Mid-20s feel weird. Not bad, necessarily. Not amazing either. Just… weird. Like you’re living in some kind of blurry, slow-motion dream where everything is happening to you but you’re not quite sure how you got here. Or why. Or what’s next.
If you’re reading this and nodding your head, you’re not alone. Almost everyone who has been through this phase will tell you — with a nostalgic sigh or a slightly panicked laugh — that their mid-20s felt like a surreal, in-between time. A liminal space. You’re not quite the person you were in your early 20s, but you haven’t become who you’re meant to be yet either.
Let’s unpack this. Why do your mid-20s feel so strange? And what does it all mean?
1. You’re Technically an Adult, But You Don’t Feel Like One
You pay bills. You might have a job. You might live alone or with roommates. You’ve learned how to cook a few meals that don’t involve a microwave. By all accounts, you’re doing the adult thing.
But inside? You still feel like a teenager pretending. Like someone left you unsupervised for too long and now you’re winging it.
This feeling is common. The truth is, “being an adult” isn’t a sudden transformation. It’s a slow, uneven process. You don’t wake up one day magically feeling confident, competent, and in control. In your mid-20s, you’re just starting to piece together what adulthood actually means for you — beyond the societal checklist of job, house, marriage, etc.
It’s okay not to feel like a fully-formed adult yet. Most people don’t. The trick is realizing that maybe no one does, not really.
2. Your Friends Are All on Different Timelines
One of the strangest parts of your mid-20s is watching your friends’ lives diverge in wildly different directions.
Some are getting married. Some are having babies. Some are getting promoted or starting businesses. Meanwhile, others are moving back home, switching careers, or trying to figure out what they want to do next.
It used to feel like everyone was on the same page — school, college, maybe grad school. But now? There are no more standard timelines. Everyone’s writing their own story.
This can make you question yourself. Are you behind? Ahead? Making the right moves? The truth is, comparison is the thief of joy, and in your mid-20s, it’s easier than ever to fall into that trap. But everyone’s path is different. And just because someone else is running a different race doesn’t mean you’re losing yours.
3. You’re Shedding Old Versions of Yourself
Your mid-20s are a time of quiet shedding.
You start to let go of things that don’t fit anymore — old beliefs, old friendships, old dreams. Maybe you realize you don’t actually want the career you studied for. Maybe a friendship you thought would last forever quietly fades. Maybe you start saying no to things you used to say yes to, just to please others.
It’s a little painful. A little confusing. But also necessary.
You are growing. And growth requires change. The versions of yourself that carried you through your teens and early 20s may not be the ones that serve you now. That’s okay. You’re not losing yourself — you’re evolving.
4. There’s Pressure to “Figure It All Out”
By 25, you might feel a heavy pressure — internal or external — to have your life figured out. To have a five-year plan. A stable job. A relationship that’s heading somewhere. Some kind of clarity.
Spoiler alert: most people don’t have it figured out in their mid-20s.
You might still be hopping between jobs, unsure of your calling. You might be single, questioning if love will ever make sense. You might feel like you’re floating in a fog, waiting for something to click.
But the pressure is real. Social media doesn’t help either. Everyone’s highlight reel makes it seem like they’ve got it all together — when in reality, they’re probably just as unsure as you.
Give yourself permission to not have it all figured out. Life isn’t a race to a finish line. It’s more like a winding path — full of detours, surprises, and lessons.
5. You’re Balancing Nostalgia and Newness
Your mid-20s are full of firsts: maybe your first solo trip, your first real heartbreak, your first time living in a new city, your first time realizing your parents are just people.
But there’s also nostalgia. You miss the simplicity of college life or the comfort of your childhood home. You start to look back with a bittersweet ache — remembering who you were and wondering where that version of you went.
This tug-of-war between nostalgia and newness is part of what makes this phase feel dreamlike. You’re caught between looking back and looking forward. Between wanting to hold onto something and also craving something entirely new.
It’s disorienting. But also kind of beautiful.
6. You Learn That Healing Isn’t Linear
In your mid-20s, you start facing yourself. Your wounds. Your patterns. Your fears.
Maybe you go to therapy. Maybe you finally confront that thing you’ve been avoiding. Maybe life just throws something hard at you and you’re forced to grow through it.
And you learn — slowly, painfully — that healing doesn’t happen in a straight line. One day you feel on top of the world. The next, you’re crying on your bedroom floor over something that happened years ago.
That’s normal. Healing is messy. It takes time. And in your mid-20s, you begin to understand that emotional maturity isn’t about always feeling okay. It’s about being okay with not being okay sometimes.
7. You Start Asking Bigger Questions
At some point in your mid-20s, you’ll find yourself staring at the ceiling late at night, asking questions like:
- What do I actually want?
- Am I living a life that feels mine?
- What kind of person do I want to be?
These aren’t questions with easy answers. But asking them means you’re waking up to yourself. You’re starting to define your life on your own terms.
That’s powerful. And yes, it’s also terrifying. But it’s the beginning of something real.
8. Time Feels Like It’s Speeding Up
Remember when a year felt long? Now it’s April and you’re still mentally in January. Your days blur together. You blink and a whole season has passed.
Time feels different in your mid-20s. Maybe it’s because your routines are more fixed. Or because you’re doing the same kind of work every day. Or maybe it’s just part of growing older — you become more aware of time slipping by.
This realization can either make you panic or help you become more intentional. It’s a reminder to slow down when you can. To be present. To appreciate the weird little in-between moments.
Because they are your life.
9. You Realize That Growth is Quiet
When we think of personal growth, we imagine dramatic epiphanies. Big changes. Life-altering decisions.
But in your mid-20s, you learn that growth often looks like:
- Getting out of bed even when you don’t want to.
- Saying no to people-pleasing.
- Learning how to sit with discomfort.
- Letting go of the need for constant validation.
- Choosing peace over drama.
These moments may not be flashy. But they’re everything.
Growth in your mid-20s is subtle. It’s internal. It’s learning to trust yourself more. And even when it feels like you’re stuck, you’re probably growing in ways you can’t yet see.
10. You’re Becoming Who You’re Meant to Be
Here’s the wild part: all this weirdness? All this confusion, loneliness, growth, and soul-searching? It’s part of becoming.
Your mid-20s aren’t about having everything sorted. They’re about becoming the person who eventually will.
You’re laying foundations. You’re learning what matters. You’re unlearning what doesn’t. You’re practicing being a better friend, partner, sibling, worker, human.
You might not feel like you’re changing. But one day, you’ll look back and realize this was the time that shaped you the most — not because it was easy, but because it was real.
n Conclusion: You’re Not Lost, You’re Growing
If your mid-20s feel like a weird dream, that’s because they are. A dream where nothing feels quite real, but everything is actually important. A dream where you’re stumbling through, trying to find your footing, but you’re still moving forward — even if it doesn’t feel like it.
So if you’re in the thick of it, just know: you’re doing fine.
Really.
It’s okay to be confused. To feel like you’re floating. To not have all the answers.
Because one day, this chapter will make sense. And even if it doesn’t — even if it always feels like a weird dream — it’s still your dream. Yours to live, to shape, to wake up from… or maybe, to just keep dreaming forward.
You’ve got this.
Ayerhs Magazine 