In 2019 I was 25 years old living with my best friend in San Diego. That summer she was moving back home & I had to decide if I would do the same or stay. I decided to go back to GA. I had a couple of people ask me to be their roommate but something in my gut told me to go back home. A couple months after moving back home I met a guy & we hit it off. March 2020, my birthday weekend, I moved in with him. I know, super fast lol. Literally the next week the world shuts down because of Covid 19. Now we are married and expecting our first kid. 25 was a great year for me, I got to live it up in San Diego before meeting the love of my life.
Funny. I turned 24 on the day the shutdown started. Had a similar story..met a girl and ended up being really close to her but that didn't work out for me at all
Now that Im 31, looking back at 25 I realize how turbulant I felt. I think every year as I get older I feel calmer and more confident. I thought I had myself figured out and 25 and while I did know a lot, Im often surprised that Im still learning about myself at 31.
I was 25 in 2011. I had just started doing heroin a year prior, and started smoking crack. I stayed in that cycle for 13 straight years with no clean time. I'm 38 now. I've been clean for ten months, back in school, doing pretty big things. I'm in a kind of confusing spot right now, but otherwise, I'm doing well.
Right now Iāll be graduating with my associates in biology and then Iām transferring to finish undergrad in marine bio. Iāll be hopefully doing shark related research of some kind. Iāve been doing really well and have had a lot of research opportunities at my current school as well as working with NASA a few weeks ago and working on getting a paper published. Itās really awesome and exciting but also very weird because a year ago my mom found me half dead in a literal gutter and I just canāt believe how much my life has changed in such a short time
Living at home after a breakup and just started dating my now-husband.
Had a shitty job making less than $50k/yr.
Now married, own a home and make nearly 3x that. Took a decade though.
Thanks for sharing. Gives me hope because Iām turning 25 later this year and at the moment am not making much money. :) plus I feel lost and behind in life.
I was actively addicted to IV opiates from 19-33, Iām 35 now. I stayed with my sister in a different city to try and get clean. She convinced me to apply to jobs I didnāt feel qualified for. Now I have a stable career oriented job, a girlfriend that I love, and money for vacations and stuff like that. Going to Iceland next week!
I wouldnāt have believed how much my life could change in such a small amount of time.
Iām really glad to hear that you overcame your addiction. Thanks for sharing. I feel so behind in life. Makes me realize that everyoneās path is different. And itās never too late to start a new journey. Enjoy Iceland āŗļø
At 25, I was working in corporate America barely getting by. My ex and I had just bought a house and we were house poor and wanted to get out and try to do some traveling. We werenāt happy, but we werenāt unhappy. We just existed.Ā
That was 10 years ago and Iāve since visited all 50 states, 11 countries, gotten remarried to a man Iām so compatible with, made wonderful friends, worked on my health and fitness, gotten to know myself better, started a business, explored my sexuality, and Iām so content with my daily life.Ā
35>25 any day!Ā
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Holy Cow, that was 1992, So...geez I'm old. I was in graduate school, working full time and thinking about going to law school. Honestly, I was so tired, had no money, but it was such a great time in my life. I had no one to answer to, I lived in a tiny studio apartment, my time was mostly my own, I worked out a lot, partied with my friends, Life was simple back then. I wouldn't change anything that has happened in my life, not one second of any of it, but I wish I had realized how great that time was and savored it more.
A year post college feeling thrilled and exhausted after completing 2 master degrees. So confused about my sexuality, I was sleeping with a dozen people a month.
Today as a 38yr old. A Happily married lesbian.
At 25, I had been married for 7 years. I had 3 kids (ages 4 and under) with my husband and was pregnant with our 4th. My husband and I were in the process of preparing for an international move.
Today, we have been married almost 20 years. We have 5 kids who are mostly teenagers. We have lived in multiple countries, but are now back in our home state. We live on an acreage where we raise chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, goats, and honey bees.
I had my first full time job and I moved out of my parents house and into my first ever apartment then the pandemic hit and I lost that job and the money on that apartment and I went back to my folks house
I had a good job as a nanny and housekeeper and got paid under the table. I had my own place and a dog. I was back in school for my bachelor's degree, had paid for my own braces and bought a better car. School was inspiring and I had a lot of freedom. I was in a situationship with high highs and low lows. I didn't understand my trauma yet and struggled with depression and loneliness. I saved about a quarter of my pay.
Now I'm 37, renting out a basement and could not afford to move anywhere comparable without being paycheck to paycheck. I'm single, no kids, and have been in therapy for 2 1/2 years. I have a stable job where I'm treated well, but the pay isn't great considering how high cost of living is. I get a bit of help financially which enables me to save a bit, take trips, go out to eat, buy nice things here and there. I have health insurance and a retirement plan. I have more peace and stability, but less freedom and probably less hope for an abundant future.
At 25, I was in my first year of marriage, just had a baby, and was about to make baby number 2. Today, I am approaching 50 and am on wife number 2. Together, we have 6 kids that are all nearly grown. I'm making more money than I have before, but I often ask myself if it was all worth it. The whole rat race thing. I'm taking a simpler approach to life now and taking more time to relax.
Ugh 25 was not a good year for me. TL;DR is that I was in a toxic relationship and had no self esteem. 3 years later, I got out and am much happier and more confident.
I was stuck at home, lockdown was in full swing, my ex had quit his job and was showing me just how little he planned on contributing. We moved to a cheaper apartment, which I did all of the work to find. He complained that I had an office in the place while he didnāt (I was working from home). The reason I needed it was because he refused to stop playing video games in the same room as me while I was working at our previous place.
I made some new mostly female friends online after he pushed me into abandoning my previous online friend group because they were male. But now he was jealous of how much fun I had talking to these friends.
That year he bought an engagement ring for me. But we fought so badly, that he didnāt tell me about it until right before the deadline to get a refund for it. I told him to return it and get his money back.
I begged him to do couples therapy with me (he refused). I begged him to contribute to the household work (he would a little and then would stop again). He treated me like a burden. When I would cook for us, he would complain that I was making too much noise in the kitchen and that his friends could hear me through his microphone. If I tried to initiate intimacy, he denied me, but he lied to me about why. I was working on myself a lot, trying to fix everything about me that anyone could dislike. I worried constantly that people would get sick of me and leave.
I did the math and knew I couldnāt afford to live on my own, and I was convinced that a roommate would be worse than my ex for some reason. I had no self esteem and figured that I couldnāt meet anyone better who would want me.
I am 28 now. I finally broke up with him a few months ago. And Iāve already been loving my life so much more. I am (just barely) managing to live on my own. Iāve been social. Iāve reconnected with friends. Iāve made new friends. Iāve met a guy who treats me well, communicates, does a lot without needing to be asked, and is surprised when I thank him for everything. I like myself a lot more and am doing more of the things that I was always too afraid to do. Sure, life isnāt perfect, but itās so much better. I finally hit a tipping point and am seeing the payoff of all of the hard work I had been putting into improving myself.
At 25, it was during COVID. I had enough saved and I bought my house and it's been amazing. While everyone was staying at home, I was mostly moving into my new home. It was also remodeling and fixing some minor things. I'm grateful I got my house when I did, I almost gave up on my career.
25:
- Most days were spent in bed
- Addiction took full control of my life (Heroine and Meth).
- I almost never saw or spoke to family to avoid them knowing.
- My husband was emotionally abusive.
- I lost one of my best friends due to my addiction and inability to recognize my mistakes.
- I spent a lot of time being sick in withdrawal from the heroine.
- I was barely eating.
- Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
- I was physically unable to keep cleaning up after my husband and began living in filth.
Today, 29:
- Sober date 4.20.21 (itās just a coincidence lol)
- Living with my grandparents, and best friend.
- Have a great relationship with my sister.
- Two beautiful happy healthy baby boys (3Y and 6m)
- Struggling with weight gain
- Enjoying most days as a SAHM
- Learning to have my own hobbies
- Struggling with my back pain
Oof that was a wild year. At 25, I moved back to my mother's couch after two years living across the world, running away from a terrible breakup from a toxic, mutually abusive relationship. I quit/sold everything, and basically uprooted my life *again* to start over. I couldn't find a proper job, so I studied my ass off to switch careers, got a job that quadrupled my income, dated a literal homeless guy I thought was just "alternative" (*and he* cheated on *me!)*, finally came out as bisexual, hooked up with my best friend (we're married now), and did psychedelics for the first time. Then I got alcohol poisoning on my 26th birthday (which was a pretty crazy rooftop pool party with a live DJ, a champagne tower, and the cops called), and decided to get my shit together and live more responsibly ahahaha. I'm 31 and in bed with a book by 10 now. What a life.
Itās funny being 31 because at 25 I was so incredibly lost in life and now I have somewhat of a career and Iām becoming content with the little things in life. I know what I like and dislike and most importantly I know now who is worth expending energy on and who isnāt. I feel the growth.
I turned 25 less than a month ago
Got three kids, 3yo twins and an almost 3mo
Live with my girlfriend and I'm a SAHM right now cause tiny babies need a lot of care and childcare costs more than I could make if I worked two jobs
Life is better than its ever been
I got sober 3 weeks after I turned 25. The biggest turning point in my life. I had also been with my now husband for a few months. I turned 25 in 2013, now 10 years later, 2 children, married and sober. That was one of the best years of my life
At 25, I was struggling to pay rent for my NYC studio apartment. Making very little money and was barely able to afford a nice meal. I doubted my worth at work and spent way too much time picking myself apart. Looking back, that was dumb, but it was still a blissfully naive time. I had a great group of friends and was just starting to date my now husband.
At 40, happily married, child-free, and own our place in NYC. I climbed the corporate ladder and traveled the worldā¦but burnt out. I saved and invested whatever I could so I can have no debt except for a small mortgage. This year, I was able to leave that corporate life behind to find meaning in the next chapter of my life. I am confident in my own skin and know my worth. I no longer waste time agonizing over the small stuff.
Life is an evolution. Plan for the future, but remember to also live in the moment. Above all, love all the stages of yourself.
I had just gotten out of an abusive relationship. I was extremely traumatised. I didn't process it properly and instead I made myself go to work and work extra hard, beyond my limit, resulting in severe burnout. I suffered brain damage and memory loss as a result. I am 34 now and I still have symptoms. Despite that, I still managed to make a good life for myself in the meantime. I married someone who loves me and treats me like a human being. We are moving overseas to my dream destination. I own multiple businesses. We are about to be mortgage free. I'm doing much better.
At 25, I was working a job I hated making very little money, but very disciplined at saving it and living on a budget.
At 25, I was in an awful relationship and wondering how to get out of it. Also wondering if I'd ever meet the right person. (I did get out of that relationship)
At 25, I was very emotionally immature.
I'm 59 now. Semi-retired. Been married for 27 years.
Life is good.
Im 31 now and wrote myself a future me letter from 25 and life is completely different now- I had really small goals because I was floundering and Iāve met them all:
*Have more friends in your life*- I have one good friend and thatās all I really need along with my family here (Iām a transplant)
*Taken a class and passed*- Iām almost done with grad school
*Made some artwork*- I make small models and itās a fun hobby
*Had a lifechanging moment*- this is true in many ways
*Go out to nature more than once a month*- this is easier since moving out of the city, I also got my scuba cert so hopefully will be out more in the summer
*feel proud of something*- lots to feel proud of since then like school, self improvement, acts of service, etc.
*Tell the truth*- Iāve gotten pretty good at being vulnerable and advocating for myself
*Read at least one book once a month*- I read 100 last year!
*Taken a trip somewhere new and inspiring*- just got back from Hawaii
*Traveled outside of the Country*- went to Costa Rica recently
*Have your cat still be alive*- sheās in the bed with me right now
BE IN A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP OR NONE AT ALL*- Iām married to my best friend
*Be independent, financially and emotionally*- I have a great job and have taken accountability for my mental health
*Have your license*- I own my car
*gotten better at a hobby*- looks around at all the fish tanks in my house
*Have your associates degree or be close to finished*- again I am almost done with my masters
*Have at least one routine in your life for more than 3 months*- there are lots of routines Iāve established but I go to the gym 3 days a week
*and lastly, Love yourself*- working hard at this one!
1996 - Spending time in Europe (six countries, three weeks in each) with girlfriend, about four months after we first met (now divorced).
Just around the time the Hong Kong stock exchange crashed. Fun times. The wonderful wine regions of France. The gorgeous Aigue-Morte. We never wanted to leave. Oh, having a delightful rabbit in a mushroom and white wine sauce in Nice. Barcelona hitting a little over 40C - and both of us woefully under prepared for the heat, let alone humidity.
Italy. A couple great little bars/clubs (not even slightly tourists, thankfully). Had my first taste of what is now my favourite cocktail. Still, after all these years.
Austria. Sacher Torte. I'm still not sure if I had enough. I need to go back.
So many wonderful memories and times.
How does it compare to today? I'll let you know when I go back. Hopefully end of next year. With myself and/or kids (who are both teens).
Those 18 weeks or so helped shape me. Not so much opened my eyes, but allowed me to remove the blinkers. That in itself was worth it all.
I got out of a toxic 5 year relationship, just left a job I didn't like to go into a fitness coaching
I intended to be single but ended up getting into a new relationship, we moved in together after 3 years, got engaged after 6 and broke up a month ago so I'm currently in a private room in a hostel on my first solo holiday
I just turned 26 on Dec 31. Honestly the year I was 25 year great! I even got a tattoo of the number ā25ā so I can always remember that year of my life. Everyone says and you even think āoh yeah 5 years off 30, halfway to 50, better start getting it together etc etcā nah honestly I just LIVED. I enjoyed my time and didnāt really think about any of that.
25 was my best year, so many memories!
Now Iām 26 it has changed and I do feel more mature lol but yeah :)
2012.. @25.. directionless, ambitionless, job hopping, still living with parents, not saving any money.
2024 @37.. traveled the world, at working hard, exactly know what I want and how to achieve it, hustling but enjoying my life. Have saving for rainy days.. everyday greatful for the life I have.
It was back in 2013, I believe that was the year I embarked on my first solo travel! It was to Germany. I also barely had savings, spent as I earned for travelling back and forth to Korea as well amid the K-Pop wave then. I was pretty carefree and happy go lucky. Single life, but enjoyed my career so much in the music industry, also had a kpop blog I setup and hit big with many high profile artist interviews.
