No one really warns you when you turn the page into your twenties. Just yesterday, there was a “teen” at the end of your age, and suddenly you are ushered through the gates of adulthood. You might think you are supposed to have everything figured out by now, settled, stable, and successful. But the truth is, you don’t.
Just when you feel like things are finally starting to make sense, questions begin to surface. Certainties unravel. What you once felt sure about suddenly feels fragile. They say your twenties are the in-between years. You are getting there, but not quite there yet. You are no longer who you were yesterday, but you are still becoming the person you are meant to be.
For many, heartbreak becomes part of this decade. Perhaps it is because our twenties are when growth truly begins. In Lost You, Found Me, Zara Carbonell shares the courage it took to make the painful decision to let go of someone she deeply loved. It is an agonizing experience, but it is also an act of choosing yourself. Choosing the version of you that still believes in dreams, ambition, and possibility. That choice, painful as it is, may be one of the bravest things you ever do.
“I used to think that my 20s would be the decade I would spend seeing my dreams come true. I would finally reach that pot of gold.”
But there is no pot of gold.
“My personal life tended to take the backseat when I was engrossed in the pursuit of my goals.”
As someone who is also part of the “Truly Twenties” club, I often find myself panicking over whether I am falling behind on the goals I once imagined so clearly. There is a constant urge to chase something, to place everything perfectly in time, only to realize there is no such thing as the right time. Not everything needs a timeline. Your twenties are not about arrival, but about transformation, fueled by courage and self-discovery.
As this year begins, we are reminded that progress does not require a perfectly planned path. Sometimes growth demands letting go of something important in order to make space for becoming. May we allow ourselves to move forward with openness, even when the road feels uncertain.
Lost You, Found Me by Zara Carbonell is a reflection on heartbreak, loss, and the quiet ways self-discovery shapes us as we navigate our twenties. It is a reminder that even when we feel lost, we are often closer to finding ourselves than we think.
by Camille Estrada