It is important to try new things. Yes, this is true no matter how old you are, but it particularly important while you are in your 20s. There are, of course, lots of different things you can try.
Figuring out which one (or which few) are most worth checking out could become a job in and of itself! So, to help you out, here are the things you most need to try while you are still in your 20s!
Take a Dance Class
Yes, seriously. Dancing is fun! And dance classes built for young adults are a lot less gross and judgey feeling than the classes you might have tried in college or while you were in high school. Those classes were filled with kids who were still trying to prove that they could dance for a living.
Classes for working adults are filled with people who have gotten over that and who just want to learn a new way to appreciate their bodies and to have fun while they do it. Swing dancing is always a popular choice, but you might like ballroom or even ballet better.
Learn an Instrument
Yes, you can learn an instrument at any age, but as you get older, it gets harder to do. You don’t have to want to start your own band (though that is also something you should try in your 20s) to do it.
You can choose one of the more popular instruments like guitar, piano, ukelele or you can go a goofier route and decide to learn how to play the sitar or the theremin. Finding teachers for your chosen instrument isn’t hard.
Drive Across the Country
Take at least one cross country road trip. Bonus points if you take back roads, don’t use GPS and don’t take a direct route from point A to B. Get out there and really see this country.
Take your time and explore. Make as much time for small local sites and museums as you do for the big national monuments and tourist places. You’ll be surprised at how much there is to learn out there.
Weekend in Vegas
Splurge on a hotel suite with a few friends and go get your Vegas freak on for the weekend. The city caters to young twenty-somethings who want nothing more than to spend the weekend drinking, dancing and gambling. Vegas is still fun when you’re older but then it’s about the restaurants and the shows and the family-friendly attractions.
Take Cooking Classes
Not knowing how to cook a basic meal stops being cute when you’re 30, no matter what Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America” might say. Take at least two cooking classes–one in food that you know you will eat and want to prepare and one in some sort of exotic food that you’ll only use to impress a date. Bonus points are awarded for taking a “knife skills” class as well.
Learn a New Language
Yes, you already had to take language classes in high school and college. Even so, fluency in at least one language besides English is important. It will make traveling easier, is a skill you can list on your resume, and will impress pretty much everybody you know. Plus, adult language classes focus more on conversational skills than book skills. It will be way more fun than the classes you took in high school and college.
There are so many things that are important in your 20s: setting up your retirement accounts and savings accounts, finding your passions and (first) career, finding a place to live, starting a family (for many), etc. If you focus too much on prepping for later, you’ll miss all the fun you could have had now. So, yes, be responsible. But also: take advantage of the whimsy of youth! You’ll regret it later if you don’t.