24
“All of us struggle; all of us respond to struggle. In our secret being we are all tormented by the uncertainty, seldom more than in the glowing victories of youth: What if I fail? What do they do when they find out I’m me?” (Willie Morris)
(Monday blues… sad and feeling sorry for myself. I’ll try for something more upbeat tomorrow…)
September 25th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
Hey there Belle,
Don’t worry about opportunities diminishing. I have found that as the years have gone by life has actually become more interesting — and believe me, I had a rip-roaring time in my twenties. Just be sure to enjoy every moment. 26 (not to mention 30!) will come around soon enough so be sure to enjoy 25
September 25th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
Oh Belle…at 26 I feel your feeling…the deals falling in my lap have diminshed. We do have a leg up though dear, the 27-year-olds who still they were 26.
September 25th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Mondays are made to be awful, I think. And while awful may lead to wonderful writing…it doesn’t always translate to the blog.
Try photography. Capture an image. Something you love. Something you hate. Something from ‘then’. Something from ‘now’.
It’s what I do when words wont come.
September 25th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
Lovely quote, but why did you change this post?
I appreciated the comparisons between yourself at 24 versus yourself at 26. I’m 25 and feel like I should be more accomplished, but then I read sites like yours and feel like I’m not alone. Thanks for sharing.
September 25th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
Chin up B, this woebegon prattle is piddling.
pp
ps-Nothing beats 30s. Simply put, more money.
September 25th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
What the hell are you on about? And are you counting your age backwards now?
Cop on.
September 25th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
You couldn’t PAY ME to go back and be in my 20s… temping in a law firm, trying to get freelance work, no one (and I mean no one) returning my phone calls, living in a fifth floor walkup in Brooklyn (okay, it was a rent contral apartment i Henry Street in B’klyn Heights @ $760 a month, but still)… have since had 3 books on the NYT bestseller list, did the Today Show, Larry King, much more romances, travel, cool experiences, money, great apartment, great haircut, etc (!)
Now if we could only get a Democrat in the White House.
Seriously, if I had to go back and be 20-ish I would put a gun to my head… not that that helps all the 20 year olds out there. Each age has its pluses and minuses. Had I known how my life would turn out, I would have socialized even more and spent not one second worrying about anything. Plus, everyone I loved was still alive and we (friends, etc) were all together.
Enjoy whatever stage you are at.
“Someday, this will all be an anecdote.”
BTW, why did you delete blog?
September 26th, 2006 at 6:25 am
not sure what “fake it” is referring to… i’m 26. everything i’ve ever written corroborates with that age bc that IS my age.
anyway, didn’t much like what i wrote yesterday. i felt that willie morris said it better and more succinctly so i kept him up and took me down.
September 26th, 2006 at 8:53 am
Aw, come on, it was fine… even William Morris wasn’t always William Morris.
September 26th, 2006 at 11:37 am
Belle- we all experience times like these. I’m 26 as well and at times I look at my life and think what have I really accomplished. I read a blog like yours and I think, “look at this girl living a life full of opportunity”. Seriously, you are so blessed! You’re such a talented writer and you get out there and take chances. Keep up the good work. In a few years you’ll probably look back at this and think, “what was I worrying about”.
I’m sad. Yesterday was crazy for me and I missed the origional post.
September 27th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Belle,
I have to confess: I read your blog with unabashed, raw, green envy– I have long fantasized of living my life as a writer in the City. Alas, I’m 27, negative in my checking account, and proofreading direct mail… not so romantic. But I hold tight to my dream that someday I’ll be living my “real” life, if that makes any sense. Anyway, I’m reading Chopin’s The Awakening right now (as I had the Monday blues this week, too), and I thought I’d share this with you: “But the beginning of things, of a world especially, is necessarily vague, tangled, chaotic, and exceedingly disturbing. How few of us ever emerge from such beginning! How many souls perish in its tumult!”
Maggie
September 27th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
LOVE “The Awakening.” when i get back to the apartment i’m going to look for my old college copy. if it’s packed away somewhere down south , i’m heading to the union square “b&n” to buy it.
thanks so much, maggie.