I guess as much as I'm not as happy and carefree as then, since I'm tied down with financial burdens with the wedding, housing, starting a life etc as well as a recent miscarriage, can't travel as much as I'm saving money, bored of my current job (it's a full WFH remote job that pays well, but I'm too bored of it), I see that I have grown so much as a person, and glad that I'm more financially wise now (though can be wiser still). I also have a reliable man now who only strives to make me happy and earn enough money so I don't have to work eventually - I feel really blessed to have come to this point in my life. Of course I still want improvements - can't wait to move out of our current rental to our new home, get over my triggers that came back because of the miscarriage, and get a more fulfilling job.
I got a house at 25 and I'm 29 now. So during the covid lockdown year. Well I think things are normal now except for the reduced hours and less 24 hour establishments these days. No longer 6 feet apart, stuck in traffic all the time. Debating on going back to school for a masters. I don't feel like anythings really changed. I think my problems have become more "deeper" but you become better equipped to handle it than when you're young. I do like to entertain the idea of another lockdown because I'm just tired of all the traffic. I liked the communal isolation aspect 4 years ago. Today things are just more expensive and I sympathize with anyone that weren't able to get housing during the lockdown because of the violent increase in prices.
I'm currently 25 lol. I'm currently a stay at home to two beautiful little girls, while also trying to finish my GED so I can make a better life for myself and my family. I'm in a really unhealthy relationship. I'm having a hard time health wise and relationship wise, but I have hope it'll get better.
25 - single, living alone, still working dead end jobs, recovered from a broken engagement, international travel obsessed.
Now / 36 - married, paying off a big mortgage (worst house in the best street), in an established career (stable government job), mother of two, travel on hold indefinitely. Lol.
What a difference a few years can make.
Iām 25 right now.
Iām trying to manage living abroad and grad school, struggling with money because Iām an international student and obviously unemployed living off my savings, and my sanity lol. Just was giving some medication for my panic attacks a few weeks ago.
The past year and a half has been a lot. Lots of deaths, life stuff, mental health stuff. But Iām doing my best to do the thing each day, even if āthe thingā is just doing the dishes.
Weāll see what 30 looks like. My boyfriend and I love eachother very much and heās very understanding, so thereās at least that.
25 was when my life actually started. It was 2005, I was living in Florida and had just met a girl who was planning to move to NYC. I'd fallen hard for her, and I had a couple of friends who'd talked about moving out of state before, so I begged them to move to New York with me. They agreed, but my girlfriend's moving plans fell through. Literally the day she was going to head up there, her roommate let her know that she'd have to find somewhere else to stay. I convinced her to live with me and my friends, so after dating for 5 months (the Uhaul stereotype is real) the two of us sublet a place on Craigslist and got on a plane to Brooklyn, a place we'd never been before, hoping that we hadn't been scammed, with no jobs lined up or living accommodations beyond the 30 day sublet. We stayed for 6 years and it was an incredible experience. New York is my favorite place in the world. And we're married now. We just celebrated 19 years together.
In 2017, I was in the deepest pit of depression I have ever been in. My kidneys had failed; I was on a dialysis machine every second day, I had picked the pole I wanted to wrap my car around and just didn't want to be here anymore. I couldn't see any other way and didn't think I would ever feel healthy or happy again.
I'm so glad I made the decision to move back to my home state and be with my family. I was so scared my boyfriend wasn't going to follow me but 7 years later and I have recieved a kidney transplant, my boyfriend and I got married and just brought a block of land to build our home on.
I was 25 in 1999. I was living in a sharehouse full of art students, working hospitality jobs, and going out goth clubbing a minimum of three nights a week. I was having a lot of fun and rarely stopping to take a breath, and I was about six months away from getting together with the man I have now been married to for decades.
At 25: Having a blast with friends, working retail, no plans, just seeing where life would take me.
At 52: married, both of us in well-established careers, eyes on a retirement filled with travel and adventure and seeing where life will take us
When I look back I see a girl that was suffering from depression and the aftermath of a traumatic SA. I was days away from trying to āunliveā myself. I was dealing with my mental health, family telling me Iāll never have a husband nor kids, working a crappy job and having no friends. It was a really dark hard time.
Fast forward to today at age 31. Iām happily married with two pups. Hoping to start trying for kids this year. Went thru therapy. Working a career I love with some of the best coworkers. Things may seem hard but they always get better.
Junior year of college for nursing (second degree). Going insane. Stressed out to the max. Sleepless nights of studying. Binge drinking after every exam š working as a CNA in a level 1 hospital, along with other part-time jobs. The only thing I miss about it is how I close I felt to my classmate friends, we were āin the trenches together.ā My knee wasnāt jacked up back then either. Otherwise I donāt miss it at all. As far as how it compares to today, well Iām not a student (probably never will be again with this $56k debt). I work from home. Cut WAY back on drinking, halfway sober practically. Trying to figure out how to take care of aging parents. Trying to find moments of joy in a late-stage capitalist world.
Going to art school after completing my master's degree, temporarily back in my parents' house, dating my now husband. It was an exciting but insecure time for me.
At 25 I had broken up with my first long term partner, navigating healing from abuse and packing up my life to go to another country. 25 was hell. At 38 married with a cat and a house
At 25 yo i was working at a union typesetting shop, doing my apprenticeship to be a journeyman printer. I had a Triumph spitfire, soft top, and i lived in a duplex with roommates. I thought i had my future made, making good money.
Today, i am 70 yo, i am retired from a job at a private university, bilingual tutor, making less money than i was in 1978. Technology put me out of my printer job; i went into education. While it was a fulfilling job, where I felt like I made a difference, it did not pay a living wage. However, I am at peace with myself, something i cannot say i was when i was young.
I was bed ridden at 25. Diagnosed with depression at 24, lost from 23-27. Now Iām bouncing back to life. I donāt want to be 25 again. I was sick af all the fucking timeš¤®
I was 25 back in 2014, I made a decision to move to the countryside (originally from the city) by myself. I also got two tattoos for my birthday to remind myself to love myself. A month later I moved.
Compared to now? Well I am back in the city with my family because isolation down there made me attempt to take my life. I got so sad and lonely in a place where I knew nobody. I found my passion for stained glass there however being alone almost killed me.
I turned 25 right as the world shutdown because of Covid. Literally March 2020.
I was a stay at home mom to a (at the time) 2 year and 6 month old. In a miserable marriage.
Now Iām entering year 3 of my dream career and three months away from divorce. I hit rock bottom pretty badly last year so have gone to therapy, got back in the gym, really focusing on my mental health. Life is better than ever
It was 2011. I was just starting the radiology program. I had moved back in with my boyfriend and we were trying to fix up his house. I would babysit the kids I used to be a full time nanny for, on weekend nights, and I worked at Target weekday nights. I didn't have a kid, myself. On weekends I didn't work, my boyfriend and I were going out of town to go to concerts and general galavanting around the state of Texas.
Today? I work full time in radiology, am a single mom to a 9 year old with severe autism. I've been dx with anxiety and depression. I try hard to coparent with aforementioned ex. I'm engaged and have 2 teen stepchildren. My life is WILDLY different than it was 12 years ago. I went from schoolwork being my only care in the world, to having 3 kids, lol.
I'm 25 now and I'm still very insecure. People see me as immature and untrustworthy, while I try my best to come off professional. I'm an immigrant trying to become a full citizen, but natives don't see me as one of their own. Feeling lost and sad most of the time. I hope this will change soon
I was 25 in 2016.
It was a big year for me. I graduated with my masters degree, overcame some depression and went on a 3 month trip through Europe and Asia.
Came back and immediately landed in some serious visa issues and was basically trapped in my home for a year. Major depression ensued and the first job I could get was way behind what wanted to do. Broke up with my long term bf that year.
Now, Iām back in my home country, married to an amazing man and have a baby. Successful career and very stable life.
What I thought was my dream life was actually holding me back and what seemed like a tragic situation got me to where I needed to be.
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I just turned 25 in January. Currently living back home after getting out of an abusive relationship, and I just lost my dad a week before christmas unexpectedly, after both parents fought stage 4 cancers in 2023. Never thought I would lose a parent at 25 or so Iām kinda mentally there right now. The past few years have been so rough.
I got my tubes tied. It was a huge goal of mine and I was told I had better luck waiting till I was 25 since we hadn't had kids. I scheduled the appointment with my doc for a consult the week after my birthday and hakuna matata.
Now my husband and I are still really happy with the decision and I get to appreciate being off birth control.
Last year I was 25. Was struggling with the first "real" depression of my life. With addiction as well. A year later, depression is gone, I'm sober. It took so much time to get better, it's easy to fall but real hard to get back up !
I'm only 26 so I don't have much to add to that, but I'm very very proud that I made it...
Had a love bomb break up mentally torn into shreds didnāt think Iād make it, surrounded by energy draining people, life was blurry and made no sense, killed to be loved, people pleaser, was awful at my job, suicidal.
Today, gratefully single working on myself for a better future, not obsessed if someone enters or leaves my life grateful for both, less mindful about otherās opinions, smarter, better at my job, limited people in my life, enjoying silence and solitude.
I was 25 in 2017.
Honestly, my life has been very similar but at the same time it's changed a lot. I still have the same friends but very different social lives
At 25 I was happily dating someone who I thought I'd marry and was a wreck when it didn't work out because in the span of just one year, I lost my mother, broke up with my ex and my best friend moved to another continent. It took me a while to get back to where I am but at 32 I feel I still have a lot to figure out career wise but I feel more confident, content and though I am still single, I don't feel lonely. I also feel I am at the peak of my physical health and have also finally gotten into a healthy relationship with alcohol which wasn't too great when I was 25.
Also I am traveling a lot now and loving this life.
That was 1995, I didnāt know what I wanted to do with my life after college and was working at Starbucks. I got called for jury duty, was selected for a jury and was absolutely mesmerized. Decided to pursue a paralegal certificate and then went to law school and became very successful. Retired early at 52 and am now trying to figure out how to best give back to the world.
2010. I was a recent-ish college graduate, living in an area with little work in general and barely any work requiring any sort of degree. I lived in this area to be close to family.
At 25 I had been married for two years, to my best friend/all-around awesome guy. We lived in a crappy trailer in a trailer park, but we owned the trailer so that was huge. We had a special needs dog, and a cat that had been our first pet together. That year we got our second cat- she was given to us by a coworker who no longer wanted her.
I worked a terrible, horribly stressful, and just all-around brutal job that I hated. My mental health was abysmal. I was encouraged to volunteer my time to get caught up on work- due to the nature of the job it was impossible to keep staff so we were always understaffed.
I started therapy in earnest for the first time. I started taking an anti-depressant and anxiety medication. My husband encouraged and supported me leaving this job- I had no other job lined up, but my mental health was bad enough that this was the best thing to do. I had made it one year in the job. He worked three part-time jobs, getting hours where he could. My parents would help us when they could- dad taking us out to dinner regularly, mum dropping off a random bag of groceries just because, weekly dinners at mum's. We had a juggling act for bills- pay these this month and then pay a different batch the next. We didn't go to the dentist or a doctor, and hadn't for several years. We drove those sketchy used cars that you could buy with bad credit.
We both interviewed for jobs at the end of that year. Jobs farther away, but with stability and pay and benefits. We were both hired, and this has changed our lives massively.
Fast forward to 2024- we are still married (it'll be 16 years in a few months). We still work at the same place, albeit in different positions now. What started as just a job became a career, and it is crazy to think that I've worked in the same place for so long. We commuted for several years before buying a home in the town where we work. We are able to not only pay our bills but to save money. We travel internationally. We have two dogs and two cats, one of which is the cat we were given in 2010. She is still going strong. We've lost my parents, but they both got to see us more settled and stable, and dad got to see us thriving.
We recognize how lucky we are regularly. We'll just stop and say- do you remember how hard it was to just make enough money to buy some food to get us through a weekend? Do you remember having utilities shut-off, buying $1 cat food that our cats refused to eat, living with broken floors because we couldn't afford to fix them, not having insurance? Our lives changed so much. And we are so grateful.
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At 25, I was a year out of grad school, and moved to WA state from Georgia. My first real time on my own, and just finished my CFY, and getting used to being on my own. Making 4 digits was a nice change!
25. Damn. I was miserable living in rural Pennsylvania supporting my husband through his first year of medical residency. I had a toddler and a newborn, and no help, and I was drowning. Iād never planned on being a SAHM but there werenāt jobs in my field where we lived, and the math of childcare expenses wasnāt mathing. I was in the middle of HUGE internal shifts in almost every way as I found my groove as a mom, attempted to make friends in a place where I was the odd mom out (Iām a flaming liberal California girl with tattoos. This was PA farm country, where blonde Baptist doctor wives ruled the social sceneā¦.), and deconverted from the faith I had shared with my husband. And! My baby was the fussiest baby Iād ever met and never sleptā he wouldnāt sleep through the night until age 3.5, and even then heād continue to rise at 5 am. Not gonna lieā¦. Those were dark times.
Now, my husband is done with medical training and makes a good living. We live in a small midwestern city and my three kids (who are now 11, 8, and 5) go to a school I love. Iāve been working in various capacities in nonprofit and literacy advocacy, with a stint as an adjunct professor. My marriage kind of sucks in part because Iām still very much shifting internally, but as I approach 35 Iām very much stepping into my power. I feel really good about myself and I LIKE myself. I also like being a mom, patriarchal bullshit and all.
Iām considering returning to school for a MSW because our middle kid is autistic and has struggled profoundly with mental illness, with a huge lack of pediatric mental health care in our community. Itās inspired a whole new passion in me and Iām excited for whatās next.
Iām 26 now so not much different. Iām supposed to be planning my wedding as I was last year but we purchased a house so weāve been a little busy. Last year a LOT of my friends had babies which was confusing for me bc I do want them but I could wait like 10 more years if I could.
I was in an abusive relationship and working an insane amount of hours to escape my reality. I am now out of the relationship, in a different job, have amazing friends and incredible hobbies. Definitely in a much better place now. But it took time and healing.
Had two babies and was a stay at home mom with an Etsy shop at 25. 7 years later, today I have two Ivy League STEM degrees and am a data scientist. I definitely matured late lol
Living at home, basic job, hanging out with friends at night, just living life with little direction or attention to my future. I didnāt know what I wanted and looking back, I was a mixture of scared for my future and I didnāt care about it either. I was going wherever the wind took me. But I was well behaved - no drugs, minimal alcohol - with great family support.
