Is It Too Late to Start Over?
Are your mid-twenties really too late to start over?
If you ask the internet, you’re bound to see some people crying in fear over the need or desire to switch lanes and start over in their mid-twenties. I mean… it is scary right?
Well, for starters let’s remind ourselves that your mid-twenties is in no way old lol but everyday life can weigh you down or move so slow that it seems like you’ve lived for an eternity.
With that said, there’s a fun thing to note scientifically about our make:
Your frontal lobe does not fully develop at least until the age of 25 (and some studies say 30 years of age for men).
I mean… we hear that all the time right? But what does that mean? Why does it matter?
Your frontal lobe is literally the hub for reasoning, judgement, and impulse control. If most of us had to make a decision on what we wanted to do in life at least by high school graduation (at 17/18 years old), where does that leave us? Well, it leaves most of us set to make such a big decision at a time where our emotions our doing most of the work and our brain is not able to reason at it’s highest capacity.
Okay, okay. So, if you went to college, you had more time and could change your major and what not, right? But… if you went to a 4-year right out of high school, your graduating college at 22/23 years old.
Statistics say about 42% of grads don’t work jobs within their field of study. Of course there are other factors that go into this number, but there’s no doubt that many just realize the field they went to school for is not where their heart is at. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing!
I think, in life, we’re almost always in a state of discovery and learning about ourselves. Oftentimes, we’re discovering ‘little’ things about ourselves… like a new cuisine we like, or a new comfort show, realizing you don’t like the texture of apples, or random things like that. Other times, we’re discovering big things. Like that we have problems with confrontation, we’ve been living with an undiagnosed mental illness, or that we don’t actually like working in the career field we chose.
The difference is, what do we do when we discover these things about ourselves? Do we brush them off and ignore what we feel simply because “I picked this career when I was 19 years old, it’s what I wanted to be since I was in middle school!” or “My parents are really happy that I followed in their footsteps.” or “It’s just too late to change now, I’ve already invested so much time and money into this.”?
Look, I’m in no way encouraging you to make a rush decision and change everything, but if after careful (and prayerful) consideration you are sure that you need something different… I say, DO IT.
Still scared? Here’s some of my favorite success stories:
Danessa Myricks
After watching this interview I was so inspired by her! From her childhood dream of being a teacher, to becoming a Nursing Assistant, to directing a nursing school, to following her desire for being creative and getting into publishing. And from there, she was exposed to makeup artistry, to which she is now the founder of Danessa Myricks Beauty, a brand she launched in 2015. The career change she made in her 30s, changed her life!
“I didn't start doing makeup until I was 30 years old. Like, that's when I started touching someone's face and putting makeup on. I was 30 years old. Like I am 54 today and still starting things… it's never too late. Whenever it starts, is when it starts.” - Danessa Myricks
Julia Child & Julie Powell
This one might make some of you laugh, but I loveee the movie ‘Julie & Julia’ and I think the representation on both ends of someone following their passions, at what some may deem late in life, is a beautiful story to be told, but I love it even more because it’s based on true stories.
Before Julia Child became the author of a world-famous cookbook (which she wrote at the age of 49), she worked in advertising, media, and secret intelligence. And before getting to the point of writing her cookbook and pioneering the concept of television cooking shows, she enrolled in culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu. Guess what age? 37 years old!
Then we have Julie Powell who, inspired by Julia Child’s cookbook, devoted herself to her blog at the age of 29 years old and began ‘The Julie/Julia Project’. This blog started as a way to relieve her from the stressors of her secretarial job and led to her becoming an author, and inspiring a film!
And yes, there are absolutely more people to add to this list… but I’ve decided to stop yapping for now, and leave you to your thoughts. But look, if it’s one thing I’m gonna do, it’s hype people up and support them when they need it. So, I hope that if you are in a season of discovery, change, or maybe discomfort… that you found some light in these words and maybe a little help with shifting your mindset. Often times, the biggest thing limiting us is our own selves.
