2. Stop being jealous of your friends, and stop talking behind people's backs. I know, we're not all saintlike and able to be selfless like I wish we could be, but there comes a point in time where you really should be celebrating your friends' successes instead of being bitter and jealous that it isn't happening to you. Once you're out of college and into what people these days call "the real world," no one wants to sit around listening to you talk about how fat she looked in those jeans, and how she only got that promotion because she flirted shamelessly with her boss. Be happy for people who work hard, do not compare yourself to others, and use other people's successes as motivation to work harder. Unless of course that girl really was flirting shamelessly with her boss, in which case, she is a dirty whorebag.
3. Stop getting sloppy. I know what you're thinking - but wait, didn't you used to get wasted daily? Didn't you do that one thing you wish you'd never done? Wasn't that you that embarrassed yourself in public on your birthday and had to be carried out and taken home? No, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a classy lady. But really, at some point in the forever young decade of your 20s, you need to stop being such a sloppy drunk. Happy hours are fun. Parties are fun. So are random weekend nights and impromptu bar nights. If you didn't learn your tolerance level in your younger years (not that you'd ever drink before 21, right), you need to learn it quickly and not surpass it too often. Everyone drinks too much, makes an ass out of themselves and has fun stories to tell, but no one wants to look like the drunk with no real goals in life. Notice I said you just need to stop doing this in your 20s. I didn't say at what point.
4. Stop eating like shit. It seems like even those with the furiously hardworking metabolisms notice the effects of living too hard in your 20s. After awhile, boxes of macaroni and cheese and frozen pizzas will start to pack on the pounds, and the six pack you drank doesn't exactly look like a six pack on your stomach. Educate yourself about what you eat - treat your body right, don't abuse it (too much) and don't take for granted your size 2 jeans now. If you don't know what carbs, sugars and processed foods can do to your body, you need to learn. If you think "organic" is a word only utilized by hippies, read up. Stop living in ignorance. It's your body, damnit.
5. Stop pretending like you don't care. Most of us binge-live (which is really what I like to call burning the candle at both ends for too long) because we're petrified of what life really has to offer. We don't know what we want out of life, and we're given a lot of options in our 20s. Living it up is fun, and I totally recommend it. But just remember that life is still there after the credit cards are maxxed out and the tequila bottle is empty. Pursue passions, figure out what drives you, and LET it drive you. Falling on your face is a lot more rewarding than never trying.
6. Stop bashing all your married friends. As a single girl, I spent a lot of time talking shit about my friends who fell in love, wifed up or got married young. While I still think you have a lot of living to do before you settle down with someone, what I didn't know was that when you do meet someone, you really do want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. Accept and understand that just because you're not mentally at the same place as your relationship/married friends, it doesn't mean they're wrong. That's the fun thing about choices - they don't have to be the same for everyone.
7. Stop having casual sex. I mean, seriously. (I'm not even going to do the 'I know what you're thinking....' part again). But really - very few good, solid relationships ever came out of a 2:00 a.m. call after you're drunk and leaving the bar, and most of us can speak from experience. It's not about who you want to spend Saturday night with, it's about who you want to spend all day Sunday with.
8. Stop shopping at the juniors section. This one is for you, ladies.
9. Stop depending on your parents for money. STOP. Seriously. Most of us have to be dropped in the real world to learn how to budget, save and plan ahead. I feel like this is the hardest step to take at this age, and the longer you put it off by letting mom and dad take care of you, the harder it's going to be. As horrible as this sounds, your parents aren't going to be around forever. If you do not pay your own bills yet, you need to be.
10. Stop being ignorant. About politics. Your own personal finances. What's going on in the world. I'm not saying you need to ALWAYS turn off the Kardashians in exchange for whichever news network you prefer, but you should not know the names of every cast member in reality television over knowing how your mortgage works, how your loans operate, and what's going on in the election.
11. Stop doing the following on Facebook: swearing, using poor grammar, posting obscure and passive aggressive statuses, posting self-portraits of yourself daily (especially doing #1), confessing your love, and giving us a play by play of your day. I should also note that by swearing, I really mean saying "fuck." Because it's not classy (even if it is the best word in the English language). Also, I do not need to know every single time you color your hair, every single pregnancy woe you have, or how many errands you have to run before work.
12. In relation to #11, stop being so open about your life. I'm an open book, anyone knows that, but that doesn't mean I tell every person who asks how my weekend was about my horrible period, the fact that my dog has diarrhea or that Rob and I got into an epic fight (only one of those is true). Less is more, and the more you reveal, the less interesting as a person you ultimately become, no lie.
13. Stop ignoring your body shape. Stop dressing for trends, and start dressing for what flatters your body. Skinny jeans shouldn't be made in every size, and men who weigh more than my pinky finger should not be wearing anything thinner than a straight cut jean. Just because Forever 21 has it in the window, doesn't mean it belongs on your body.
There are thousands of things I could add to this list. Please feel free to add your own. There's a fine line between still carrying out your youth and becoming that cougar that still shops at Forever 21. We are by no means cougars at this age, but you know what I'm saying. Some parts of the "forever young" mentality ought to be left forever in the past.
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