Defining Our Twenties by Timothy

Defining Our Twenties by Timothy - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

“The Defining Decade”, by Dr. Meg Jay, is a tome of developmental psychology which does not sound as exciting as the fictional worlds of Tolkien or the satires of Vonnegut, but it has an engaging subject matter. Dr. Jay, using anecdotes from her own practice about her clients who needed guidance in their twenties, paints a picture of exactly why our twenties are a defining decade in our lives, and more importantly, how to make the best of those years. Being twenty-five myself, and moving from an engineering degree to an MFA in design, the read was as enlightening as it was necessary.

I remember in high school I viewed college with cautious anticipation. This was the very moment when I’d be making a name for myself, and creating the building blocks of what the rest of my life would be. I knew that I was going into biomedical engineering at the University of Rochester, and I was on track for a bright future ahead. However, I did not complete my degree in biomedical engineering. I switched majors, lost my path, and began doubting myself. It took me a year out of college to really get perspective on my college career, and “The Defining Decade” gave me the vision to see exactly where I went wrong and what I needed to do. I started work on my photography website, In Engineer We Trust, and kept developing my skills and passions. I got to the point where I felt confident enough in my abilities that I could apply to grad school, and, as luck would have it, I was accepted to the New School of Design, and I was ecstatic. Looking back on those moments, I wish I had accepted failure and change as part of life. Dream careers and life goals are great for Pinterest, but the reality is so different. There is so much pressure on high schoolers to know what their passions are as they enter college, that once that idea of themselves is challenged, they shut down. Having a guiding light, like a book, is enough to give students the idea that they don’t need to know now, but they need to be true their loves.

At 272 pages, “The Defining Decade” is a short book, that a high schooler could read on their own with minimal interruption to their studies. Most importantly, the book is written for those entering their twenties, keeping away from the clinical language of some developmental psychology books and having relatable stories for any twentysomething, and that’s the key to the success of “The Defining Decade”. High schoolers will find the book just as accessible as any twenty-five year old, but the bonus is that the lessons inside the text are ones that they can use at the start of their twenties, keeping them from shutting down and having a quarter life crisis.