Living in your Twenties is one of the most crucial times of your livelihood.
It’s a time where you are trying to navigate what you ACTUALLY want to be when you grow up and strategize how you’re going to get there.
A time when you figure out your identity and learn more about your purpose.
A time when you decide who that circle of friends will be that your kids call “uncle & auntie,” but you can also still set your boundaries with.
Honestly there is so much to think about!
Sitting down with Jonica Gibbs and Gabrielle Graham from the hit BET show “Twenties,” they shared some of their prime moments within their 20’s and what to expect in Season Two of the BET series, created by Lena Waithe.
For those of you who aren’t aware, the show follows three best friends Hattie, Marie and Nia. Together they navigate these roaring years as they learn more about themselves, their families, their love life and their careers.
Gibbs plays Hattie, the aspiring screenwriter and Graham plays Nia, the dedicated actress / yoga teacher.
They first described their twenties as “tenacious, tumultuous and anxious,” so I think it’s safe to say that this timeframe for all, is definitely a rollercoaster of emotions and events.
The ladies also shared their regrets; which wasn’t to go back in time and change anything, but atleast to give themselves a little nudge, some love and definitely the comfort they didn’t realize they deserved – until now.
“What I do recognize though in those [anxious] situations is; some people either just stop,” said Gibbs, “They get to the point where anxiety and the unsureness of life just makes them stop pursuing whatever they want to do or it pushes you to push through that, so I don’t think I would change anything but I do wish I could go hug myself and then push myself to get back to it.”
Graham added “I would do the same! Hug myself and whisper “just be patient, and to get out of my comfort zone a little bit more. I feel like there are things that I struggle with now that I feel like I shouldn’t be struggling with and I’m almost 30 years old. I feel like if I pushed myself more when I was younger and got out of my comfort zone more I would be a little bit more comfortable with doing those things at my age now.
It’s interesting to fathom that no matter the time or stage that one goes through their Twenties they all tend to feel similar degrees of emotions. Ranging from happy to discombobulated to sad to seasonal depression to excited to anxious and the list goes on.
Though if one is facing those feelings pre pandemic, imagine what it’s like to face your 20’s post pandemic!
I have one word for you FRUSTRATING!
Starting from a series of layoffs to unemployment skyrocketing to communicating remotely for a year and half, moving along to having your life depend strictly on a vaccination card for you to go places; amongst trying to make sense of life and still look cute for social media.
I don’t know about you, but the math hasn’t been mathing for me!
Though after chatting with Jonica and Gabrielle here are a few things I realized could possibly help one maneuver through this new norm of their Twenties.
- Find a GREAT circle of friends that keep it real with you and exude great energy! Quality over Quantity, but make sure you’re sending out positive vibrations yourself.
“What I admire the most about the characters’ friendships is that they tell each other the truth,” shares Gabrielle. “It’s not to one up each other, but it’s to push each other further. Sometimes it doesn’t sound the kindest, but it could be exactly what you need.
“Yes and be a great friend,” added Jonica. “Treat people how you would want to be returned, but also be mindful of people’s energy and not ignoring red flags or the green ones. Sometimes people come into your life, especially at a young age and you want somebody that’s cool, but really the biggest thing is loyalty and energy. Making sure that they’re reciprocating what you’re putting out and what you’re putting out is what you want to receive.”
- Don’t give up no matter how tough the journey is!
“Keep following that hunger and that instinct,” expressed Gabrielle. A lot of the time in the industry I’m always telling myself that it’s so difficult. Why am I doing this? Then there’s something inside of me that keeps saying – “no, you have to keep going!” So use that as a compass and continue to follow it as hard as it gets because it’s there for a reason.”
- No matter how many jobs you’ve had…write down what you want to do and manifest that, because THERE’S NO GOING BACK!
“I’ve had so many jobs that I know there isn’t anything else that I really want to do,” shared Jonica. “I wrote down all my jobs one time and Twenties was my twenty-first job. Looking back at all those jobs other than substitute teaching, which I still wouldn’t go back to … it just ain’t no going back…I can’t go back.”
Season Two doesn’t highlight life throughout the pandemic, but these ladies’ life lessons helped them maneuver into successful careers and hopefully it can do the same for you during these times!
Twenties airs on BET and BET HER every Wednesdays 10/9c with appearances from Big Sean, Iman Shumpert, Kym Whitley and more.
Discover more from Baller Alert
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