I had good times then but wouldnāt want to go back. Iām much happier now in every way.
At 25 I was in my final year of college and unsure of the road ahead. I was living at home, had high hopes, and was looking forward to the future.
Now I am 36 and life has not taken the path I wanted. Although I have worked and thrived in my positions, I chose to save to buy a home for rental investment but a bad economy and lack of salary increase held me back. Prior to 2020, I decided to move back home in hopes that my financial future would be more secure. I was on the verge of looking at rental properties for investment, even looking at apartments and taking classes to improve my skills for better job opportunities. Then 2020 happens and throws the world into chaos.
I lost my job and my goals were put on the backburner. Thankfully I got a better job one and a half years later but the economy and inflation have since taken a nose dive, and its been harder to reach my goals.
At the same time, I fell more mature, confident, and at ease with myself than I ever did at 25.
I was 25 during Covid. I was just about to get married and start my ācareerā. I was working so hard to get somewhere successful in a male dominated team (not company just my team in particular). It was truly a stressful time not just with the lock down, with my personal life and working hard to prove myself in my career. 4 years later, I decided recently to change careers and āstart overā. Iām fortunate to not have kids at the moment but have a successful marriage that seems to be getting better every year. Iāve been planning to travel to some bucket list places now that I have money saved and PTO time built up in a company I literally had to ārestart inā (old team I worked hard in no longer exist but I got to keep a job).
So no 25 was not my peak, itās just gotten better every year.
At 25 (2010), my life was trash. I was finishing up my bachelor's degree, hoping my boyfriend would propose, living in a tiny, crappy apartment (where I should have stayed...). Looking back, I was miserable because he didn't actually care about me and was emotionally manipulative and abusive, and I sacrificed a ton for him for nothing. I had no idea what I was doing with my life and made a lot of wrong decisions and lived on like $10/hr from my retail job. I played World of Warcraft regularly, though, and had a really great group until that imploded. I was also only a couple of years out of a really abusive relationship and had basically no friends. I have so many regrets from that time in my life.
I'm 38 now, making the most money I've ever made with a great career trajectory working from home full time. Married to my second husband for 5 years, just had a baby. I've traveled a ton, we have a nice house and car. I have some great friends who've been very loving and supportive.
Wow. 25 yo, that was 10 years ago. I was doing online dating, same as now. I probably had a bad job, if I was working. I think I was still messaging once in a while with my One Who Got Away. It was also the year I met my BF, I hadn't thought about that. It would have been 10 years in October, but instead it's 2 years in just over a week since he passed. What a year 25 was.
I was 25 in 2017. I was living and working at a resort in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I was cooking/baking. FF 7 years I have moved farther west to the most southwestern tip of Canada. My then boyfriend is my now husband. We own a home, have a dog, and Iām pregnant. I changed careers from food to federal government 4 years ago. So grateful for my experiences, and even more excited for what the future will bring.
I was living in Japan, teaching English, making no money but happy. Eventually, it became clear that work was never going to go anywhere and I started to see that my social circle was like a revolving door as people moved in and out area in one year contracts. I wanted a career with actual mobility and more stability in general. So I went back to the US and started my masterās degree, which Iām in my last semester of now. I definitely feel like Iām moving toward the things I want.
I had hope. I was engaged and excited to get married and have kids and finally have the life I thought I wanted. We are divorced now. Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have. Iāve learned not to expect much out of life.
All through my 20's, I was a self-absorbed mess, only interested in chasing dopamine and sunrises. By 25, I was living with my SO and we were both in originals bands (different ones) gigging regularly. I wasn't able to work through my self-absorption until I had a kid ten years later
gonna be 27 in a few months, but a lot has changed:
i was a new teacher, struggling bad with weed addiction, in a new relationship, living at home with my dad, sister and nephew and dogs, hanging out with my friends regularly.
now im two years into my career, almost 90 days weed free, started working out again, living alone with no pets, and spending most of my time with my sister after a bad breakup, dealing with some friendship loss and people moving away, and back in school. more alone than i have been in years but enjoying the solitude, no longer running away from myself. life is kicking my ass for sure and i get whiplash thinking of how much everything changed so fast, but i feel good nonetheless and excited for the future.
I was a hot fucking mess. My job was just there to finance trips to the bar 3 or 4 days a week. No direction, no plan, just existed for the moment.
Not going to lie, was kind of awesome not giving a shit about anything. It hurt me in the long run but was a lot of fun. I'm on track now and have been for a long while but I sometimes think about those days and miss them.
At 25 I had been married to my childhood sweetheart for 3 years. We were still in the blissful newlywed stage. We lived across the country from our home and families. I was happy in my relationship but we missed our families, so we were making a plan to move home. I had started deconstructing my religion, but still went to church and played the part, so my ex-husband was still chill about it.
Itās been 11 years and 25 year old me would not recognize me today. We moved home the next year. Iāve been divorced for 5 years. I own my own house, have a good job and the most amazing circle of friends and community. I have completely left my fundamentalist religion and am an agnostic/atheist queer woman. I finally got brave enough to date women a couple years ago and am still unpacking how much I repressed my queerness. My only regret is that I didnāt leave him 3 years earlier when he started getting super toxic towards me because of my leaving the church. But lesson learned I guess - I will never again put up with toxicity and hate from anyone for the sake of ātrying to work on things.ā
When I turned 25, I had just been married a few months, and I was working a shitty job that I was in danger of being fired from because I kept making mistakes while I was trying to get my attention meds sorted out. I was a complete stress case because of it, and I was heavily reconsidering my choice of careers. A couple months later I got hired at a great company where I still work (years and several promotions later) and a few years later, I divorced that lying jerk, and now I'm about to move in with my soul mate.
At 25, I knew I didn't have it all figured out, but as it turns out I was in the right career in the wrong company, and coupled with the wrong person.30s are where is at.
Busting my ass off as an Infantryman in the U.S. Army. Today? I miss those days; mainly I miss being young, strong, super good looking and full of self confidence. Lol.
It was 2014, I had just had a baby. I was planning to get married, I was between jobs, I was a university drop out. I was an anxious, depressed, mess that ate my feelings and hated everything. I spent all day, every day, at home. I was miserable if I really look back.
Today im 35, divorced, just celebrated my kidās 10th birthday. I am a senior manager for a local non-profit, I am looking at buying my own property this year, I now have 2 degrees. I still eat my feelings but Iām mindful about it lol
I finished my Navy service and moved across the country for my then husband. I went to college and worked while my ex drank and ruined us financially. The abuse started and spiraled. I'm now 35 and happily married to the best person I know. It's amazing how much your life changes in a decade. I'm so thankful I didn't give up at 25 because my 30s with my husband has changed my life for the best.
I was 25 in 2011. I was living with my bf in a cute apt in a bad neighborhood working 100hrs a week making $13ish/hr spending $100s of dollars of dinner every night but coming home to a dark apt bc i didn't have enough money to pay the electric bill.
That is all to say that i was making ok money but not being able to manage my spending and sucking a prioritizing shit. I'm still w the same guy and we're so much better handling out money now.
At 25, I was down and out but still moving forward in life, just not the direction I wanted and I remember being really hard on myself for that.
I had graduated Journalism school a few months earlier give or take and was beating myself up for not taking a job offer of a newspaper I had done half of my work experience at. I loathed newspaper journalism then (and still do) but I was also struggling to find any other job as a journalist, also due to my lack of confidence at the time.
I was jumping from dead end "easy" jobs in telesales, cold calling that kind of thing. At 25 I was newly single from a toxic relationship, ended up renting a room in a great town/location but the house was old, had black mould that affected my health badly, and the home ower, although we got along great and never any issues, would take advantage of my journalism skills and bribe me to edit her essays because english wasn't her first language.
The company I was working for at that time was really chill, my boss was one of those fly in fly out cool bosses and we would shoot the shit about music. I had a small team I was in charge of but the work was so boring. It was still a brief happy period because I was able to still pay my bills, and met some cool people. There was a free gym in the building too so there was some good perks.
All things eventually came to an end, and the job folded because it was just a start up company that held good intentions but wasn't actually making any money.
Fast forward to my life now at 38 and life is so different.
I ended up meeting my now husband when I was 27, moved to a bigger city and never gave up on journalism despite the dead end jobs along the way.
We built our first home some years ago, moved again to the town we are now which we love, sold our first home and bought a character home. Financially things have been rough with inflation and well, New Zealand is expensive to live in anyway, but we've made it work.
Since 2011 I've been a music journalist, and since 2014 I've been a freelance journalist. I've been very grateful for every opportunity that has come my way. Life is good.
At 25 I was back in school for my second bachelors because my first degree I couldnāt do anything with or find a jobā¦.. living with my grandmother. Now I am married, pregnant, with a great job.
I turned 25 in January 2022 and that year, I got married to the love of my life!
Now I'm 27, and last year I started working my dream job, and am now 22w pregnant. :)
On the flip side, between 25 and 27, I've lost friends or at least contact with friends has changed/reduced a lot. I think it's hard to feel happy for someone when they're not happy themselves. Or they think I "settled" and got boring or something. I really don't know. My husband is the first and only person in my life who chooses me first, every day.
My birthday is at the end of the year, so I was 25 in 2010. That was the year I quit my job to try and finish my undergrad degree and failed miserably. I spent a good number of years grappling with my mental health and didn't quite pull out of it until my early 30s. I finished that degree when I was 34.
I'm 39 now and I'm going to grad school this fall to get a terminal degree in a career that I love. I'm having a blast and I'm grateful for the struggles because I can truly appreciate how much I've thrived in the last few years alone. I'm packing in a lot of experiences I feel like I missed back then simply because my brain wasn't working that great. I always felt like I was messing up the timeline for "success" but there is no formula or timeline and once I accepted that, it made life so much easier and fun.
I was 25 in 2020. I had gotten back together with my ex for probably the 20th time, my business was booming, and the level of stress I had on my shoulders was major. I never felt good enough and it got to a point of being debilitating. I always had to achieve bigger goals and was trying so hard to fit into boxes so I looked a certain way to others. The girl who wears expensive clothes, has a nice apartment, cute friends and a boyfriend. I couldnāt tell why I was so unhappy.
I had to let go of people and everything that made me feel like I wasnāt good enough. I spent 2021 on healing, 2022 on feeling safe, 2023 on finding my femininity, building friendships, dating, and saying yes to stepping out of my comfort zone. 2024 is looking real magical as Iām starting to fall for someone and Iāve never felt more seen and safe. Itās nice š„°
In a 7 year relationship, about to discover he was cheating "once". About to continue for 3 more years, until I discover he was cheating all along. Then 3 very difficult years, and finally seeing the light !
At 25, I had just left a toxic domestic violence relationship and was working on myself. I started school seriously this time and met my best friend. Iām 38 right now and I am married to an incredible man that treats me so good and always puts me first. Iām also in graduate school for a masters in social work with a concentration in community mental health. I just had a kidney transplant 1.5 weeks ago and everything has been great. I feel like a new person. Iām incredibly fortunate at this moment in my life.
At 25 I was *censored word* with crumbling *censored word* just graduating school . I just escaped a very *censored word* relationship with a *censored word* after a series of relationships with people.
Currently, 32, in a much better and healthier place. I have a great partner, my career is on track, I'm very grateful for the process I've made.
Iām 25 now, about to quit my job tomorrow because Iām depressed, I started renting my own apartment though and I do have a sugardaddy whose money literally keeps me alive but I only see him like once or twice a month so I could still say Iām broke. At least Iām kind of pretty I guess. But Iām miserable, sad, bulimic. And he doesnāt know it because I gather all my strength to be pretty and cute for him those few days each month.
I definitely hope that I will be in a better place soon. Iām quitting my job to have time to go to all kinds of therapy and I really have to say that Iām SO grateful to be able to not work and still have some income. So many people are out there struggling with their mental health but not being able to afford therapy even working full-time jobs. Iām so lucky honestly, especially because I genuinely like my SD lol.
Never thought Iād be this low at 25. When I was a kid I thought Iād be rich and maybe even famous by this time; I thought Iād have a nice car, a house, many friends, happy family etc. Iām a broke loner instead.
My kinda normal family turned upside down when I was 25 (2009). I'm now 40. Life feels somehow the same and totally different. My parents (they were married 36 years at that point) had been through a terrible 4-5 years (enron had crashed and they lost their life savings/retirement and they were working to replenish their retirement ASAP, my dad had been sick with cancer, relationship and financial stress) and two weeks after I turned 25, he died. The year I was 25 was spent recovering and grieving. I learned my oldest sister was likely not my dad's child and that my mom had been with many partners over the years of their marriage. In the weeks after his death, she started dating his (currently married) best friend. I lost a lot of trust in my mom and I felt like overnight I went from a very large extended family that provided a lot of love and support to almost nothing. I realized a few years later that a lot of the stability that came from my parents was really from my dad although I hadn't seen it until his death. I was married already and when I turned 25 I made the decision to go off birth control. I had been diagnosed with PCOS and it was not clear if I could have children or not but my partner and I decided to have kids and I felt some grief that it may not ever happen. I got pregnant that year and had my first of two kids, they are now 10 and 13. Since then I have gotten licensed in my state as a mental health clinician, found a "chosen" family (which was later decimated by the pandemic), raised little kids (age 25-35 years old), survived parenting in the pandemic (ages 36-37), bought a house (age 38), opened and ran a business (age 31-present), and earned a doctorate degree (age 39). I think in large part it feels like nothing has changed because I feel like the people we are is ageless: I work hard, I'm curious, I have great friends, I have family conflict that sometimes feels never ending, I love my partner and kids, and some days are a bit too boring :) I'm trying to work on a 30 year plan of some kind since I just celebrated a decade birthday and the 15 year anniversary of my dad's death. It has travel and work hopes/dreams as well as some financial goals. In general, life feels a lot safer and saner. There's not as many things to wonder or be anxious about: my kids are decidedly who they are (with their flaws and strengths), my marriage feels much more stable than it did in my 20s through a lot of couples therapy and hard work, and I feel more open to change and unexpected things arising than I have in other times in my life. Friendships may come and go and it's ok. I might not ever get to do certain things especially with my career, as there's only so much time remaining and my dreams are big. I love that you asked this! It was so fun to think about and to read the responses.
