The Upward March to 25

So it seems that nowadays 25 is this huge milestone age in which you must shape up and really know the direction in which your life needs to be going. The Close Confidant always laughs when I say this and tells me how young I am and how I do not need to be worrying about knowing every turn my life needs to make at this point. However, as one prepares for an age when you car insurance lowers, because you are supposed to be a more responsible adult, it does make you think like hmmm what am I doing on this ride called life?

According to some stats this is what is going on with many 25 year olds:

26% of people age 25 and over have completed four years or more of college in the United States (1)

4 million people between the ages of 25 and 34 live with their parents (1)

In the United States, the average age of marriage for men is 27 and for women 25 (up from 23 and 21 in 1970). Furthermore, research shows that many members of this generation reach the age of 35 without having attained the 1980s conception of a family: married, two kids and a minivan.” (1)

Between the ages of 25 and 34, individuals are in a range of different lifestages. It is a time when the lines between the values of being young and the values of being parents are blurred. Two-thirds are married or co-habiting, but the remaining third are still very much single. (2)

25-34s aren’t all getting married and having kids. Some are settling down while others are still enjoying their independence. (2)

1 (http://64.233.169.132/search?q=cache:l1ZdkxsE5u0J:www.uploadexperience.com/statistics.htm+25+year+old+statistics%2Bgrad+school&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&client=firefox-a)

2 (http://64.233.169.132/search?q=cache:ZxumpR5q34EJ:www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/marketresearch/audiencegroup3.shtml+25+year+olds+having+children&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a)

Here are some of my personal goals as I embark on 25.....

1) Grad School- I have been putting this off for a while but in order to realistically get to where I want to be in life it seems this is a necessity in my field. A bachelors is like equivalent to a h.s. diploma these days. All this debt for a damn glorified h.s. diploma!!! SMDH Time to make the next steps in higher education.

2) Live Abroad- It has always been my dream before I settle down, get married, and have children to live outside the US. I am indifferent on where as long as I can get a hot shower in doors and it is not too dangerous. I just want to be able to say I have experienced another culture and be able to talk about all the things I experienced with my family. You only get one life and I want mine to be lived to the fullest. I am developing this plan now and will expand upon this in a later post.

3) No longer entertaining toxic people- In the last few years since graduating college I have realized that I have entertained a lot of toxic people trying to change them or make myself more acceptable to them. FOR WHAT?! I guess maturity makes you realize how dumb this is and how easy it is to grow out of it. I am growing out of dealing with toxic people really quickly. If you are too judgemental, always complaining, make too many DUMB mistakes over and over, always want to argue I can't be bothered. I am a happy person and I refuse to let someone else's negativity bring me down. I understand people have negative spells, myself included, so I wont judge anyone's struggle. What I am talking about is constant toxins in your life that are NOT changing. Life is too damn short!

4) Invest- So I gotta get my money right. I am just now emerging out of the careless credit card debt I made in college so I am feeling liberated! Now it is time to figure out how to make my money GROW! I want to be able to retire before 60 so I need to get on this movement. Granted I have a company 401K but that junk seems useless to me. Maybe I just look at it too often so it doesn't seem to be accumulating at the pace that I'd like. Either way I am looking for some other ways to invest my money to make it grow and also not having to worry about the economy taking another plunge and the government taking it!

5) Become more spiritually in tune- This makes me happy PERIOD! Over the past year I have really been sticking to my nightly routine of reading my Bible every night when I am at home. This is the foundation of my happiness and gives me the ultimate insight on the person I want to be. I think with maturity and understanding, for me personally, spirituality and becoming a woman of faith is the core of my growth. Therefore I am trying to make strides to do this. I am FAR from the perfect Christian but hey, I am trying.