Pretty much what it says on the tin. I'm finding my early 20s to be great at times, but terrifying at others. This period of life seems to be a combination of plentifulness and loneliness, sometimes simultaneously. The world is changing so fast these days and all of my friends are on different paths from one another. I can't predict what my life will look like even one year down the line. It can be scary to think about some days.
I'm in a PhD program but feel like I don't know a thing. I live independently and take care of myself, but still call my mom to ask how to get out a laundry stain or my dad to listen to a funny noise my car is making. I want to be taken seriously but still feel like I'm too young to have my voice heard and respected by most. I'm realizing that no one ever feels "grown-up" or has it figured out, and that I probably never will either. And I've been trying to make peace with these contradictory things.
I think the world is a beautiful and magical place most days and I always try to be optimistic. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't also overwhelming sometimes.
Needless to say, I've been feeling introspective about life recently.
What books would you recommend for a young woman in her early 20s feeling this way? What books did you read at my age that stuck with you or changed the way you saw things?
Not looking for anything nihilistic or cynical. I think this life is a gift, I'm just trying to figure out how to navigate it while staying afloat. No nonfiction either, please.
Thanks everyone <3
by gradschoolforhorses
2 Comments
I feel like The Idiot by Elif Batuman might speak to you here, there’s a lot of “trying to figure out a rapidly changing world and my place in it as I am technically an adult now” vibes.
Not a book, but “The Hand of God” on Netflix was really good. It’s an Italian film based around an awkward teen in Napoli trying to figure out life. I enjoyed it because it gives you a perspective on the coming of age from a different culture.