How My Interests Are Changing in My Mid-Twenties

Last week I got really emotional out of nowhere and like a true millennial I posted that shit on my Instagram story. If you're not yet following me on Instagram I definitely recommend you do, not because I want more followers, but because it's where I'm most active, post the most content and interact with people on a daily basis. But back to my breakdown.

I later realized I was dealing with high levels of anxiety, which were stemming from two of my good friends planning to leave the East Coast area along with not being sure if Washington DC is one hundred percent for me. My anxiety did what it always does, pushed me to clean and sort of my life, meaning I deep cleaned the shit out of my apartment. Deep cleaning coupled with an upcoming yard sale had me in a never-ending spiral of questioning whether I want a certain dress to still hang in my closet and whether or not I'm okay with any of my clothes being in this closet because am I truly even happy here? It was a mess.

I'm finally over the anxious episode that led to my now very clean apartment, but coming out of it I realized my interests are drastically changing as I age deeper into my twenties. Just today I was shopping at Target and I grabbed for another plain basic gray t-shirt, which is fine, except I already own at least four.

My style is one easy to recognize change in my life, but the more I pay attention the more changes I see in my interests, how my time is spent and with whom. Below are the ways my interests are changing in my mid-twenties, and I'd love to hear if you noticed any differences as you entered your early to mid-twenties as well.

How I spend my money

This has been a big one for me lately, especially with me hitting a year of living on my savings. Learning how to spend less frivolously all began last fall when I quit my job to finish my masters, but lately I've been trying to save money just for the fun of it. It sounds completely strange but I quite enjoy finding a coupon for the exact item I need and focusing on the things I already have rather than running out to the store to buy something new.

My efforts to not buy anything that I don't need along with saving money on the things I do not only have saved me a ton of time but I also am overall happier with the things I do have and bring into my home.

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Redefining friendship

I've always known that friendship is a tough subject for me, specifically due to the fact that I move often and have trouble keeping in touch with people. Lately, I've come to terms that I will never be, and have never wanted to be, that girl who has a giant group of friends. Doing activities in large groups makes me not want to participate, as I much prefer one on one time with others. This summer I made the decision that I will be closing down my women's group, for many reasons, but one including I want to be more particular about who I spent my time with.

On top of being more choosy about who I spend my time with, I've also gained a better understanding of what friendship looks like to me. As someone who is not uncomfortable with labeling some people as acquaintances and others as friends, this has helped me better keep in touch with the people I truly care about, as well as disconnect from the few who will most likely always remain people I once knew.

The importance of social media

As a blogger and everyday user of social media, I lost track of when posting online stopped being fun and started being part of my blogging to do list. I can remember the first Instagram photo I added hashtags to, as well as the first Instagram course I enrolled in to learn how to grow my following and make blogging a full-time job. Here's the thing though, I forgot that I never wanted to be a full-time blogger, and in forgetting that I fell out of love with blogging and social media.

Lately, I've stopped caring about curating the perfect feed, using all the right hashtags and engaging with potential followers. Caring less has helped me enjoy using apps like Instagram more, plus I really doubt my following is growing any slower than before.

You might also like: Why I Deleted Half of my Facebook Friends + Why You Don't Need so Many

Finding what brings me joy

I don't think it's a coincidence that my changing perspective on friends, social media and how I spend money all came about after reading The Magic of Tidying Up. I hope to write a book review one day, but for now I'll say that the lesson on learning an item's purpose has really helped me let go of both people and things that were no longer necessary to hold on to. Finding the items in my life that bring me joy have helped me spend less money, as well as enjoy the things I do have.

Now when I shop I think about how the item will fit into my current home and life. By doing this I get the pleasure of only having stuff that makes me happy or serves a purpose, plus I get to save extra money which always makes me happy.