The Chronicles of Alex

Being 23 sucks, yet it is somehow magical. I use the word magical and magic without having a concrete definition, but I think it is the only fitting word to describe your early 20s. I spent a summer studying magic – well, the history of magic – going into my senior year of high school, and the majority of the summer was spent just trying to land on a common definition of what magic even was.

I think about this experience a lot. I mean I thought I was going to spend 6 weeks studying history, which meant reading books and articles, having debates about the causes and outcomes of wars, and discussing how history has repeated itself over the millennia. I needed that exact experience at that exact point in my life – it showed me it’s okay if things aren’t what you anticipated (it may work out even better than you thought) and that being a little whimsy can make life a whole hell of a lot more enjoyable. Ultimately, we concluded that maybe we use the term magic to describe powerful things we can’t rationalize or don’t fully know the meaning or origin of; it’s almost this sort of fallback for impactful things.

Keeping that definition in mind and typing this 6 years later, I’d say my first three years in the 20s have been pretty magical. 

Being in your early 20s is a universal experience. We are all doing this for the first time with no pattern to follow. We are all stepping into the world and figuring out how we want to live. It’s just about the attitude and effort you bring to the table, and it is so hard to remember that in the midst of it all. 

Yes, it sucks moving away from friends and family. But, they are all just a phone call or plane ride away. Yes, it is terrifying having to make decisions in the real world seeing as I can’t put that off with more school currently. But, I know there are people who will support me and help me along the way. Yes, heartbreak is awful. But, I got to love a person who loved me, and they showed me things I didn’t realize I had ever wanted. I’ll remember that forever. Yes, getting rejected from jobs is demoralizing. But, there are millions, dare I say billions, of jobs out there. Yes, feeling alone can make everything feel disconnected. But, this can help push you into uncomfortable territory where you are able to make new memories and meet so many people. Somehow, all of these things are helping you get to where you are meant to be. I guess that could be some sort of magic… 

I live for the long-distance best friend phone calls hearing how a person I love has grown and changed and is creating a life for themselves. I love making big or small memories in my apartment at 3 am with strangers or in Lisbon at 3 pm with some of my best friends, because I have the freedom to do these things in the here and now. I take candid photos, because my life is worth documenting and sharing. I reflect on journals from years ago or a week ago and marvel in how I’ve grown. All of that is magical in this post-grad world. These small things help me through the challenges of being in one’s 20s, where we are all just trying to figure it out – whatever “it” may be.

I’m beginning to realize the plan I had in my head isn’t necessarily what I want now after experiencing all the things I have in my 20s. Which is okay and normal, but it is hard to navigate as a young person trying to make life shaping decisions. I don’t know why I have to experience these things or feel the way I feel or why certain things MUST happen, but they do. Life wouldn’t be this crazy rollercoaster without it. There are highs, and that means there must be lows. I am just going to attribute that to … magic. This is where I try to trust my gut, lean into those I trust the most, and move forward one big or small decision at a time.

I don’t think I’d change anything about the past three years even if I could. Here’s to tomorrow and 7 more years of being in my 20s! Here’s to everyone moving forward one decision at a time at their own pace! 

AMS 5, 05/11/2025