The life of a Twenty-Something Year Old

Throughout Middle School, High School and College even, I always had a class at the end of the year in which I would have to answer that ever so mystifying question "where do you see yourself in 5 years? in 10?". My answers varied from ages 11 to 16 to 21 as I realized I probably shouldn't be a veterinarian just because I liked puppies or couldn't become a photographer for national geographic without an art school degree. However, when I looked at that far off age of 25 (come on, even at 21 it's impossible to think life existed past senior year of college) I always thought people had it figured out by then. HAH. Pretty sure I'm still foreign to the concepts of "steady career, "dental insurance" or "suburbia".....and really, until I'm 26, independent of my parent's lovely insurance & need a root canal (thanks Obama for that one!)....the unpredictable life of your 20s is pretty awesome.

When I returned Stateside from my year in Australia, I had an early onset case of a quarter-life crisis. I had to answer the burning question in the back of my mind, "WHAT now". Luckily my experience abroad gave me a fresh perspective to the way I wanted to lead my life....and one of them being that I wanted to take another leap of faith with my so called career. As a newly Registered Dietitian, I wasn't quite sold on working in the clinical setting & didn't want to get stuck in a path that wasn't going to make me happy. Also, sorry Columbus - but after falling in love with Melbourne, I was already itching for a big city! I decided to take the non-traditional route and go for a nutrition internship at a PR company in Chicago. I got the job and with a one week notice I moved to the Windy City last October! Again, this may be from Oz, but I have a habit of just thinking "ehh, things will work out".... and so far so good, mate. I had an amazing roomie (shout out, Andrea) that let me crash in her second bedroom for 6 months and it was the best situation I could have asked for. I once again found myself exploring a new city, making incredible friendships and dabbling in a whole new industry of public relations. My first winter in Chicago was a whirlwind of long work hours, well deserved happy hours, terrifying weather (Australia didn't really help to acclimate me to the cold), road trips and fun adventures to look back on. Chicago is a vibrant city like Melbourne - full of food lovers and people craving excitement & activity. I've now moved East by the lake in Lincoln Park to my own place and couldn't be happier with the constant rush of people around me. Despite the cold of winter, Chicagoans always seem to find a good time and now the summer brings a whole new energy with all the festivals, sunshine and bbqs coming up. 

So back to the whole concept of "having your life together at 25". As you can see, career-wise that's definitely not the case for me. I'm still searching for my next step to take as a dietitian....but no worries, I'm loving the journey it's taking me to get there. I couldn't be happier with where my decision to move to Chicago has led me so far & the people it's led me to.  I love talking to my best friends in LA or Atlanta or China and knowing that even though we seem to live worlds apart, we all relate in the fundamental fact that we're twenty-something-year olds trying to find our way through this crazy thing called life....and having a damn good time doing it :) 

"The best advice I can give my friends is lie, cheat, steal, and drink. But if you have to lie, lie to save a friend. If you have to cheat, cheat death. If you have to steal, steal the heart of the one you love. And if you have to drink....then drink with me." ~Irish Proverb