20多岁时，最重要的是什么？
What Matters Most in Your Twenties?
Maybe you’re asking yourself the same silent question every night: Am I really living right? Are other people so much further ahead, or am I just missing out on what’s actually important? Your twenties are famously confusing, brilliantly promising, and full of crossroads where nobody hands you a map.
This isn’t a roadmap. It’s a handful of signs I wish someone had painted on the roadsides.
也许你每晚都在默默问自己同一个问题：我的生活方式真的对吗？是不是别人都遥遥领先，而我却错过了那些真正重要的东西？二十多岁的世界，总是充满困惑，充满希望，到处都是没有指示牌的十字路口。
这不是一份路线图，而是一些我希望有人曾经在路边为我标记的指引。
Let Yourself Change
When I was nineteen, I wanted to become a novelist. By twenty-one, I wanted to start my own business. At twenty-three, I thought about traveling the world and documenting every street corner. Now, years later, some of those dreams feel like loose pages out of an old diary. And that’s perfectly fine.
In your twenties, you will want things and then not want them. You will try on different personalities, styles, and ambitions like someone rifling through thrift-store jackets. Some will fit, others won’t. The secret is to let yourself change without guilt.
You’re not meant to have it all figured out. “Set in stone” is for statues, not for twenty-somethings finding their way through moving currents.
19岁时，我想成为一名小说家。21岁时，我想自己创业。到了23岁，我又梦想环游世界，记录下每一个街头巷尾。现在，几年过去了，那些梦想仿佛只是老日记里散落的纸页。而这，完全没有问题。
二十多岁的你，会渴望一些东西，也会很快发现自己不再需要它们。你会像在二手店翻衣服一样，不断尝试不同的性格、风格和理想。有的合适，有的不合适。秘诀就是，允许自己不断变化，而不必为此感到内疚。
你本就不必把一切都规划得明明白白。“一成不变”适合雕像，不适合正漂泊在生活激流中的20多岁年轻人。
Failure Teaches More Than Success
Nobody tells you this at graduation, but your twenties are a laboratory. You will fail at things that matter to you. Friendships will fade, job applications will be ignored, love stories will crumble. Your first apartment might have more cockroaches than confidence and some mornings you’ll wake up wondering what happened to all your plans.
Here’s the truth: Each failure will leave behind important lessons, like sea glass on the shore after a storm. Learn from them. Let yourself grieve, but then ask: “What did this teach me that no book or teacher ever could?”
You get stronger, softer, and far more interesting every time you rebuild after everything collapses.
毕业典礼上没人告诉你，其实二十多岁就是一个实验室。你会在自己在乎的事情上失败。友情会淡去，求职信被无视，恋爱故事会戛然而止。你可能住进的第一个公寓，蟑螂比自信还多，有些早晨你会茫然地问自己，所有的计划都去哪了？
事实是，每一次失败都会留下一些重要的教训，就像风暴过后的海滩上留下的海玻璃。向失败学习。允许自己悲伤，然后问自己：“这次经历教会了我哪些课本或老师永远不会讲的东西？”
每当一切崩塌，重建的你都会变得更坚强、更温柔，也更有趣。
Friendships Deserve Real Work
You may notice it quickly: making and keeping friends as an adult is not easy. Schedules conflict, people move, priorities shuffle. The effort to call, to meet for coffee, or to keep promises feels heavier than it did at sixteen.
Some friends will walk out of your life quietly; don’t chase every shadow. Invest in people who invest in you, even if it’s just a message at midnight or a quick video call. Deep, patient friendships are worth every ounce of intentional effort—these are your lifeboats in the unpredictable ocean of your twenties.
你会很快发现，成年后的友谊建立与维护远比想象中难。大家的时间冲突、地点变换，人生目标也在不断调整。一个电话、一次咖啡约见、一次守信都变得比16岁时沉甸甸得多。
有些朋友会悄无声息地退出你的生活，不要苦苦追逐每道背影。把精力留给同样在乎你的人——也许只是深夜时分的消息，或是一次简短的视频通话。深厚、耐心的友谊值得你用心投入，这些正是你在二十多岁未知海洋里赖以求生的救生艇。
Comparison Is a Losing Game
Social media throws highlight reels at your face all day. The engagement rings, the job offers, the “perfect” vacations—none of them tell the whole story.
It’s easy to look at former classmates and feel like you’re falling behind. Maybe you’re living with your parents while they’re launching startups in another city. Maybe you’re still sorting out your passions when everyone else seems to have found theirs.
But remember: nobody posts their lost nights and inner doubts. Your journey is not late or early. It’s yours.
Let go of the urge to measure your timeline by someone else’s ruler.
社交媒体整天把别人的高光时刻展现在你面前。订婚戒指、工作录取、完美旅行……但这些从来都不是全部。
看到老同学，你很容易觉得自己已被落下。也许你还住在父母家，而别人已经在外地创业；也许你还在摸索热爱，而别人看起来早已确定方向。
但请记住：没人会晒出自己失眠的深夜和内心的迷惘。你的旅途没有所谓“早”或“晚”，这是你自己的旅程。
别再用别人的标尺丈量自己的人生进度了。
Make Peace with Uncertainty
If you’re overwhelmed by life’s possibilities, you’re not broken—you’re wide awake. The world is broader than ever, and it’s normal to worry you’ll make the “wrong” choice.
