10 Things Every 20-Something Years Should Do In 2014:

It’s crazy how quickly time is going by.
Another year is already ending and
another one is about to begin. Every
year, I make goals for myself and can
never seem to accomplish them all. It’s
like I try to cram all of these tasks — for
instance, starting a company, winning
the lottery, getting a book deal, creating
a TV show, etc. — into a year, but most
are not actually all that realistic (#
Ambitous Peoples Problem). Like, I’m
probably not going to become famous
overnight, right? However, beyond the
many things I hope to accomplish some
time in the near future, there are a
couple of things I — and you — should
do in the new year no matter what.
Here are 10 things every 20-something
should do in 2014:
1. Be active. Whether you’re going to the
gym twice a day every day or you’re
taking walks around your neighborhood
three times a week, make sure you are
doing some sort of physical activity on
the regular. Don’t say you’re too busy for
it… we’re all busy. You just need to make
time for it (especially if you sit at a desk
all week long). Whether that time is on
the weekend, at 5:00 a.m. every day, or
right before you go to bed, make it
happen. Five minutes of crunches is
better than nothing.
2. Take a vacation. We are given
mandatory vacation days for a reason.
Don’t use them all on days for
appointments and visiting home. Go
somewhere warm! Go somewhere
romantic! Go somewhere exotic and
different. You have your own money
now. And you certainly deserve it.
3. Have a crazy night(s) out. No, you
don’t have to get wasted every time you
go out. You don’t even have to drink
every time you go out. In fact, you don’t
even need to go out that much. But
make sure you have at least one wild
night this year when you do go out
(preferably more than one). And by wild
night, I of course mean drink so much
that you do stupid things you will most
definitely regret the next morning while
puking up pizza in the toilet. Everyone
needs a good story every now and then.
4. Think. Think before you spend. Think
before you eat. Think before you tweet.
Think before you drink. A problem with
us 20-somethings is that we rarely think
— we just DO. We have (barely any)
money, so we spend it. We hate saying
no, so we constantly find ourselves
eating poorly and drinking way too
often. We are under pressure by
Instagram and feel the need to add a
filter to every single picture we take and
then post it on all social media sites we
use. We tweet whatever is on our mind.
And we post things on Facebook in the
heat of the moment. This year, think
before you do any of the above. Please.
5. Cook something. As a 20-something,
you need to learn to cook. You should
already know how to cook pasta and
eggs — and know how to use the oven.
Now, spice up your pasta and eggs with
new recipes… and of course learn what
to do with meat, whether it’s in a crock
pot, the oven, the stove, or on a grill. Of
course, microwavable meals are nice
when you worked late or are just way
too busy. But to be healthy, you must
cook! I’m not saying turn into a chef…
but look easy recipes up online. Cooking
is really not that bad.
6. Get rid of fake friends. And stop being
fake yourself! You graduated college.
You’re in the real world. There’s no need
to keep pretending you like so-and-so
just because they’re friends with your
friends and you feel you have to. But
there’s also no need to be mean to
people. You’re too old for that. Be
cordial, but don’t go out of your way to
make a friendship happen that’s just not
going to happen. Focus that energy on
new friendships with people you
actually like. Don’t exclude people, don’t
be cliquey, and ignore any drama that
attempts to come your way. Do YOU and
don’t worry about anyone else.
7. Binge watch a TV show. Or just start
watching good TV (it’s out there). Pay
your 20-something dues and watch
HBO’s Girls. See what the buzz was about
this year and check out Breaking Bad.
Dabble in Homeland. Put on a pair of
sweatpants and Netflix Orange is the
New Black for an entire weekend. You
might feel useless, but it’s okay to be a
waste of space sometimes (really, it is).
8. Buy something valuable. Whether it be
a phone, a computer, a TV, a tablet, or a
designer bag, treat yourself. Embrace
your inner responsible adult by buying
something you could never afford in
college and then be responsible for that
item. It will be good practice for having
a child. Okay, not really, but whatever.
9. Call friends and family. No one calls
people anymore. We just tweet, text,
and… well that’s about it since Facebook
wall writing is now a thing of the past.
We don’t listen to people anymore, so
our conversations are completely
impersonal. When someone is being
nice, we sometimes mistake them for
being rude and of course never say
anything because it’s just a text. This
year, take a few minutes every week (or
couple of weeks) to call people. Of
course face to face communication is
ideal, but if you have to resort to
something else and you really want to
catch up with someone — or keep up
with someone — give them a call.
10. Relax. Stop planning something for
every second of every day and take a
break. It’s okay to sit on the couch and
watch trashy TV once in a while. It’s
okay to go to bed early to catch up on
sleep on a weekend night. It’s okay to
do absolutely nothing for an entire
weekend once in a while. In fact, it’s
almost necessary at this point in our
lives. Take a minute or two to sit down
and not think every once in a while.
You’ll appreciate the lack of stress in
your life a lot more than you did back in
college.