary school or junior high school. I know that 23 years old is the age of true adulthood, but when I see my friends and former classmates having children, buying houses, and getting married, I realize that I am only 16 years old. I feel like that.
However, what I’m trying to say here is that it’s okay if you don’t have children or date like your classmates. I had my first kiss when I was 21 years old, and when we first kissed, it felt so weird to think that I was going through something like this right now, and I was a little sad. If you’re anything like me, that anxiety may linger in your head for a while, but I realized something.
There is no particular order to living through your 20s. Your 20s are the time to find out what you want to do. I’m in my early 20s so I get confused sometimes. I realized that everyone has a different love life than everyone else, and that’s okay and that you should too. You’re not the least experienced of your friends, you’re just moving at a pace that ultimately suits you.
Ashanti McLaughlin primarily writes about black culture, human injustice, and gives life advice.She writes to her at the following address [email protected].