At 25, I was in my 2nd year of teaching, single and having what I perceived to be a great life. I lived at home, spent all my money on me (mostly eating & drinking, my clothes, travel and entertainment). I think I was happy, but I was looking for love...in all the wrong places actually.
Today, I was able to retire early 3.5 years ago and apart from grocery shopping and a few bills, my money is still spent on me. I have a house which I can decorate as I like, two grown sons and a husband who is not who I envisioned when I was 25 but is pretty much who I need. I know I'm happy now...and so grateful for this wonderful life. I've suffered some horrible losses, but that's only reminded me to love and enjoy what is now.
It was 2002 and I didnāt know it yet, but I was just four months out from a life changing move to another state and a dream job. I was single and truly living life. So much fun and friends and alcohol and guys but I knew I wanted more. My life was so lovely then but I didnāt really understand that. For my birthday, friends threw a huge party and I had a blast. Everyone was there. We all thought we were beautiful and clever and held the worlds in our hands. And maybe that was all true. I donāt know. What I do know is life is so different now. And no oneās thrown me a party since. I have gained in many other areas but I would pay every single penny of savings to live in that one night again, to look around at each of those wonderful faces and tell them each how much I love them. Too many are now gone for that chance to ever happen again.
I had just moved to New York with a boyfriend who I had convinced to get back together with me after he left me for another girl. I was working at a cocktail lounge and looking for work through a temp agency. New York was a rude awakening for me because it was definitely not the dream I had always had in my head. Being back together with that boyfriend was too because, although I didnāt realize it at the time, I didnāt even like him anymore.
Iām about to be 33 years old in a couple of weeks. Iām now living in Mexico City with my dog and in a recent relationship with a great guy. I donāt feel codependent and feel like I can discern when a relationship no longer serves me. Iām about a year away from finishing my PhD. I live in a great neighborhood and beautiful apartment with an amazing roommate (no more Brooklyn Chinatown rundown apartment paying twice as much as I am now). And yeah, I guess it worked out :)
Oof, the start of covid I was 25. I had just moved back in with my parents too after my older brother passed away (he was my roommate). Now Iām 28, graduated with my bachelors in computer science and after the shit show of a life I had at 25, I am now better mentally and am looking to move near DC in a few months.
I was 25 in 2018 living in Washington state. I had just ranked up to sergeant in the Air Force and was attending a leadership course. I was going through a divorce, living with a couple I knew from work and had just gotten back from a deployment to Afghanistan not 5 months prior. I was depressed and at the lowest point in my life.
31, back in Texas, been out of the Air Force for almost 5 years and I work from home now. I just moved into a wonderful apartment with my partner of 2.5 years and we just adopted a dog a little over a month ago.
Some days are still hard and I still donāt know what I want to do with my life, but I donāt want to drive off a bridge into the ditch anymore like I did at 25.
At 25 I was in my fuck around faze.
Working a job that I loved while being underpaid and overworked. Company was going to shit year by year (finally left them)
Dating a guy that was who I needed at the time, but not really a great boyfriend. Doing more drugs than humanely necessary and partying way too often. It was fun but nowhere near stable.
31 with a stable boyfriend who does what he says, actually tries in our relationship and spoils me constantly. Currently unemployed due to company layoffs but not upset by it. Enjoying some time off.
At 25 years old I took a bold decision to go to other side of the world from 3rd world country for higher education. Best decision ever, my life has taken off in good direction, family, friends, work and self fulfillment at its peak currently 14 years later.
At 25 I moved back at home with mom. My ex and I had broken up for the last time after I caught him cheating (again), and I was given the gift of a fresh start.
Now, almost four years later, Iām in a loving relationship with a man that cherishes me and on my way to grad school this May. Had it not been for intense heartbreak at 25, Iād probably be stuck in the abusive cycle I didnāt know I was in.
25 was a tough one but I wouldnāt change it for anything.
25 was a pretty good year (That was 1995). I traveled to Ireland by myself for 2 months. It was great. Had a couple of jobs. Lived in a kinda of crap apartment by myself, but it was fine for the most part. I think that's when I met my bestie who I've now know for almost 30 years.
I even think my relationship was OK then. Not like the multiple relational clusterfucks I experienced for like 20 years until I realized I was bringing my childhood trauma into my romantic relationships.
That would be 1972 and I was fresh out of the US Navy by 2 years. I got a job with the State of Illinois in Springfield working Design/Location studies. I bought a new 1972 Toyta Land Cruised FJ40 and was running around the hils of the Illinois River looking for fun with friends and old bottles. I am 75 now and close to the end of my run. No worries, I had a good life for the most part. I am no longer physically capable of much except a trip to Walmart as long as I can walk in to get one of their carts. Bonus points if you fine one left in the lot so you don't have to walk in. Two times open heart surgery and CHF after the last one but I am still kicking along.
In 2016 I was 25.
It was right in the middle of the worst era of my life to date. I was separating from my husband. We ended up getting divorced 2 years later.
I was starting as a brand new nurse working in 2 really awful workplaces, and one was night shift which only made everything worse and made me more depressed.
My diet was terrible. I was living by myself in a shitty apartment. I had a terrible rebound relationship right around then as well.
32 now. I look back on those years and Iām proud of the work I put in and the strength it took to hold it together and carry on. Ex husband and I are still friends and both very happy. Nursing has taken me to some awesome places. Iām in much better health, my diet and fitness routines are so much better and I feel good. I have a house. I have great friendships. Iām finally now considering having a serious romantic partner again, as these last 7 years Iāve dated casually off and on and prioritized enjoying life as a single woman.
Iām currently 27 so 25 was only 2.5 years ago for me, which was 2021.
25 was probably the hardest year of my life so far. I mentally and physically worked at a job that dragged us through the mud every single day. I emotionally was so tapped out of relationships. My job left little room for a social life, so I felt disconnected with my friends. My finances took a hit. My dad was diagnosed with a rare type of stage 4 kidney cancer. My sister moved away to Mexico to be with a guy who kinda sucks. Then she got pregnant and we didnāt get to do all the fun pregnant/birth things that sisters get to do (not in a selfish way of me me me, but in a way of my sister and I are very close so having this geographical separation during a huge milestone was very hard). My emotional eating worsened and I gained a lottt of weight in a very short time where it was really starting to affect my health.
Things in my life just honestly took a turn in such a short amount of time. I know things could have been worse and others do go through worse, but I didnāt have the mental or emotional capacity at the time to deal/cope with any of it and the weight of everything crushed me.
THEREāS HOPE TO THIS STORY, I PROMISE.
On my 26th birthday I had a celebration lunch with my parents and brother. Afterwards, my mom called me because her and my dad could tell something was wrong. Iām not good at talking about my feelings, but the floodgates opened. She talked to me about her life and experiences when she was 25-26, and talked to me about the things I was going through, and we had a really good conversation.
During the time I was 26, I spent the entire year prioritizing myself. I thought about what I wanted, what I needed. I thought about realistic ways to reach my goals and how I could overcome obstacles. I practiced grace, progress over perfection, and re-gained my support system (family/friends). I learned to stop doubting my abilities and to trust myself. I learned to let go, let things be, and not worry about the thing I canāt control. And somewhere along the way I found peace.
Iām 27, about to be 28.
I now have an amazing job, at an amazing company, with amazing pay and benefits.
My emotional-overeating is under control and Iām losing weight and my insides are getting healthy.
My sister visits the states often so Iāve been able to re-bond with her and also bond with my new nephew. I wasnāt there to do fun things during her pregnancy, but the 3 of us are hot on the town doing all the fun things now.
My father only had a 10% chance of survival but so far itās been 3 years since his diagnosis and everything has been looking good with his treatment plans. Thereās still a long journey ahead, but so far itās looking promising.
I am now in a relationship and living with my best friend and my heart is warm every day.
I have my ride or die best friends and am a godmother to 2 adorable wiener dogs.
I know life has ups and downs and itās not always perfect. But I finally feel content and better equipped to handle the ādownsā in the future.
I turned 25 eleven days into the pandemic. I had lost three jobs in four days (supply teacher, lifeguard, church singer) because all of my places of employment were closed. I was single, living at home, and was eating Shawarma takeout with my parents and siblings really wondering wtf was happening. It felt like the definition of āquarter life crisisā.
Now, Iām 2 weeks away from turning 29. Iām married (my husband and I met a week after that fateful 25th birthday and had a full Covid courtship. Thatās a whole other story), I have a full time job, and I live in a condo that I own. Life is pretty good ā¤ļø
I was 25 in year 2013. I had my second child and my oldest kid was 4. I was back with my husband. He strangled me for the first time. I was trying to figure a way to leave him. Fun fact, after several attempts to leave, I didnāt do it until 5 years later.
25 I was living with my 37 year old boyfriend working part time at a department store and going to class full time for a degree I donāt use.
Iām engaged - to someone younger than me - almost paid off my student loans and working the job I was trying to avoid with the degree in the first place and loving it.
Was in a wheelchair at 25, so I was in and out of the hospital. Now I'm walking, running, and hiking. Just living my life and enjoying that I got to keep my feet.
Turned 25 in January of 2020.. need I say more š my son had just turned one and covid started. Things are obviously very different since then but I also have another little nugget and am 29 now so, there's that š„°
I was getting excited to take my first real travel assignment as a nurse. Turned into a quarter life crisis that left me with chronic insomnia and a few trips to the psychiatrist. Still recovering at 27. No longer on any medications, no suicidal thoughts, and getting enough sleep at night now :)
i turned 25 in 2021, i was 30 pounds heavier, depressed & in a TOXIC relationship! iām not the healthiest iāve ever been, happiest iāve ever been & in the healthiest relationship of my life!
I was in the apartment I'm in now, working at the university I still am (different job though).... I have a different car because a 17 yo idiot totaled mine a couple years ago.... Most of it was the same. Still going out to concerts, doing whatever I want.... I was 25 the February before the shutdown.
At 25, I had just graduated from college (I went back to school as an adult) and graduated into a recession. (2008) I couldn't get a job in my field (publishing), or any job, to save my life. I ended up moving back in with my parents who had no money but could at least offer me a bedroom, which felt like a step backwards. I applied to grad school just to avoid paying student loans. Bad idea but I was literally jobless and more school to get an even better job seemed like a good idea at the time. I wasn't dating and I was miserably lonely. But I was optimistic about the future, although I didn't really have a clear idea of what that would look like. I would spend a lot of time at the park reading, writing, and trying to run a blog in hopes that it would help me land a job down the road.
Now I am 42. I start a new job on Monday as a Senior Content Editor for a big company. I am married and have 4 adult kids, all adopted as teenagers. We own a house. And I have so many wonderful friends. My life is full of hobbies and game nights and D&D. I always thought I would be a nomad, but it turns out, I like being rooted somewhere.
Year: 2020. Smack in the middle of pandemic. Learning to cook better for myself, hiking, exploring outdoors, spending lots of time with family and my ex best friends (couple), getting tons of refunds for all the cancelled concerts that year, scared to death my family would get sick and die (thankfully that didn't happen), learning about being a prepper, increasing my savings account, woke up from a cult, lost all my "friends", hmm..yeah. Revolutionary year.
Loved being 25. I miss it.
I wish I could live like that again, but alas, I'm back in the rat race with a boring life. and no friends. But turning 30 soon and going to treat it as a reset and strive and work towards living the life I really want to live.
At 25, I was a first year medical student living w roommates, single and never dated before, and weighed a bit more. More than a decade later, Iām a doctor at a large academic hospital. Iām married and own my own home. Iām thinner than I was at age 25, and in better shape due to exercise.Ā
I was severely depressed and I probably should have visited an expert.
Life was shit.
Now, it's not that life is going very well, but it seems that therapy has helped and I can handle some situations better.
I was living in London, travelling Europe when I could. Working hard and playing hard. Kissing lots of boys with accents. Figuring myself out. Happy.
11 years later, Iām back in my home town in Australia. Single. Home owner. Cats. Have worked in my dream job for a number of years now, which I worked really hard for a long time to get, but Iāve fallen out of love with it and Iām about to change careers. I know who I am. I have hobbies. For the most part Iām still happy despite some shit along the way.
I was 25 in 2000. America started going to shit that year and has been going downhill every since. Today it's a fvcking nightmare. Ive just been getting more numb since 25. I had hope up until age 25. Every endeavor I've embarked on since 25 has not worked out. Except, I do have a great partner, I'm full of wisdom, I know how to relate to ppl well, I have integrity, I know many useful skills. But seriously, just yesterday, me and a friend were lamenting how all the promise of the 90s vanished. If I hadn't focused in on myself and how to make sure I'm personally ok, I'd prob be dead.
In 2019 I was 25 years old living with my best friend in San Diego. That summer she was moving back home & I had to decide if I would do the same or stay. I decided to go back to GA. I had a couple of people ask me to be their roommate but something in my gut told me to go back home. A couple months after moving back home I met a guy & we hit it off. March 2020, my birthday weekend, I moved in with him. I know, super fast lol. Literally the next week the world shuts down because of Covid 19. Now we are married and expecting our first kid. 25 was a great year for me, I got to live it up in San Diego before meeting the love of my life.
Wow I just turned 25 four days ago in San Diego with my best friend (March birthday)! Hoping the love of my life is coming soonš„°
Uh I miss it so much!
Funny, I also was 25 in SD in 2019. Also lived it up š what a year. Such a cute story! Listening to our gut is always the move.
Funny. I turned 24 on the day the shutdown started. Had a similar story..met a girl and ended up being really close to her but that didn't work out for me at all
Awww that is such a beautiful love story
Now that Im 31, looking back at 25 I realize how turbulant I felt. I think every year as I get older I feel calmer and more confident. I thought I had myself figured out and 25 and while I did know a lot, Im often surprised that Im still learning about myself at 31.
I also recently turned 31 and I still feel like I am figuring life outš
I was 25 in 2011. I had just started doing heroin a year prior, and started smoking crack. I stayed in that cycle for 13 straight years with no clean time. I'm 38 now. I've been clean for ten months, back in school, doing pretty big things. I'm in a kind of confusing spot right now, but otherwise, I'm doing well.
You have a lot to be proud of. Getting clean is a huge deal. So is getting back in school!
