Nicholas Bailey3 said:Honestly, my own experience might not be much help here—what I’d tell my 26-year-old self probably won't apply to you, so giving general advice feels a bit hollow. Beyond the standard "use your head and work hard," the biggest pitfall is trying to find solutions to your problems in other people instead of looking inward—in your own mind and your own actions.
If there's something specific on your mind, feel free to lay it out..
I don't really have any massive problems hanging over me...
Regarding my current dilemma—before the whole pandemic craziness hit, I was living in Germany, working and saving up to buy a little place back home in America. I fully intended to move back and actually start a career in my field. Now, I've been back in the States for about 10 months, and I'm totally torn between leaving again or staying put... because if I head back to Germany for another two or three years, I worry it might make things harder when it comes to starting a family later on.
Then I look at the relationships and marriages of the people around me, and I honestly can't tell if I'm the crazy one or if they are! I have one friend getting married to a long-term boyfriend she spent more time crying over than laughing with—she's told me a hundred times how much she hates him just as much as she loves him. Another friend is madly in love with a guy who basically trashes an entire bar whenever he drinks too much... stuff like that.
I'm definitely willing to make some compromises, but I find myself wondering: what kind of compromises do you *actually* have to make just to stay with someone? And where do you draw the line on what's considered "normal"? Or am I just holding onto unrealistic expectations that will eventually fade once my biological clock starts ticking, haha?
I just thought I could learn a few lessons from watching what others go through.