I’ve been told time and time again that I need to take advantage of my current life – one in which I am a 21 year-old who is unmarried, does not have kids and is close to graduating college.

People remind me that my life won’t be like this forever. Sometime in the future, I might marry someone and start a family. I’ll no longer possess the strength and energy of a young woman because, well, I’ll no longer be young. And this will probably be the only time period in which I’m a recent college graduate.

According to just about everyone, now is the time for me to travel and do everything that I cannot once I delve into a career.

Being a twenty something is a lot of pressure. I constantly feel confronted with the idea that this is the only time I can live life to the fullest because it’s not feasible to do so later. Apparently, it’s now or never.

But what if I don’t feel emotionally ready to do certain things, like traveling? What if I’m genuinely not interested in going to nightclubs or binge drinking? Am I still supposed to force myself to partake in these activities because I’m only young once?

I’m going to try to actively reject the notion that my twenties are the peak of my life. Says who? Also, why do I have to do everything when I’m young? Maybe, I won’t travel to Europe this summer. But the continent doesn’t have an age limit. I have time. I will be fine. I should keep in my mind that it’s my life and I can do whatever I want.