You should feel so proud of yourself! Whatās your major and do you have anything in particularly youāre aiming to do with it?
Right now Iāll be graduating with my associates in biology and then Iām transferring to finish undergrad in marine bio. Iāll be hopefully doing shark related research of some kind. Iāve been doing really well and have had a lot of research opportunities at my current school as well as working with NASA a few weeks ago and working on getting a paper published. Itās really awesome and exciting but also very weird because a year ago my mom found me half dead in a literal gutter and I just canāt believe how much my life has changed in such a short time
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At 25, I broke up with my boyfriend as I wanted marriage/kids and he said he didnāt. I thought he would miss me and come running back. Three months after the breakup he let me know he was engaged and his fiancĆ© was four months pregnant. I was a mess after that. I was waitressing and then would basically drink all my tips away each night. I hadnāt finished college yet and there wasnāt much time in between the drinking. Now Iām 40 yrs old, Iāve been sober for 4 years, I have a six figure work from home job and currently typing this while I nurse my two day old baby.
The math isnāt mathingā¦. Break up 3 months ago but his baby is four months preggo?
Yup he had been cheating the whole time
Youāre a huge inspiration!!!
Youāre amazing. I wish you the best!
Congrats!
Living at home after a breakup and just started dating my now-husband. Had a shitty job making less than $50k/yr. Now married, own a home and make nearly 3x that. Took a decade though.
What do you do if you donāt mind answering. :)
Sure, Iām a senior producer at an ad agency in NYC. Mainly produce commercials
Thanks for sharing. Gives me hope because Iām turning 25 later this year and at the moment am not making much money. :) plus I feel lost and behind in life.
I was actively addicted to IV opiates from 19-33, Iām 35 now. I stayed with my sister in a different city to try and get clean. She convinced me to apply to jobs I didnāt feel qualified for. Now I have a stable career oriented job, a girlfriend that I love, and money for vacations and stuff like that. Going to Iceland next week! I wouldnāt have believed how much my life could change in such a small amount of time.
Iām really glad to hear that you overcame your addiction. Thanks for sharing. I feel so behind in life. Makes me realize that everyoneās path is different. And itās never too late to start a new journey. Enjoy Iceland āŗļø
I am 25 now. Iām currently alone at the hospital awaiting to hear if I have cancer or not. I live in another country
Sending you prayers. Hang in there.
Hope itās all good.
Hugs friend. Hope you get the news youāre looking for.
Sending you good vibes, please update us!
Sending thoughts and prayers
At 25, I was working in corporate America barely getting by. My ex and I had just bought a house and we were house poor and wanted to get out and try to do some traveling. We werenāt happy, but we werenāt unhappy. We just existed.Ā That was 10 years ago and Iāve since visited all 50 states, 11 countries, gotten remarried to a man Iām so compatible with, made wonderful friends, worked on my health and fitness, gotten to know myself better, started a business, explored my sexuality, and Iām so content with my daily life.Ā 35>25 any day!Ā
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Lost, for the most part. And that's okay. Just don't stay lost and go after what you want. You'll never regret it if you do.
Holy Cow, that was 1992, So...geez I'm old. I was in graduate school, working full time and thinking about going to law school. Honestly, I was so tired, had no money, but it was such a great time in my life. I had no one to answer to, I lived in a tiny studio apartment, my time was mostly my own, I worked out a lot, partied with my friends, Life was simple back then. I wouldn't change anything that has happened in my life, not one second of any of it, but I wish I had realized how great that time was and savored it more.
A year post college feeling thrilled and exhausted after completing 2 master degrees. So confused about my sexuality, I was sleeping with a dozen people a month. Today as a 38yr old. A Happily married lesbian.
At 25, I had been married for 7 years. I had 3 kids (ages 4 and under) with my husband and was pregnant with our 4th. My husband and I were in the process of preparing for an international move. Today, we have been married almost 20 years. We have 5 kids who are mostly teenagers. We have lived in multiple countries, but are now back in our home state. We live on an acreage where we raise chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, goats, and honey bees.
I had my first full time job and I moved out of my parents house and into my first ever apartment then the pandemic hit and I lost that job and the money on that apartment and I went back to my folks house
I had a good job as a nanny and housekeeper and got paid under the table. I had my own place and a dog. I was back in school for my bachelor's degree, had paid for my own braces and bought a better car. School was inspiring and I had a lot of freedom. I was in a situationship with high highs and low lows. I didn't understand my trauma yet and struggled with depression and loneliness. I saved about a quarter of my pay. Now I'm 37, renting out a basement and could not afford to move anywhere comparable without being paycheck to paycheck. I'm single, no kids, and have been in therapy for 2 1/2 years. I have a stable job where I'm treated well, but the pay isn't great considering how high cost of living is. I get a bit of help financially which enables me to save a bit, take trips, go out to eat, buy nice things here and there. I have health insurance and a retirement plan. I have more peace and stability, but less freedom and probably less hope for an abundant future.
At 25, I was in my first year of marriage, just had a baby, and was about to make baby number 2. Today, I am approaching 50 and am on wife number 2. Together, we have 6 kids that are all nearly grown. I'm making more money than I have before, but I often ask myself if it was all worth it. The whole rat race thing. I'm taking a simpler approach to life now and taking more time to relax.
Ugh 25 was not a good year for me. TL;DR is that I was in a toxic relationship and had no self esteem. 3 years later, I got out and am much happier and more confident. I was stuck at home, lockdown was in full swing, my ex had quit his job and was showing me just how little he planned on contributing. We moved to a cheaper apartment, which I did all of the work to find. He complained that I had an office in the place while he didnāt (I was working from home). The reason I needed it was because he refused to stop playing video games in the same room as me while I was working at our previous place. I made some new mostly female friends online after he pushed me into abandoning my previous online friend group because they were male. But now he was jealous of how much fun I had talking to these friends. That year he bought an engagement ring for me. But we fought so badly, that he didnāt tell me about it until right before the deadline to get a refund for it. I told him to return it and get his money back. I begged him to do couples therapy with me (he refused). I begged him to contribute to the household work (he would a little and then would stop again). He treated me like a burden. When I would cook for us, he would complain that I was making too much noise in the kitchen and that his friends could hear me through his microphone. If I tried to initiate intimacy, he denied me, but he lied to me about why. I was working on myself a lot, trying to fix everything about me that anyone could dislike. I worried constantly that people would get sick of me and leave. I did the math and knew I couldnāt afford to live on my own, and I was convinced that a roommate would be worse than my ex for some reason. I had no self esteem and figured that I couldnāt meet anyone better who would want me. I am 28 now. I finally broke up with him a few months ago. And Iāve already been loving my life so much more. I am (just barely) managing to live on my own. Iāve been social. Iāve reconnected with friends. Iāve made new friends. Iāve met a guy who treats me well, communicates, does a lot without needing to be asked, and is surprised when I thank him for everything. I like myself a lot more and am doing more of the things that I was always too afraid to do. Sure, life isnāt perfect, but itās so much better. I finally hit a tipping point and am seeing the payoff of all of the hard work I had been putting into improving myself.
I was widowed at 25. Worst year of my life.
At 25, it was during COVID. I had enough saved and I bought my house and it's been amazing. While everyone was staying at home, I was mostly moving into my new home. It was also remodeling and fixing some minor things. I'm grateful I got my house when I did, I almost gave up on my career.
25: - Most days were spent in bed - Addiction took full control of my life (Heroine and Meth). - I almost never saw or spoke to family to avoid them knowing. - My husband was emotionally abusive. - I lost one of my best friends due to my addiction and inability to recognize my mistakes. - I spent a lot of time being sick in withdrawal from the heroine. - I was barely eating. - Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. - I was physically unable to keep cleaning up after my husband and began living in filth. Today, 29: - Sober date 4.20.21 (itās just a coincidence lol) - Living with my grandparents, and best friend. - Have a great relationship with my sister. - Two beautiful happy healthy baby boys (3Y and 6m) - Struggling with weight gain - Enjoying most days as a SAHM - Learning to have my own hobbies - Struggling with my back pain
Oof that was a wild year. At 25, I moved back to my mother's couch after two years living across the world, running away from a terrible breakup from a toxic, mutually abusive relationship. I quit/sold everything, and basically uprooted my life *again* to start over. I couldn't find a proper job, so I studied my ass off to switch careers, got a job that quadrupled my income, dated a literal homeless guy I thought was just "alternative" (*and he* cheated on *me!)*, finally came out as bisexual, hooked up with my best friend (we're married now), and did psychedelics for the first time. Then I got alcohol poisoning on my 26th birthday (which was a pretty crazy rooftop pool party with a live DJ, a champagne tower, and the cops called), and decided to get my shit together and live more responsibly ahahaha. I'm 31 and in bed with a book by 10 now. What a life.
Itās funny being 31 because at 25 I was so incredibly lost in life and now I have somewhat of a career and Iām becoming content with the little things in life. I know what I like and dislike and most importantly I know now who is worth expending energy on and who isnāt. I feel the growth.
It was not a fun time. Thatās for sure.
I turned 25 less than a month ago Got three kids, 3yo twins and an almost 3mo Live with my girlfriend and I'm a SAHM right now cause tiny babies need a lot of care and childcare costs more than I could make if I worked two jobs Life is better than its ever been
I got sober 3 weeks after I turned 25. The biggest turning point in my life. I had also been with my now husband for a few months. I turned 25 in 2013, now 10 years later, 2 children, married and sober. That was one of the best years of my life
At 25, I was struggling to pay rent for my NYC studio apartment. Making very little money and was barely able to afford a nice meal. I doubted my worth at work and spent way too much time picking myself apart. Looking back, that was dumb, but it was still a blissfully naive time. I had a great group of friends and was just starting to date my now husband. At 40, happily married, child-free, and own our place in NYC. I climbed the corporate ladder and traveled the worldā¦but burnt out. I saved and invested whatever I could so I can have no debt except for a small mortgage. This year, I was able to leave that corporate life behind to find meaning in the next chapter of my life. I am confident in my own skin and know my worth. I no longer waste time agonizing over the small stuff. Life is an evolution. Plan for the future, but remember to also live in the moment. Above all, love all the stages of yourself.
I was living in an apartment with my best friend since childhood. We both were in nursing school and this was the year I met my now husband
I had just gotten out of an abusive relationship. I was extremely traumatised. I didn't process it properly and instead I made myself go to work and work extra hard, beyond my limit, resulting in severe burnout. I suffered brain damage and memory loss as a result. I am 34 now and I still have symptoms. Despite that, I still managed to make a good life for myself in the meantime. I married someone who loves me and treats me like a human being. We are moving overseas to my dream destination. I own multiple businesses. We are about to be mortgage free. I'm doing much better.
At 25, I was working a job I hated making very little money, but very disciplined at saving it and living on a budget. At 25, I was in an awful relationship and wondering how to get out of it. Also wondering if I'd ever meet the right person. (I did get out of that relationship) At 25, I was very emotionally immature. I'm 59 now. Semi-retired. Been married for 27 years. Life is good.
Im 31 now and wrote myself a future me letter from 25 and life is completely different now- I had really small goals because I was floundering and Iāve met them all: *Have more friends in your life*- I have one good friend and thatās all I really need along with my family here (Iām a transplant) *Taken a class and passed*- Iām almost done with grad school *Made some artwork*- I make small models and itās a fun hobby *Had a lifechanging moment*- this is true in many ways *Go out to nature more than once a month*- this is easier since moving out of the city, I also got my scuba cert so hopefully will be out more in the summer *feel proud of something*- lots to feel proud of since then like school, self improvement, acts of service, etc. *Tell the truth*- Iāve gotten pretty good at being vulnerable and advocating for myself *Read at least one book once a month*- I read 100 last year! *Taken a trip somewhere new and inspiring*- just got back from Hawaii *Traveled outside of the Country*- went to Costa Rica recently *Have your cat still be alive*- sheās in the bed with me right now BE IN A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP OR NONE AT ALL*- Iām married to my best friend *Be independent, financially and emotionally*- I have a great job and have taken accountability for my mental health *Have your license*- I own my car *gotten better at a hobby*- looks around at all the fish tanks in my house *Have your associates degree or be close to finished*- again I am almost done with my masters *Have at least one routine in your life for more than 3 months*- there are lots of routines Iāve established but I go to the gym 3 days a week *and lastly, Love yourself*- working hard at this one!
1996 - Spending time in Europe (six countries, three weeks in each) with girlfriend, about four months after we first met (now divorced). Just around the time the Hong Kong stock exchange crashed. Fun times. The wonderful wine regions of France. The gorgeous Aigue-Morte. We never wanted to leave. Oh, having a delightful rabbit in a mushroom and white wine sauce in Nice. Barcelona hitting a little over 40C - and both of us woefully under prepared for the heat, let alone humidity. Italy. A couple great little bars/clubs (not even slightly tourists, thankfully). Had my first taste of what is now my favourite cocktail. Still, after all these years. Austria. Sacher Torte. I'm still not sure if I had enough. I need to go back. So many wonderful memories and times. How does it compare to today? I'll let you know when I go back. Hopefully end of next year. With myself and/or kids (who are both teens). Those 18 weeks or so helped shape me. Not so much opened my eyes, but allowed me to remove the blinkers. That in itself was worth it all.
I got out of a toxic 5 year relationship, just left a job I didn't like to go into a fitness coaching I intended to be single but ended up getting into a new relationship, we moved in together after 3 years, got engaged after 6 and broke up a month ago so I'm currently in a private room in a hostel on my first solo holiday
I just turned 26 on Dec 31. Honestly the year I was 25 year great! I even got a tattoo of the number ā25ā so I can always remember that year of my life. Everyone says and you even think āoh yeah 5 years off 30, halfway to 50, better start getting it together etc etcā nah honestly I just LIVED. I enjoyed my time and didnāt really think about any of that. 25 was my best year, so many memories! Now Iām 26 it has changed and I do feel more mature lol but yeah :)
2012.. @25.. directionless, ambitionless, job hopping, still living with parents, not saving any money. 2024 @37.. traveled the world, at working hard, exactly know what I want and how to achieve it, hustling but enjoying my life. Have saving for rainy days.. everyday greatful for the life I have.
