Every third Thursday, myself and all my coworkers pick a place and enjoy a good happy hour full of laughs and Blue Moons in the warm Texas sun – on the company card [the best kind of happy hours!]. Literally heaven. We have a new graphic designer and she started asking our Creative Director about his past life experiences. And let me tell ya, he’s lived quite the life. Home schooled, graduated at 14, had his first paying design gig at 15, trained horses, became a solid DJ, owned a record store and at the ripe age of 28 is second in command at our agency. He’s the kind of person that makes you feel like your experience in a public school system, in a suburban bubble, and going off to a state college is completely inadequate. 

I’ve been having this thought for quite some time now. I feel like growing up in suburbia trains your mind to think in a certain way. I never challenged the status quo, didn’t question authority, and was completely content playing [and kicking some major bootay *humble brag*] in tennis and eating at Chili’s. I dressed to try to fit in and gain the acceptance of my peers. And then I went to college because that is what you’re supposed to do after high school. College taught me how to memorize a text book, why joining a sorority is the best thing for your social ife, and what major I should choose if I actually wanted to get a job after graduation, whether you’d really enjoy it or not.

Now lucky for me, I’m terrible at memorizing text books, couldn’t really afford a sorority/wasn’t completely sold on the idea of sharing a house with a few hundred girls, and chose a career that I would do even if money wasn’t a concern. At the same time, dressing like everyone else, loving High School Musical (guilty as charged), attending a few date parties and going to a big state school is what made me happy at the time. Maybe this is all part of being in your 20’s (at least I hope I’m not alone on this), but I want nothing more than to throw the status quo and normal out the window. Have my own opinions that aren’t swayed by those around me. Even now when I want to do something, have an opinion, or date someone, a little voice in the back of my head says “what will everyone think? what will they think about me?” My question is, how do you shut that voice up?

Because sure, maybe I didn’t always choose the path less taken, but is there anything wrong with the more worn path? In the end after all, it brought me to today. I’ve had a fantastic weekend filled with laughter and pure happiness, so is there really anything wrong with that? Because truly, I loved college football, I think Justin Timberlake and I would make a great couple, guys simply look good in Polo button downs and I happen to love blasting Taylor Swift in my car. But I also genuinely dislike most major brand names, am a complete book and art nerd, relish quiet and alone time on a Friday night and tend to enjoy a weird variety of tunes from americana, jazz and African tribal music.

Perhaps the important thing is to take a moment and look at your options or opinions. Ask yourself, do I really like this? Is this actually me? And to be honest, I’m not really sure on this one. I’m still figuring it all out which is probably obvious by the heavy use of question marks in the post. But hey, what else are your 20’s for?