Here’s the catch: you will never know all the answers. There’s no guarantee that picking one path won’t shut doors to another. But the fear of uncertainty should not become a cage.
Make decisions with the information you have, and trust yourself to adapt. Growth happens when you step into the unknown, not when you wait until you’re sure.
如果你总是被生活的无数可能性所困扰，这不代表你有问题，恰恰说明你非常清醒。世界比以往更宽广，担心选择错误完全正常。
但现实是：你永远无法提前知道所有答案。谁也不能保证选了这条路就不会错过另一条。可对不确定性的恐惧，绝不能成为你的牢笼。
用你已有的信息做决定，并相信自己拥有适应能力。只有迈进未知时，你才会成长，而不是等到一切都确定时才行动。
Build Skills, Not Just Resumes
It’s tempting to chase job titles and salaries. Everyone talks about moving “up” the ladder, but it’s the skills at each step that matter most. Learn to write and to listen. Learn to apologize and to defend your boundaries.
Pick up real-world skills—budgeting, cooking, conflict resolution, time management. It’s these invisible tools that anchor you when titles and companies change. Work hard, but don’t forget that your work should help you become a more capable and well-rounded human being, not just a better employee.
我们总忍不住想要追逐头衔和薪水。每个人都谈论“晋升”，可重要的是每个阶段积累下来的技能。去学会表达与倾听，学会道歉，也学会守护自己的底线。
多培养生活技能——理财、做饭、解决冲突、时间管理。正是这些看不见的“工具”，在头衔和公司不断更替时为你提供支撑。努力工作，但别忘了，工作最终应该让你成为更有能力、更全面的人，而不仅仅是更合格的员工。
Protect Your Well-Being
You have only one body, and it has to last you a whole lifetime. In your twenties, it’s easy to believe you’re invincible. But neglect sneaks up—sleepless nights, cheap meals, endless scrolling on your phone.
Start small: move your body daily, eat nourishing meals when you can, seek out sunlight and stretch. Protect your mental health fiercely—talk to friends, seek therapy if you need it, don’t drown in isolation.
You matter more than your grades, your salary, or your mistake tally.
你只有一副身体，要陪你走完漫长人生。二十多岁的你，总会觉得自己无坚不摧。但健康的损耗悄悄发生——熬夜、快餐、不停刷手机。
从小处做起吧：每天活动身体，有条件就吃点营养餐，晒太阳、拉拉筋。更要坚定保护你的心理健康——和朋友倾诉，需要时寻求专业帮助，别让自己陷入孤独漩涡。
你本人远比成绩、工资或一长串错误来得重要。
Say Yes (and Say No)
Sometimes, the best memories come from unexpected yeses: a trip you almost skipped, a job you thought you’d hate, a friendship that grew from a random encounter. Take some chances. You’ll never grow unless you risk being uncomfortable.
But also trust your gut when it’s time to set boundaries. Say no to things that drain your spirit or contradict your values. You may disappoint others, but protecting your own energy is not selfish—it’s essential.
有时，最美好的回忆就藏在那些意想不到的“YES”里：你差点放弃的旅程、一份原本抗拒的工作、一段源于偶遇的友谊。勇敢尝试吧。只有敢于面对不适，才能真正成长。
但你也要相信自己的直觉，懂得说“不”。拒绝那些让你感到疲惫、违背你价值观的事情。或许你会让别人失望，但守护自己的能量绝不是自私，而是自爱。
Value Time Over Perfection
Your twenties pass quicker than you imagine, but not everything needs to happen at once. Don’t postpone happiness, waiting until you’re “ready” to live. There will never be a perfect time to start that project, learn a language, or fall in love.
Take action with imperfect resources, learn as you go, and let small, consistent choices add up.
The most beautiful gardens aren't planted overnight—they’re tended, revisited, and allowed to grow messy before they flourish.
二十多岁的时光转瞬即逝，但不是所有事都要一蹴而就。不要把幸福一拖再拖，等到“完全准备好”才去生活。无论是开启一个新项目、学习一门语言，还是开始一段感情，从来都没有完美时机。
用手头有限的资源行动起来，一边做一边学，让一点一滴的坚持最终汇聚成改变。
最美的花园从来都不是一夜之间栽成的——需要悉心培育，允许杂乱，也允许不完美，最终才会繁花盛开。
Know You Are Enough
Maybe right now you feel lost. Maybe you’re still searching for that one passion, that one friend, that one answer. It’s okay—not knowing is part of becoming.
You are not behind. You are not less than anyone else.
The only person you need to compete with is yesterday’s self.
也许现在你感到迷茫，依旧在寻找那个热爱、那个知己、那个答案。别担心，不清楚本身就是成长的一部分。
你并没有落后，也不比任何人差。
你唯一需要超越的人，是昨天的自己。
In The End
Your twenties are not about getting everything right. They’re about discovering what matters most to you, loving yourself through the mess, and learning to build a life one small, brave step at a time.
If that path seems crooked or unclear, you’re probably exactly where you should be.
二十多岁的重点，从来不是一切都要做得完美。它真正的意义，是去发现什么才对你最重要，是在混乱中学会自爱，是勇敢地一点点搭建你想要的人生。
如果你觉得前路依然曲折和模糊，那很可能说明——你正好走在属于自己的路上。
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