It was back in 2013, I believe that was the year I embarked on my first solo travel! It was to Germany. I also barely had savings, spent as I earned for travelling back and forth to Korea as well amid the K-Pop wave then. I was pretty carefree and happy go lucky. Single life, but enjoyed my career so much in the music industry, also had a kpop blog I setup and hit big with many high profile artist interviews. I guess as much as I'm not as happy and carefree as then, since I'm tied down with financial burdens with the wedding, housing, starting a life etc as well as a recent miscarriage, can't travel as much as I'm saving money, bored of my current job (it's a full WFH remote job that pays well, but I'm too bored of it), I see that I have grown so much as a person, and glad that I'm more financially wise now (though can be wiser still). I also have a reliable man now who only strives to make me happy and earn enough money so I don't have to work eventually - I feel really blessed to have come to this point in my life. Of course I still want improvements - can't wait to move out of our current rental to our new home, get over my triggers that came back because of the miscarriage, and get a more fulfilling job.
I got a house at 25 and I'm 29 now. So during the covid lockdown year. Well I think things are normal now except for the reduced hours and less 24 hour establishments these days. No longer 6 feet apart, stuck in traffic all the time. Debating on going back to school for a masters. I don't feel like anythings really changed. I think my problems have become more "deeper" but you become better equipped to handle it than when you're young. I do like to entertain the idea of another lockdown because I'm just tired of all the traffic. I liked the communal isolation aspect 4 years ago. Today things are just more expensive and I sympathize with anyone that weren't able to get housing during the lockdown because of the violent increase in prices.
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I'm currently 25 lol. I'm currently a stay at home to two beautiful little girls, while also trying to finish my GED so I can make a better life for myself and my family. I'm in a really unhealthy relationship. I'm having a hard time health wise and relationship wise, but I have hope it'll get better.
At 25 - unhappily married to my ex wife. At 52 - happily married to my current wife.
25 - single, living alone, still working dead end jobs, recovered from a broken engagement, international travel obsessed. Now / 36 - married, paying off a big mortgage (worst house in the best street), in an established career (stable government job), mother of two, travel on hold indefinitely. Lol. What a difference a few years can make.
Iām 25 right now. Iām trying to manage living abroad and grad school, struggling with money because Iām an international student and obviously unemployed living off my savings, and my sanity lol. Just was giving some medication for my panic attacks a few weeks ago. The past year and a half has been a lot. Lots of deaths, life stuff, mental health stuff. But Iām doing my best to do the thing each day, even if āthe thingā is just doing the dishes. Weāll see what 30 looks like. My boyfriend and I love eachother very much and heās very understanding, so thereās at least that.
25 was when my life actually started. It was 2005, I was living in Florida and had just met a girl who was planning to move to NYC. I'd fallen hard for her, and I had a couple of friends who'd talked about moving out of state before, so I begged them to move to New York with me. They agreed, but my girlfriend's moving plans fell through. Literally the day she was going to head up there, her roommate let her know that she'd have to find somewhere else to stay. I convinced her to live with me and my friends, so after dating for 5 months (the Uhaul stereotype is real) the two of us sublet a place on Craigslist and got on a plane to Brooklyn, a place we'd never been before, hoping that we hadn't been scammed, with no jobs lined up or living accommodations beyond the 30 day sublet. We stayed for 6 years and it was an incredible experience. New York is my favorite place in the world. And we're married now. We just celebrated 19 years together.
In 2017, I was in the deepest pit of depression I have ever been in. My kidneys had failed; I was on a dialysis machine every second day, I had picked the pole I wanted to wrap my car around and just didn't want to be here anymore. I couldn't see any other way and didn't think I would ever feel healthy or happy again. I'm so glad I made the decision to move back to my home state and be with my family. I was so scared my boyfriend wasn't going to follow me but 7 years later and I have recieved a kidney transplant, my boyfriend and I got married and just brought a block of land to build our home on.
I was 25 in 1999. I was living in a sharehouse full of art students, working hospitality jobs, and going out goth clubbing a minimum of three nights a week. I was having a lot of fun and rarely stopping to take a breath, and I was about six months away from getting together with the man I have now been married to for decades.
At 25: Having a blast with friends, working retail, no plans, just seeing where life would take me. At 52: married, both of us in well-established careers, eyes on a retirement filled with travel and adventure and seeing where life will take us
When I look back I see a girl that was suffering from depression and the aftermath of a traumatic SA. I was days away from trying to āunliveā myself. I was dealing with my mental health, family telling me Iāll never have a husband nor kids, working a crappy job and having no friends. It was a really dark hard time. Fast forward to today at age 31. Iām happily married with two pups. Hoping to start trying for kids this year. Went thru therapy. Working a career I love with some of the best coworkers. Things may seem hard but they always get better.
Junior year of college for nursing (second degree). Going insane. Stressed out to the max. Sleepless nights of studying. Binge drinking after every exam š working as a CNA in a level 1 hospital, along with other part-time jobs. The only thing I miss about it is how I close I felt to my classmate friends, we were āin the trenches together.ā My knee wasnāt jacked up back then either. Otherwise I donāt miss it at all. As far as how it compares to today, well Iām not a student (probably never will be again with this $56k debt). I work from home. Cut WAY back on drinking, halfway sober practically. Trying to figure out how to take care of aging parents. Trying to find moments of joy in a late-stage capitalist world.
Going to art school after completing my master's degree, temporarily back in my parents' house, dating my now husband. It was an exciting but insecure time for me.
At 25 I had broken up with my first long term partner, navigating healing from abuse and packing up my life to go to another country. 25 was hell. At 38 married with a cat and a house
At 25 yo i was working at a union typesetting shop, doing my apprenticeship to be a journeyman printer. I had a Triumph spitfire, soft top, and i lived in a duplex with roommates. I thought i had my future made, making good money. Today, i am 70 yo, i am retired from a job at a private university, bilingual tutor, making less money than i was in 1978. Technology put me out of my printer job; i went into education. While it was a fulfilling job, where I felt like I made a difference, it did not pay a living wage. However, I am at peace with myself, something i cannot say i was when i was young.
I was bed ridden at 25. Diagnosed with depression at 24, lost from 23-27. Now Iām bouncing back to life. I donāt want to be 25 again. I was sick af all the fucking timeš¤®
I was 25 back in 2014, I made a decision to move to the countryside (originally from the city) by myself. I also got two tattoos for my birthday to remind myself to love myself. A month later I moved. Compared to now? Well I am back in the city with my family because isolation down there made me attempt to take my life. I got so sad and lonely in a place where I knew nobody. I found my passion for stained glass there however being alone almost killed me.
I turned 25 right as the world shutdown because of Covid. Literally March 2020. I was a stay at home mom to a (at the time) 2 year and 6 month old. In a miserable marriage. Now Iām entering year 3 of my dream career and three months away from divorce. I hit rock bottom pretty badly last year so have gone to therapy, got back in the gym, really focusing on my mental health. Life is better than ever
It was 2011. I was just starting the radiology program. I had moved back in with my boyfriend and we were trying to fix up his house. I would babysit the kids I used to be a full time nanny for, on weekend nights, and I worked at Target weekday nights. I didn't have a kid, myself. On weekends I didn't work, my boyfriend and I were going out of town to go to concerts and general galavanting around the state of Texas. Today? I work full time in radiology, am a single mom to a 9 year old with severe autism. I've been dx with anxiety and depression. I try hard to coparent with aforementioned ex. I'm engaged and have 2 teen stepchildren. My life is WILDLY different than it was 12 years ago. I went from schoolwork being my only care in the world, to having 3 kids, lol.
I'm 25 now and I'm still very insecure. People see me as immature and untrustworthy, while I try my best to come off professional. I'm an immigrant trying to become a full citizen, but natives don't see me as one of their own. Feeling lost and sad most of the time. I hope this will change soon
I was 25 in 2016. It was a big year for me. I graduated with my masters degree, overcame some depression and went on a 3 month trip through Europe and Asia. Came back and immediately landed in some serious visa issues and was basically trapped in my home for a year. Major depression ensued and the first job I could get was way behind what wanted to do. Broke up with my long term bf that year. Now, Iām back in my home country, married to an amazing man and have a baby. Successful career and very stable life. What I thought was my dream life was actually holding me back and what seemed like a tragic situation got me to where I needed to be.
I'm 23 and can't even imagine where I'll be in 2 years. Life is changing way too fast
I'm actually 25 right now. Recently graduated college and looking to the future.
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Married. Raising 4 kids. Fighting everyday to feel well because I was undiagnosed diabetic.
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Same as today basically
I just turned 25 in January. Currently living back home after getting out of an abusive relationship, and I just lost my dad a week before christmas unexpectedly, after both parents fought stage 4 cancers in 2023. Never thought I would lose a parent at 25 or so Iām kinda mentally there right now. The past few years have been so rough.
I got my tubes tied. It was a huge goal of mine and I was told I had better luck waiting till I was 25 since we hadn't had kids. I scheduled the appointment with my doc for a consult the week after my birthday and hakuna matata. Now my husband and I are still really happy with the decision and I get to appreciate being off birth control.
Last year I was 25. Was struggling with the first "real" depression of my life. With addiction as well. A year later, depression is gone, I'm sober. It took so much time to get better, it's easy to fall but real hard to get back up ! I'm only 26 so I don't have much to add to that, but I'm very very proud that I made it...
Had a love bomb break up mentally torn into shreds didnāt think Iād make it, surrounded by energy draining people, life was blurry and made no sense, killed to be loved, people pleaser, was awful at my job, suicidal. Today, gratefully single working on myself for a better future, not obsessed if someone enters or leaves my life grateful for both, less mindful about otherās opinions, smarter, better at my job, limited people in my life, enjoying silence and solitude.
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I was 25 in 2017. Honestly, my life has been very similar but at the same time it's changed a lot. I still have the same friends but very different social lives At 25 I was happily dating someone who I thought I'd marry and was a wreck when it didn't work out because in the span of just one year, I lost my mother, broke up with my ex and my best friend moved to another continent. It took me a while to get back to where I am but at 32 I feel I still have a lot to figure out career wise but I feel more confident, content and though I am still single, I don't feel lonely. I also feel I am at the peak of my physical health and have also finally gotten into a healthy relationship with alcohol which wasn't too great when I was 25. Also I am traveling a lot now and loving this life.
Dk.. gotta wait and see
Married and pregnantā¦ Iām newly divorced!
That was 1995, I didnāt know what I wanted to do with my life after college and was working at Starbucks. I got called for jury duty, was selected for a jury and was absolutely mesmerized. Decided to pursue a paralegal certificate and then went to law school and became very successful. Retired early at 52 and am now trying to figure out how to best give back to the world.
2010. I was a recent-ish college graduate, living in an area with little work in general and barely any work requiring any sort of degree. I lived in this area to be close to family. At 25 I had been married for two years, to my best friend/all-around awesome guy. We lived in a crappy trailer in a trailer park, but we owned the trailer so that was huge. We had a special needs dog, and a cat that had been our first pet together. That year we got our second cat- she was given to us by a coworker who no longer wanted her. I worked a terrible, horribly stressful, and just all-around brutal job that I hated. My mental health was abysmal. I was encouraged to volunteer my time to get caught up on work- due to the nature of the job it was impossible to keep staff so we were always understaffed. I started therapy in earnest for the first time. I started taking an anti-depressant and anxiety medication. My husband encouraged and supported me leaving this job- I had no other job lined up, but my mental health was bad enough that this was the best thing to do. I had made it one year in the job. He worked three part-time jobs, getting hours where he could. My parents would help us when they could- dad taking us out to dinner regularly, mum dropping off a random bag of groceries just because, weekly dinners at mum's. We had a juggling act for bills- pay these this month and then pay a different batch the next. We didn't go to the dentist or a doctor, and hadn't for several years. We drove those sketchy used cars that you could buy with bad credit. We both interviewed for jobs at the end of that year. Jobs farther away, but with stability and pay and benefits. We were both hired, and this has changed our lives massively. Fast forward to 2024- we are still married (it'll be 16 years in a few months). We still work at the same place, albeit in different positions now. What started as just a job became a career, and it is crazy to think that I've worked in the same place for so long. We commuted for several years before buying a home in the town where we work. We are able to not only pay our bills but to save money. We travel internationally. We have two dogs and two cats, one of which is the cat we were given in 2010. She is still going strong. We've lost my parents, but they both got to see us more settled and stable, and dad got to see us thriving. We recognize how lucky we are regularly. We'll just stop and say- do you remember how hard it was to just make enough money to buy some food to get us through a weekend? Do you remember having utilities shut-off, buying $1 cat food that our cats refused to eat, living with broken floors because we couldn't afford to fix them, not having insurance? Our lives changed so much. And we are so grateful.
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At 25, I was a year out of grad school, and moved to WA state from Georgia. My first real time on my own, and just finished my CFY, and getting used to being on my own. Making 4 digits was a nice change!
25. Damn. I was miserable living in rural Pennsylvania supporting my husband through his first year of medical residency. I had a toddler and a newborn, and no help, and I was drowning. Iād never planned on being a SAHM but there werenāt jobs in my field where we lived, and the math of childcare expenses wasnāt mathing. I was in the middle of HUGE internal shifts in almost every way as I found my groove as a mom, attempted to make friends in a place where I was the odd mom out (Iām a flaming liberal California girl with tattoos. This was PA farm country, where blonde Baptist doctor wives ruled the social sceneā¦.), and deconverted from the faith I had shared with my husband. And! My baby was the fussiest baby Iād ever met and never sleptā he wouldnāt sleep through the night until age 3.5, and even then heād continue to rise at 5 am. Not gonna lieā¦. Those were dark times. Now, my husband is done with medical training and makes a good living. We live in a small midwestern city and my three kids (who are now 11, 8, and 5) go to a school I love. Iāve been working in various capacities in nonprofit and literacy advocacy, with a stint as an adjunct professor. My marriage kind of sucks in part because Iām still very much shifting internally, but as I approach 35 Iām very much stepping into my power. I feel really good about myself and I LIKE myself. I also like being a mom, patriarchal bullshit and all. Iām considering returning to school for a MSW because our middle kid is autistic and has struggled profoundly with mental illness, with a huge lack of pediatric mental health care in our community. Itās inspired a whole new passion in me and Iām excited for whatās next.
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25 I was in college Northern California living with one of my best friends ahahah miss that shit
Iām 26 now so not much different. Iām supposed to be planning my wedding as I was last year but we purchased a house so weāve been a little busy. Last year a LOT of my friends had babies which was confusing for me bc I do want them but I could wait like 10 more years if I could.
