I turned twenty a month ago, and it’s simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. Your twenties are supposed to be the best years of your life—the years where you meet new people, find success, travel, fall in love and enjoy your independence. People often make jokes about “peaking” in college, about how we’re never going to be this young again and how there’s only so long till it’s no longer quite as acceptable to be naive and reckless.

Possibly one of the most defining aspects of your twenties is the constant change that comes with it. Some people enjoy change, while others experience nervous breakdowns just at the mention of it. As for me? I’ve always been decidedly confused and a little uneasy on the concept of change, even though I’ve been grappling with it a lot lately as a sophomore. On one hand, I find it comforting to know that tomorrow could be the best day of my life. On the other, whenever things are going well, I can’t help but to think about the possibility that something’s bound to go wrong soon.

To be honest, I’m pretty happy with how my life is right now, and I don’t really want it to change all that much. I love how some Friday nights, I can go out and dance with my friends, and other Friday nights, I can do a face mask and binge watch The Great British Baking Show. I love my ability to think creatively and how I can spend a whole day in a local coffee shop reading and writing, measuring time not in minutes and hours, but rather in words and sentences. I love that I’m living with two of my closest friends and that they bring out the best in me. I love my carefree spontaneity and my ability to randomly decide to audition for a comedy group and get in. I love my optimism. I love the concept that my whole life is in front of me, and there is no limit to how much I can dream and accomplish and love.

Right now, who I am matches up well with who I want to be. Yet, I’m learning to accept that my life will change during college and after, and that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Just because I’m happy now, doesn’t mean I won’t be as happy (or happier) in my thirties or sixties.

I think that we tend to put too much pressure on our twenties being the best years of our lives. More importantly, I don’t believe in the whole concept of peaking in your twenties; this implies that there’s a certain level of excitement and joy to be reached, and that this level can only be attained a certain amount of times. For those like me who feel scared that too much change could ruin the good things we have going on, we really shouldn’t worry that much and instead should enjoy where life takes us. Or at least, that’s the mindset I’m trying to adopt. There’s risks to be taken, good (and bad) decisions to be made, songs to be sung along to and places to discover. Even though it’s a cliche, I’d like to think that the best is yet to come.

Contact Celine Turkyilmaz at [email protected].