They say your 20s are the best years of your life — and in some respects that’s true. After college, I started a career in editorial, started earning (some) money, and started making (what I deemed to be) lifelong friends. But here’s the thing no one tells you about your 20s: They’re not the best years because they’re necessarily good. They’re the best because they are some of the highest highs and the lowest lows. I was broke (editorial jobs don’t pay a ton and I’d put myself through college), I dealt with some crazy roommates (thanks NYC!), I went on plenty of weird dates, and I encountered countless other disappointments. But it was the culmination of these things that made me realize just how different my life could be at any moment — that one turn or one decision is one step toward something new.