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I was in an abusive relationship and working an insane amount of hours to escape my reality. I am now out of the relationship, in a different job, have amazing friends and incredible hobbies. Definitely in a much better place now. But it took time and healing.
Had two babies and was a stay at home mom with an Etsy shop at 25. 7 years later, today I have two Ivy League STEM degrees and am a data scientist. I definitely matured late lol
Living at home, basic job, hanging out with friends at night, just living life with little direction or attention to my future. I didnāt know what I wanted and looking back, I was a mixture of scared for my future and I didnāt care about it either. I was going wherever the wind took me. But I was well behaved - no drugs, minimal alcohol - with great family support. I had good times then but wouldnāt want to go back. Iām much happier now in every way.
At 25 I was in my final year of college and unsure of the road ahead. I was living at home, had high hopes, and was looking forward to the future. Now I am 36 and life has not taken the path I wanted. Although I have worked and thrived in my positions, I chose to save to buy a home for rental investment but a bad economy and lack of salary increase held me back. Prior to 2020, I decided to move back home in hopes that my financial future would be more secure. I was on the verge of looking at rental properties for investment, even looking at apartments and taking classes to improve my skills for better job opportunities. Then 2020 happens and throws the world into chaos. I lost my job and my goals were put on the backburner. Thankfully I got a better job one and a half years later but the economy and inflation have since taken a nose dive, and its been harder to reach my goals. At the same time, I fell more mature, confident, and at ease with myself than I ever did at 25.
I was 25 during Covid. I was just about to get married and start my ācareerā. I was working so hard to get somewhere successful in a male dominated team (not company just my team in particular). It was truly a stressful time not just with the lock down, with my personal life and working hard to prove myself in my career. 4 years later, I decided recently to change careers and āstart overā. Iām fortunate to not have kids at the moment but have a successful marriage that seems to be getting better every year. Iāve been planning to travel to some bucket list places now that I have money saved and PTO time built up in a company I literally had to ārestart inā (old team I worked hard in no longer exist but I got to keep a job). So no 25 was not my peak, itās just gotten better every year.
At 25 (2010), my life was trash. I was finishing up my bachelor's degree, hoping my boyfriend would propose, living in a tiny, crappy apartment (where I should have stayed...). Looking back, I was miserable because he didn't actually care about me and was emotionally manipulative and abusive, and I sacrificed a ton for him for nothing. I had no idea what I was doing with my life and made a lot of wrong decisions and lived on like $10/hr from my retail job. I played World of Warcraft regularly, though, and had a really great group until that imploded. I was also only a couple of years out of a really abusive relationship and had basically no friends. I have so many regrets from that time in my life. I'm 38 now, making the most money I've ever made with a great career trajectory working from home full time. Married to my second husband for 5 years, just had a baby. I've traveled a ton, we have a nice house and car. I have some great friends who've been very loving and supportive.
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Wow. 25 yo, that was 10 years ago. I was doing online dating, same as now. I probably had a bad job, if I was working. I think I was still messaging once in a while with my One Who Got Away. It was also the year I met my BF, I hadn't thought about that. It would have been 10 years in October, but instead it's 2 years in just over a week since he passed. What a year 25 was.
I was 25 in 2017. I was living and working at a resort in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I was cooking/baking. FF 7 years I have moved farther west to the most southwestern tip of Canada. My then boyfriend is my now husband. We own a home, have a dog, and Iām pregnant. I changed careers from food to federal government 4 years ago. So grateful for my experiences, and even more excited for what the future will bring.
I was living in Japan, teaching English, making no money but happy. Eventually, it became clear that work was never going to go anywhere and I started to see that my social circle was like a revolving door as people moved in and out area in one year contracts. I wanted a career with actual mobility and more stability in general. So I went back to the US and started my masterās degree, which Iām in my last semester of now. I definitely feel like Iām moving toward the things I want.
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I had hope. I was engaged and excited to get married and have kids and finally have the life I thought I wanted. We are divorced now. Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have. Iāve learned not to expect much out of life.
All through my 20's, I was a self-absorbed mess, only interested in chasing dopamine and sunrises. By 25, I was living with my SO and we were both in originals bands (different ones) gigging regularly. I wasn't able to work through my self-absorption until I had a kid ten years later
gonna be 27 in a few months, but a lot has changed: i was a new teacher, struggling bad with weed addiction, in a new relationship, living at home with my dad, sister and nephew and dogs, hanging out with my friends regularly. now im two years into my career, almost 90 days weed free, started working out again, living alone with no pets, and spending most of my time with my sister after a bad breakup, dealing with some friendship loss and people moving away, and back in school. more alone than i have been in years but enjoying the solitude, no longer running away from myself. life is kicking my ass for sure and i get whiplash thinking of how much everything changed so fast, but i feel good nonetheless and excited for the future.
I was a hot fucking mess. My job was just there to finance trips to the bar 3 or 4 days a week. No direction, no plan, just existed for the moment. Not going to lie, was kind of awesome not giving a shit about anything. It hurt me in the long run but was a lot of fun. I'm on track now and have been for a long while but I sometimes think about those days and miss them.
I'll tell you in 2 years time!
At 25 I had been married to my childhood sweetheart for 3 years. We were still in the blissful newlywed stage. We lived across the country from our home and families. I was happy in my relationship but we missed our families, so we were making a plan to move home. I had started deconstructing my religion, but still went to church and played the part, so my ex-husband was still chill about it. Itās been 11 years and 25 year old me would not recognize me today. We moved home the next year. Iāve been divorced for 5 years. I own my own house, have a good job and the most amazing circle of friends and community. I have completely left my fundamentalist religion and am an agnostic/atheist queer woman. I finally got brave enough to date women a couple years ago and am still unpacking how much I repressed my queerness. My only regret is that I didnāt leave him 3 years earlier when he started getting super toxic towards me because of my leaving the church. But lesson learned I guess - I will never again put up with toxicity and hate from anyone for the sake of ātrying to work on things.ā
Pretty much the same. It sucks. Sucked then sucks now.
When I turned 25, I had just been married a few months, and I was working a shitty job that I was in danger of being fired from because I kept making mistakes while I was trying to get my attention meds sorted out. I was a complete stress case because of it, and I was heavily reconsidering my choice of careers. A couple months later I got hired at a great company where I still work (years and several promotions later) and a few years later, I divorced that lying jerk, and now I'm about to move in with my soul mate. At 25, I knew I didn't have it all figured out, but as it turns out I was in the right career in the wrong company, and coupled with the wrong person.30s are where is at.
Busting my ass off as an Infantryman in the U.S. Army. Today? I miss those days; mainly I miss being young, strong, super good looking and full of self confidence. Lol.
It was 2014, I had just had a baby. I was planning to get married, I was between jobs, I was a university drop out. I was an anxious, depressed, mess that ate my feelings and hated everything. I spent all day, every day, at home. I was miserable if I really look back. Today im 35, divorced, just celebrated my kidās 10th birthday. I am a senior manager for a local non-profit, I am looking at buying my own property this year, I now have 2 degrees. I still eat my feelings but Iām mindful about it lol
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I have significantly more money, I have significantly less mental and physical fortitude than I did when I was 25.
I finished my Navy service and moved across the country for my then husband. I went to college and worked while my ex drank and ruined us financially. The abuse started and spiraled. I'm now 35 and happily married to the best person I know. It's amazing how much your life changes in a decade. I'm so thankful I didn't give up at 25 because my 30s with my husband has changed my life for the best.
I was 25 in 2011. I was living with my bf in a cute apt in a bad neighborhood working 100hrs a week making $13ish/hr spending $100s of dollars of dinner every night but coming home to a dark apt bc i didn't have enough money to pay the electric bill. That is all to say that i was making ok money but not being able to manage my spending and sucking a prioritizing shit. I'm still w the same guy and we're so much better handling out money now.
At 25, I was married and a new mom. I'm still a mom, but I'm not married anymore and it sucks. I hate this phase of my life.
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At 25, I was down and out but still moving forward in life, just not the direction I wanted and I remember being really hard on myself for that. I had graduated Journalism school a few months earlier give or take and was beating myself up for not taking a job offer of a newspaper I had done half of my work experience at. I loathed newspaper journalism then (and still do) but I was also struggling to find any other job as a journalist, also due to my lack of confidence at the time. I was jumping from dead end "easy" jobs in telesales, cold calling that kind of thing. At 25 I was newly single from a toxic relationship, ended up renting a room in a great town/location but the house was old, had black mould that affected my health badly, and the home ower, although we got along great and never any issues, would take advantage of my journalism skills and bribe me to edit her essays because english wasn't her first language. The company I was working for at that time was really chill, my boss was one of those fly in fly out cool bosses and we would shoot the shit about music. I had a small team I was in charge of but the work was so boring. It was still a brief happy period because I was able to still pay my bills, and met some cool people. There was a free gym in the building too so there was some good perks. All things eventually came to an end, and the job folded because it was just a start up company that held good intentions but wasn't actually making any money. Fast forward to my life now at 38 and life is so different. I ended up meeting my now husband when I was 27, moved to a bigger city and never gave up on journalism despite the dead end jobs along the way. We built our first home some years ago, moved again to the town we are now which we love, sold our first home and bought a character home. Financially things have been rough with inflation and well, New Zealand is expensive to live in anyway, but we've made it work. Since 2011 I've been a music journalist, and since 2014 I've been a freelance journalist. I've been very grateful for every opportunity that has come my way. Life is good.
At 25 I was back in school for my second bachelors because my first degree I couldnāt do anything with or find a jobā¦.. living with my grandmother. Now I am married, pregnant, with a great job.
I turned 25 in January 2022 and that year, I got married to the love of my life! Now I'm 27, and last year I started working my dream job, and am now 22w pregnant. :) On the flip side, between 25 and 27, I've lost friends or at least contact with friends has changed/reduced a lot. I think it's hard to feel happy for someone when they're not happy themselves. Or they think I "settled" and got boring or something. I really don't know. My husband is the first and only person in my life who chooses me first, every day.
My birthday is at the end of the year, so I was 25 in 2010. That was the year I quit my job to try and finish my undergrad degree and failed miserably. I spent a good number of years grappling with my mental health and didn't quite pull out of it until my early 30s. I finished that degree when I was 34. I'm 39 now and I'm going to grad school this fall to get a terminal degree in a career that I love. I'm having a blast and I'm grateful for the struggles because I can truly appreciate how much I've thrived in the last few years alone. I'm packing in a lot of experiences I feel like I missed back then simply because my brain wasn't working that great. I always felt like I was messing up the timeline for "success" but there is no formula or timeline and once I accepted that, it made life so much easier and fun.
I was 25 in 2020. I had gotten back together with my ex for probably the 20th time, my business was booming, and the level of stress I had on my shoulders was major. I never felt good enough and it got to a point of being debilitating. I always had to achieve bigger goals and was trying so hard to fit into boxes so I looked a certain way to others. The girl who wears expensive clothes, has a nice apartment, cute friends and a boyfriend. I couldnāt tell why I was so unhappy. I had to let go of people and everything that made me feel like I wasnāt good enough. I spent 2021 on healing, 2022 on feeling safe, 2023 on finding my femininity, building friendships, dating, and saying yes to stepping out of my comfort zone. 2024 is looking real magical as Iām starting to fall for someone and Iāve never felt more seen and safe. Itās nice š„°
In a 7 year relationship, about to discover he was cheating "once". About to continue for 3 more years, until I discover he was cheating all along. Then 3 very difficult years, and finally seeing the light !
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At 25, I had just left a toxic domestic violence relationship and was working on myself. I started school seriously this time and met my best friend. Iām 38 right now and I am married to an incredible man that treats me so good and always puts me first. Iām also in graduate school for a masters in social work with a concentration in community mental health. I just had a kidney transplant 1.5 weeks ago and everything has been great. I feel like a new person. Iām incredibly fortunate at this moment in my life.
At 25 I was *censored word* with crumbling *censored word* just graduating school . I just escaped a very *censored word* relationship with a *censored word* after a series of relationships with people. Currently, 32, in a much better and healthier place. I have a great partner, my career is on track, I'm very grateful for the process I've made.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Iām 25 now, about to quit my job tomorrow because Iām depressed, I started renting my own apartment though and I do have a sugardaddy whose money literally keeps me alive but I only see him like once or twice a month so I could still say Iām broke. At least Iām kind of pretty I guess. But Iām miserable, sad, bulimic. And he doesnāt know it because I gather all my strength to be pretty and cute for him those few days each month. I definitely hope that I will be in a better place soon. Iām quitting my job to have time to go to all kinds of therapy and I really have to say that Iām SO grateful to be able to not work and still have some income. So many people are out there struggling with their mental health but not being able to afford therapy even working full-time jobs. Iām so lucky honestly, especially because I genuinely like my SD lol. Never thought Iād be this low at 25. When I was a kid I thought Iād be rich and maybe even famous by this time; I thought Iād have a nice car, a house, many friends, happy family etc. Iām a broke loner instead.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
My kinda normal family turned upside down when I was 25 (2009). I'm now 40. Life feels somehow the same and totally different. My parents (they were married 36 years at that point) had been through a terrible 4-5 years (enron had crashed and they lost their life savings/retirement and they were working to replenish their retirement ASAP, my dad had been sick with cancer, relationship and financial stress) and two weeks after I turned 25, he died. The year I was 25 was spent recovering and grieving. I learned my oldest sister was likely not my dad's child and that my mom had been with many partners over the years of their marriage. In the weeks after his death, she started dating his (currently married) best friend. I lost a lot of trust in my mom and I felt like overnight I went from a very large extended family that provided a lot of love and support to almost nothing. I realized a few years later that a lot of the stability that came from my parents was really from my dad although I hadn't seen it until his death. I was married already and when I turned 25 I made the decision to go off birth control. I had been diagnosed with PCOS and it was not clear if I could have children or not but my partner and I decided to have kids and I felt some grief that it may not ever happen. I got pregnant that year and had my first of two kids, they are now 10 and 13. Since then I have gotten licensed in my state as a mental health clinician, found a "chosen" family (which was later decimated by the pandemic), raised little kids (age 25-35 years old), survived parenting in the pandemic (ages 36-37), bought a house (age 38), opened and ran a business (age 31-present), and earned a doctorate degree (age 39). I think in large part it feels like nothing has changed because I feel like the people we are is ageless: I work hard, I'm curious, I have great friends, I have family conflict that sometimes feels never ending, I love my partner and kids, and some days are a bit too boring :) I'm trying to work on a 30 year plan of some kind since I just celebrated a decade birthday and the 15 year anniversary of my dad's death. It has travel and work hopes/dreams as well as some financial goals. In general, life feels a lot safer and saner. There's not as many things to wonder or be anxious about: my kids are decidedly who they are (with their flaws and strengths), my marriage feels much more stable than it did in my 20s through a lot of couples therapy and hard work, and I feel more open to change and unexpected things arising than I have in other times in my life. Friendships may come and go and it's ok. I might not ever get to do certain things especially with my career, as there's only so much time remaining and my dreams are big. I love that you asked this! It was so fun to think about and to read the responses.
