This is the oldest I’ve ever been.

Of course, I am blessed with the Asian genes that will keep me looking like this for the next 15 years, but on the inside, I can feel myself rotting away slowly. All the joys in life are slowly being sucked out of me, as I am desperately trying to hold onto my youth. So before it is too late, here are the top five things miss about being in my 20’s.

1. Being able to party & drink and have zero hangovers

When I was twenty-something, I could do this on a Thursday night:

…and still show up to work the next day like this:

Now if I have more than 2 glasses of alcohol, I need to WFH the next day. And the next day.

2. Dating shitty guys and not feeling bad about it

People would tell me, “Alice, stop going out that these guys. You gotta find someone who treats you with respect — and that means someone who doesn’t cheat on your every two seconds. Also, you can’t date a guy who describes himself as ‘an aspiring reality TV star’ because that’s not a thing.”

And my response would me:

Ah. Young love.

Best part of dating in your 20’s is that there is SO MUCH TIME! You can make all the mistakes in the world because you’ve got the time to recover and move onto something better.

3. Wearing high heels to everything

You might’ve heard that I wore high heels to take the SAT during high school.

High heels at work! High heels at bars! High heels at brunches! High heels to volunteer at a soup kitchen!

Now that I am older, just thinking about high heels makes me nauseated.

4. Not taking care of my body and suffering very little consequences

My mom nagged me all of my twenties — telling me to take my vitamins, to wear sunblock…exercise…sleep more… But here was my answer to all these advice:

I regret it all. I can no longer exercise and fast for two weeks to shed 10 lbs. My skin underneath a pound of foundation looks like crap. I know it’s not too late to start taking care of myself, but why couldn’t I do it when my body healed itself like Wolverine?

 

5. People telling me to follow my heart

When you’re 24 and you tell people that you hate your job and that you secretly want to become a poet/spiritual healer, people will say to you:

But when you’re over 30, people will say to you:

And my reasonable inner-self reminds me:

Some people follow their hearts till the day they die, but sane, stable people with a house and a dog follow their financial responsibilities. Being an adult means giving up on your dreams and settling for things that bring in steady money.

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More than anything else, I just miss having so much time to mess up, try again, and change my career path spontaneously.

I didn’t believe it at the time — because I was single, miserable, poor, dating all the wrong guys, and crying because I wanted a dog but couldn’t afford one — but the 20’s is the most glorious time of your time.

It’s all downhill from there.

Just kidding, there are things that are better in your 30’s. But more on that later!

What do you miss the most about being a twenty-something?