Having just turned 30 back in March, I have been able to look back at the past decade and truly look at my years with a fresh perspective, as well as pinpoint some advice I’d wish I had had after turning 20. To me, and most of my friends, your 20s are the best, and also some of the most troubling and anxious time of your life. You’ve been thrust into the world and are on your own, full of independence and freedom, which is exhilarating. On the other hand, you will face some inner struggles, as well as life hardships during these years as you figure out your way in life, which can be stressful and scary. So I’m here to say, along with some advice I wish I had, to hold on and just enjoy the roller coaster that is your 20s.

Network
When your 21 and still in college, this might seem pointless at the time. Or still even when your 28 and believe you are set in your career already. But trust me, networking when you can, whether that’s expanding your LinkedIn page, attending networking events in the career field you want to be in, or just staying in touch with old teachers and professors, keep building contacts in your network. As you get down the line you never know when you might need a contact.

Read
Normally I’d say books, yes, actual books, but these days I’ll take just about anything; blogs, magazines, newspapers, full articles online. But please, read for fun, read in your spare time, read before bed! We spend way too much time connected to our phones and computers, something I fear is happening at such a young age now, that people are forgetting about the importance of actual reading. It makes you knowledgeable (there’s a reason why there’s the saying, “He/She is well read”), it helps relaxes you, it builds your creativity and is a hobby that can be so rewarding.

Take Care of Your Body
Annual physicals, eye appointments, 6-month dental cleanings, taking your vitamins; things like this are so easy to push off, especially when you’re young — but trust me, just do them. Understanding what your body does and how it works when you’re young and healthy is a great way to know if things are wrong in the future — you have a reference point. And it makes it easier to catch things early on, like high blood pressure due to stress from studying or juggling multiple jobs, or heart murmurs due to endurance training (yes, I say these things from experience). But this also goes for other health habits we tend to overlook as young adults:

• Drinking enough water
• Realizing that yo-yo dieting does not work
• Get some more sleep
• WEAR SUNSCREEN
• Face your face every night before bed (no matter how tired you are)
• Eat well

Basically, put some effort in maintaining your body and health when you’re young, and it will go a long ways when you’re older.

Gain a Cringe Worthy First-Date Story, as well as Have Your Heart Broken
Spoiler alert… dating isn’t all rainbows and Disney stories. By your mid 20s, there’s a pretty good chance that you will have had at least one disaster date, and have had your heartbroken as well. Whether the date was a horrible blind set-up or a Match match gone wrong, you now have an awful first date story in your past that will be good for laughs in the future. As for the broken heart, while that might not produce very many laughs in the future, it gives you perspective about relationships, and might help you realize what you’re actually looking for in someone, or what you truly want out of a relationship.

Use Your Time and Money on Education
When you’re just out of high school or in your third year of college, and money is tight, it’s easy to say that you’ll go back and finish that degree, or earn that secondary certification later on when you have more money. Let me tell, it’s even harder the older you get. Even if you have enough money for more education, there will be time constraints that making it seemingly harder to tackle another item.

Establish a System for Handling Finances
Millenials, I’m going to say it straight—we suck at this. Many young adults are entering college not having held a job at all, or have very little understanding about savings, paying for massive yet important items (aka tuition), and on top of it, have very little understanding about the repercussions of this lack of understanding. And I get it too, holding on to money in your twenties is hard when your bills, rent and groceries add up to your monthly paycheck. Even if it seems like it’s nothing, set aside money every month that you don’t touch, setup a 401k when you have the chance and be conscious of what you’re spending your money one (this basically means watch how much you end up spending on alcohol and eating out every month..) and actually talk with your parents and/or a banker about what steps you need to be doing to setup your financial future.

Pay Attention to Your Mental Health and Well-being
In this day and age, it’s so easy to get over stressed and be detrimental to your health because of it. During my undergraduate years of stressing about being at the top of my class in my major, while trying to maintain a good social life and job, I stressed myself out beyond necessary and definitely beyond what was healthy. Coming out of those 4 years, I didn’t realize the strain I had placed on myself. The years later would be even worse when going back to school, becoming a part-time intern, working full time and still trying to maintain a social life. Ignoring my mental health and stress not only didn’t work, it completely backfired on me and starting causing physical pain issues that took me almost years to work out, not to mention the amount of emotional turmoil it caused. So trust me, when I say pay attention to your mental health, and learn how to work through it in a healthy manner, and when to ask for help.

Build Meaningful Relationships
People will come and go in your life, that’s just how it goes. But be sure to build, honest and meaningful relationships with friends, coworkers and loved ones while in your 20s. Even if you move away from them, or life takes you in different directions, the world is filled with technology that can help people stay connected. And as you get older, you realize that being friends with someone you don’t really like but tolerate, or you think you need to be friends with, is just exhausting and not worth your time and effort. So start early, build relationships and friendships that are meaningful, honest and worth your energy.

Travel
I don’t care if it’s just a roadtrip to a place a few hours away, or a trip to some gorgeous beach in Mexico — travel. Not only will you gain experiences and moments that will last a lifetime, it will teach you things. You’ll see different communities, people, lifestyles and food that are different from you.

Communicate with Loved Ones
Too often we take this for granted when we’re young, especially with older generations such as grandparents. Whether it’s because you believe they don’t understand you, or that you don’t know what you have in common with them and find it hard to talk to them. Trust me, just give it a try. Many times, they just enjoy talking to you and hearing about your life. And you never know, they might just surprise you with something. But too many times we find ourselves as we get older kicking ourselves that we didn’t get to know them better or understand more about their life when they were young. Same thing goes with your parents. Remember to check in with them occasionally, they like it.

Examine What You Really Want Out of Life and Set Some Real Goals
Your 20s are the perfect time for this. You’re finally on your own and have the power and freedom to do whatever you want with your life. For some people, this can be too much freedom and cause them to panick, or try to do everything. So remember to take some time every so often, look at what you’re currently doing, and ask yourself, what do I want to be working towards and is this helping me get there? And be honest with yourself. If you’re doing something because you think it’s the right thing to do at your age, but isn’t where your heart is, it’s only going to create problems for you later down the road. It’s also important to remember to set real life goals as well that will help you achieve what you really want out of life.

Be Optimistic Yet Realistic
Life will not always be a walk in the park, and you will experience low points, hardships and loss, especially when you just start out on your own. But remembering to keep an optimistic look at life will help you move through those hard times with ease and control, as well as create some good habits that you will help you out for the rest of your life. At the same time, remember to be realistic. You will face hard times and struggle, and you will have to work hard and you can’t always expect someone to be there to help you.

Bottom line, your 20s will be full of adventure, memories, fun times, hardships, crazy nights, but most importantly, figuring out who you are as a person.