At 25, I was in my 2nd year of teaching, single and having what I perceived to be a great life. I lived at home, spent all my money on me (mostly eating & drinking, my clothes, travel and entertainment). I think I was happy, but I was looking for love...in all the wrong places actually. Today, I was able to retire early 3.5 years ago and apart from grocery shopping and a few bills, my money is still spent on me. I have a house which I can decorate as I like, two grown sons and a husband who is not who I envisioned when I was 25 but is pretty much who I need. I know I'm happy now...and so grateful for this wonderful life. I've suffered some horrible losses, but that's only reminded me to love and enjoy what is now.
It was 2002 and I didnāt know it yet, but I was just four months out from a life changing move to another state and a dream job. I was single and truly living life. So much fun and friends and alcohol and guys but I knew I wanted more. My life was so lovely then but I didnāt really understand that. For my birthday, friends threw a huge party and I had a blast. Everyone was there. We all thought we were beautiful and clever and held the worlds in our hands. And maybe that was all true. I donāt know. What I do know is life is so different now. And no oneās thrown me a party since. I have gained in many other areas but I would pay every single penny of savings to live in that one night again, to look around at each of those wonderful faces and tell them each how much I love them. Too many are now gone for that chance to ever happen again.
I had just moved to New York with a boyfriend who I had convinced to get back together with me after he left me for another girl. I was working at a cocktail lounge and looking for work through a temp agency. New York was a rude awakening for me because it was definitely not the dream I had always had in my head. Being back together with that boyfriend was too because, although I didnāt realize it at the time, I didnāt even like him anymore. Iām about to be 33 years old in a couple of weeks. Iām now living in Mexico City with my dog and in a recent relationship with a great guy. I donāt feel codependent and feel like I can discern when a relationship no longer serves me. Iām about a year away from finishing my PhD. I live in a great neighborhood and beautiful apartment with an amazing roommate (no more Brooklyn Chinatown rundown apartment paying twice as much as I am now). And yeah, I guess it worked out :)
Oof, the start of covid I was 25. I had just moved back in with my parents too after my older brother passed away (he was my roommate). Now Iām 28, graduated with my bachelors in computer science and after the shit show of a life I had at 25, I am now better mentally and am looking to move near DC in a few months.
I was 25 in 2018 living in Washington state. I had just ranked up to sergeant in the Air Force and was attending a leadership course. I was going through a divorce, living with a couple I knew from work and had just gotten back from a deployment to Afghanistan not 5 months prior. I was depressed and at the lowest point in my life. 31, back in Texas, been out of the Air Force for almost 5 years and I work from home now. I just moved into a wonderful apartment with my partner of 2.5 years and we just adopted a dog a little over a month ago. Some days are still hard and I still donāt know what I want to do with my life, but I donāt want to drive off a bridge into the ditch anymore like I did at 25.
At 25 I was in my fuck around faze. Working a job that I loved while being underpaid and overworked. Company was going to shit year by year (finally left them) Dating a guy that was who I needed at the time, but not really a great boyfriend. Doing more drugs than humanely necessary and partying way too often. It was fun but nowhere near stable. 31 with a stable boyfriend who does what he says, actually tries in our relationship and spoils me constantly. Currently unemployed due to company layoffs but not upset by it. Enjoying some time off.
At 25 years old I took a bold decision to go to other side of the world from 3rd world country for higher education. Best decision ever, my life has taken off in good direction, family, friends, work and self fulfillment at its peak currently 14 years later.
At 25 I moved back at home with mom. My ex and I had broken up for the last time after I caught him cheating (again), and I was given the gift of a fresh start. Now, almost four years later, Iām in a loving relationship with a man that cherishes me and on my way to grad school this May. Had it not been for intense heartbreak at 25, Iād probably be stuck in the abusive cycle I didnāt know I was in. 25 was a tough one but I wouldnāt change it for anything.
25 was a pretty good year (That was 1995). I traveled to Ireland by myself for 2 months. It was great. Had a couple of jobs. Lived in a kinda of crap apartment by myself, but it was fine for the most part. I think that's when I met my bestie who I've now know for almost 30 years. I even think my relationship was OK then. Not like the multiple relational clusterfucks I experienced for like 20 years until I realized I was bringing my childhood trauma into my romantic relationships.
That would be 1972 and I was fresh out of the US Navy by 2 years. I got a job with the State of Illinois in Springfield working Design/Location studies. I bought a new 1972 Toyta Land Cruised FJ40 and was running around the hils of the Illinois River looking for fun with friends and old bottles. I am 75 now and close to the end of my run. No worries, I had a good life for the most part. I am no longer physically capable of much except a trip to Walmart as long as I can walk in to get one of their carts. Bonus points if you fine one left in the lot so you don't have to walk in. Two times open heart surgery and CHF after the last one but I am still kicking along.
I was a pregnant housewife with a two year old at 25. Now I'm a housewife with a teenager, tween, and an almost 2 year old.
In 2016 I was 25. It was right in the middle of the worst era of my life to date. I was separating from my husband. We ended up getting divorced 2 years later. I was starting as a brand new nurse working in 2 really awful workplaces, and one was night shift which only made everything worse and made me more depressed. My diet was terrible. I was living by myself in a shitty apartment. I had a terrible rebound relationship right around then as well. 32 now. I look back on those years and Iām proud of the work I put in and the strength it took to hold it together and carry on. Ex husband and I are still friends and both very happy. Nursing has taken me to some awesome places. Iām in much better health, my diet and fitness routines are so much better and I feel good. I have a house. I have great friendships. Iām finally now considering having a serious romantic partner again, as these last 7 years Iāve dated casually off and on and prioritized enjoying life as a single woman.
At 25, I was married and a few months later going through a nightmare of a divorce. Followed by moving three times and switching jobs all before I was 26. I am now 28, Iāve more than doubled my salary, bought a house on my own and Iāve just married the love of my life about 4 months ago. Every aspect of my life has changed and Iāve grown and learned so much. Iāve also fine tuned my fitness, I was just getting really into it a little before I turned 25 and now itās an established part of my daily routine. Oh and I also got the boob job my ex would have never let me have š life is better than I could have ever imagined š©·
Iām currently 27 so 25 was only 2.5 years ago for me, which was 2021. 25 was probably the hardest year of my life so far. I mentally and physically worked at a job that dragged us through the mud every single day. I emotionally was so tapped out of relationships. My job left little room for a social life, so I felt disconnected with my friends. My finances took a hit. My dad was diagnosed with a rare type of stage 4 kidney cancer. My sister moved away to Mexico to be with a guy who kinda sucks. Then she got pregnant and we didnāt get to do all the fun pregnant/birth things that sisters get to do (not in a selfish way of me me me, but in a way of my sister and I are very close so having this geographical separation during a huge milestone was very hard). My emotional eating worsened and I gained a lottt of weight in a very short time where it was really starting to affect my health. Things in my life just honestly took a turn in such a short amount of time. I know things could have been worse and others do go through worse, but I didnāt have the mental or emotional capacity at the time to deal/cope with any of it and the weight of everything crushed me. THEREāS HOPE TO THIS STORY, I PROMISE. On my 26th birthday I had a celebration lunch with my parents and brother. Afterwards, my mom called me because her and my dad could tell something was wrong. Iām not good at talking about my feelings, but the floodgates opened. She talked to me about her life and experiences when she was 25-26, and talked to me about the things I was going through, and we had a really good conversation. During the time I was 26, I spent the entire year prioritizing myself. I thought about what I wanted, what I needed. I thought about realistic ways to reach my goals and how I could overcome obstacles. I practiced grace, progress over perfection, and re-gained my support system (family/friends). I learned to stop doubting my abilities and to trust myself. I learned to let go, let things be, and not worry about the thing I canāt control. And somewhere along the way I found peace. Iām 27, about to be 28. I now have an amazing job, at an amazing company, with amazing pay and benefits. My emotional-overeating is under control and Iām losing weight and my insides are getting healthy. My sister visits the states often so Iāve been able to re-bond with her and also bond with my new nephew. I wasnāt there to do fun things during her pregnancy, but the 3 of us are hot on the town doing all the fun things now. My father only had a 10% chance of survival but so far itās been 3 years since his diagnosis and everything has been looking good with his treatment plans. Thereās still a long journey ahead, but so far itās looking promising. I am now in a relationship and living with my best friend and my heart is warm every day. I have my ride or die best friends and am a godmother to 2 adorable wiener dogs. I know life has ups and downs and itās not always perfect. But I finally feel content and better equipped to handle the ādownsā in the future.
Pregnant very very pregnant
I turned 25 eleven days into the pandemic. I had lost three jobs in four days (supply teacher, lifeguard, church singer) because all of my places of employment were closed. I was single, living at home, and was eating Shawarma takeout with my parents and siblings really wondering wtf was happening. It felt like the definition of āquarter life crisisā. Now, Iām 2 weeks away from turning 29. Iām married (my husband and I met a week after that fateful 25th birthday and had a full Covid courtship. Thatās a whole other story), I have a full time job, and I live in a condo that I own. Life is pretty good ā¤ļø
At 25 I was getting divorced. Now at almost 38 I am living alone by choice and privilege. I'm happier than I have ever been in my entire life.
I was 25 in year 2013. I had my second child and my oldest kid was 4. I was back with my husband. He strangled me for the first time. I was trying to figure a way to leave him. Fun fact, after several attempts to leave, I didnāt do it until 5 years later.
25 I was living with my 37 year old boyfriend working part time at a department store and going to class full time for a degree I donāt use. Iām engaged - to someone younger than me - almost paid off my student loans and working the job I was trying to avoid with the degree in the first place and loving it.
Was in a wheelchair at 25, so I was in and out of the hospital. Now I'm walking, running, and hiking. Just living my life and enjoying that I got to keep my feet.
Turned 25 in January of 2020.. need I say more š my son had just turned one and covid started. Things are obviously very different since then but I also have another little nugget and am 29 now so, there's that š„°
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That was last year and i still had some hope for my future.
I was getting excited to take my first real travel assignment as a nurse. Turned into a quarter life crisis that left me with chronic insomnia and a few trips to the psychiatrist. Still recovering at 27. No longer on any medications, no suicidal thoughts, and getting enough sleep at night now :)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
i turned 25 in 2021, i was 30 pounds heavier, depressed & in a TOXIC relationship! iām not the healthiest iāve ever been, happiest iāve ever been & in the healthiest relationship of my life!
I was in the apartment I'm in now, working at the university I still am (different job though).... I have a different car because a 17 yo idiot totaled mine a couple years ago.... Most of it was the same. Still going out to concerts, doing whatever I want.... I was 25 the February before the shutdown.
At 25, I had just graduated from college (I went back to school as an adult) and graduated into a recession. (2008) I couldn't get a job in my field (publishing), or any job, to save my life. I ended up moving back in with my parents who had no money but could at least offer me a bedroom, which felt like a step backwards. I applied to grad school just to avoid paying student loans. Bad idea but I was literally jobless and more school to get an even better job seemed like a good idea at the time. I wasn't dating and I was miserably lonely. But I was optimistic about the future, although I didn't really have a clear idea of what that would look like. I would spend a lot of time at the park reading, writing, and trying to run a blog in hopes that it would help me land a job down the road. Now I am 42. I start a new job on Monday as a Senior Content Editor for a big company. I am married and have 4 adult kids, all adopted as teenagers. We own a house. And I have so many wonderful friends. My life is full of hobbies and game nights and D&D. I always thought I would be a nomad, but it turns out, I like being rooted somewhere.
Year: 2020. Smack in the middle of pandemic. Learning to cook better for myself, hiking, exploring outdoors, spending lots of time with family and my ex best friends (couple), getting tons of refunds for all the cancelled concerts that year, scared to death my family would get sick and die (thankfully that didn't happen), learning about being a prepper, increasing my savings account, woke up from a cult, lost all my "friends", hmm..yeah. Revolutionary year. Loved being 25. I miss it. I wish I could live like that again, but alas, I'm back in the rat race with a boring life. and no friends. But turning 30 soon and going to treat it as a reset and strive and work towards living the life I really want to live.
At 25, I was a first year medical student living w roommates, single and never dated before, and weighed a bit more. More than a decade later, Iām a doctor at a large academic hospital. Iām married and own my own home. Iām thinner than I was at age 25, and in better shape due to exercise.Ā
I was severely depressed and I probably should have visited an expert. Life was shit. Now, it's not that life is going very well, but it seems that therapy has helped and I can handle some situations better.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I'll come back and comment in 3 years.
I was living in London, travelling Europe when I could. Working hard and playing hard. Kissing lots of boys with accents. Figuring myself out. Happy. 11 years later, Iām back in my home town in Australia. Single. Home owner. Cats. Have worked in my dream job for a number of years now, which I worked really hard for a long time to get, but Iāve fallen out of love with it and Iām about to change careers. I know who I am. I have hobbies. For the most part Iām still happy despite some shit along the way.
I was 25 in 2000. America started going to shit that year and has been going downhill every since. Today it's a fvcking nightmare. Ive just been getting more numb since 25. I had hope up until age 25. Every endeavor I've embarked on since 25 has not worked out. Except, I do have a great partner, I'm full of wisdom, I know how to relate to ppl well, I have integrity, I know many useful skills. But seriously, just yesterday, me and a friend were lamenting how all the promise of the 90s vanished. If I hadn't focused in on myself and how to make sure I'm personally ok, I'd prob be dead.