What was your life like at 23?

minerva_windsong

At 23 I was living at my parents' house in Lancashire and working in the press office of the local NHS trust, after graduating from university about 18 months before. I'd been going out with my OH for just over three years and was looking for jobs in London - he lived down there and I was going to visit him regularly but the plan had always been that I would move to London for a bit after university. Because I had no responsibilities I was putting quite a bit of money aside for the future but other than that there wasn't a lot going on in my life as I couldn't drive, my best friend had moved away and was in quite a rural area with not a lot to do. I was also painfully shy and struggled a lot with my confidence, and wasn't quite sure that I wanted to work in the field I was in forever.


I'm now 27, living in London, working in PR for a business diversity campaign, and married to my OH (the same one I was going out with at 23), and saving to buy our first home together later this year. I also went travelling a couple of years ago and that was a massive boost to my confidence (though due to the saving I still don't go out and socialise much!). I'm also now finally working on what has been my big ambition since childhood, which is to become a writer. So even in a relatively short time things have changed quite a lot for me.

fannyanna wrote: »

Try not to compare yourself to other people too much. As humans we tend to only compare ourselves against the people that we've put on a pedestal.

I agree with this. I think it's hard not to compare yourself, especially when you have things you want to achieve in life, but equally it can help to recognise that actually you are doing well for yourself and that those people would probably be quite envious of some of the things you have in your life.

amistupid

I'm 58 years old.

When I was twenty three, I had been married two years and we had a one year old son. I was on my second career, from Army to police service.

I think people 'grew up' a lot faster then, nowadays many stay in education until they're in their mid twenties.

I'm glad I started working young and having kids at an early age.

VestanPance

j.e.j. wrote: »

I kind of agree. 23 is a good age to be, - young enough and (hopefully) healthy enough to live your life to the full.

By the time you get to your 40s you've had 2 more decades of [STRIKE]people p-ing you off[/STRIKE] life experience :rotfl: so you're older but wiser.

The one thing getting older does is knock the naivety out of you. It tends to mean you make better decisions, but you are also awake to the fact the world is full of scum.

thorsoak

At 23, I'd been married for three years, paying a mortgage - and getting ready to leave work (not maternity leave in those days!) prior to having baby no 1.

Now, nearing my 72nd birthday (where did the years go - how did that happen :-D) and looking back, I don't think that there is much I would change about decisions I made, places I've been to/lived in, careers and jobs I've done - just trust your instincts - you'll be fine xxx

iris

At 23 I'd been married for 4/5 years to DH, was working full time, helping to pay a mortgage and had a DD aged 4.

Now, nearing my 70th birthday we have been married over 51 years and still enjoying life and have both been retired for over 20 years.


My advice is to take every opportunity that comes your way;)

crazycatlady1984

23.....

My boyfriend moved out and left me on my 23rd birthday, so I started 23 living alone with my two cats.

I then met my now-husband and entered my final year of my second degree.

By the time I turned 24 I had graduated with my second degree, got a job, and was living with my now husband.

Now at 30, me, hubby and cats are living together in a different house 30 miles away, and I have a better job in the same industry. xx

166million

Domayne wrote: »

My life was a mess :P
I was a lot in debt, I flitted from one guy to another, one disaster to another, I was addicted to anything that would get me out of my head, spent a lot of time in mental health wards and seeing one Councillor after another, My parents despaired and used to kick me out on a monthly basis so I crashed from a friends sofa, back home and back to a sofa again, Surprisingly, even through all of that I managed to hold down a full time job without getting fired...although I had numerous disaplinaries I even turned up to one of them drunk! LOL
Didn't really start calming down until I was 25-26 :rotfl:

You mean not everyone was like this at 23?
Hope your life is happier now

Person_one

OP, at 23 I was in many ways where you are, I'd graduated and got a good job in the field I'd studied, I'd also met a nice man and we were saving for a deposit, all very conventional and straightforward on the face of it. That year was all a bit of a blur though, as somebody who I loved very much and who was a big part of my life had died suddenly 6 weeks before my birthday, they were the same age as me.

Something like that really reminds you that its pointless to worry too much about ticking the 'right' boxes and defining your life in narrow terms and worrying about what you 'should' be doing and achieving. I'm 30 now, and my life is nowhere near where I thought it would be but I'm very happy and have had a real roller coaster of experiences these last 7 years.

Just remember, having goals for the future is fantastic, but make sure you're doing things here and now that make you happy. You never know how things can change in a heartbeat.

(Dogs are way better than horses anyway, btw! )

Primrose

Life was pretty exciting. After various mismatches I'd just met the person I ended up marrying. But life was very different then.
At work I'd just started using an exciting new ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER which didn't need a 7 lb hammer touch to press the keys. But as a woman, I couldn't have a credit card and when we got married and I asked the Tax authorities to send me my tax refund in the form of a cheque made payable to myself, they sent me a letter saying I would have to enclose a letter from my husband authorising that the payment could be made payable to me rather than him! I'm not joking. Women certainly had no equality in those days. We moved into a freezing cold maisonette with no central heating. My housekeeping money was £3.10 a week. That was (Three pounds, ten shillings Pre Decimal currency ! I washed my sheets in the bath as I had no washing machine and drip dried them over a washing line in the bathroom so the bathroom walls were always covered with mould in the winter.

Now I have been married for many years, live in a comfortable central heated house, am retired with many hobbies, own my own car and have sexual equality. I have a laptop, iPad and mobile phone and can communicate instantly with friends all over the world at the click of a switch. But amongst all the friends I had at the time I married, I think I'm probably the only one who has not divorced.

lee111s

At 23 my life was care free, full of parties, holidays, girls and fast cars. Seems so long ago! I'm 27 now, got a house, 2 dogs, been in a relationship almost 3 years.