If I could put a word to the expectations of my mid-20s, ‘Grown.’ (the period for extra emphasis) would be it. While I wasn’t sure exactly what ‘grown’ would be for me, I had a visual reference: Annalise Keating, if she were an architect and writer, and no one got murdered. Basically I would be formidable.

I would have my ‘big girl’ job, a stable income, a few investments, and a writing career I was slowly and intentionally building on the side, with a couple of publications under my belt. I would be living alone in my ‘big girl’ apartment, surrounded by amazing friends, and finally feeling rooted. I had hoped for balance and certainty.

They say that by the age of 25, the frontal lobe of the human brain is fully developed. The frontal lobe is the area of the brain responsible for many higher-level abilities including cognitive thinking, decision-making, impulse control, emotional regulation, personality and social behaviour.

At 25, one has completed roughly a quarter of an average lifespan and is considered to have reached adulthood. With this declaration comes the responsibility, expectation, and requirement to be and act ‘grown’; to have it all figured out, and to be a proper, productive member of society.