What can a 27 year old do in life?

Your early-to-mid 20s have been a time of both tremendous personal growth and stagnant career improvement. You are cruising along (or stumbling) into your late 20s and are now closer to 30 than you are to 20, which is almost too unbelievable to admit.

Despite the weirdness, there is more than enough cause to celebrate: You are slowly moving past the clouds of confusion and are finally beginning to figure out your life, your purpose and where it is that you belong in this world.

You are now learning how to deal with the constant chaos of life and grow from it.

Now is your chance to enjoy the wonderful time between not acknowledging that you know better and knowing better before you plummet into sh*t-is-real adulthood. Here are 27 things you must accept by age 27:

1. Credit cards are not another way to say “Free Money!”

You have probably already charged a lot and made some huge mistakes in your early 20s. Stop it now.

2. However, now you may be less broke!

Yes, the joy of having a career and adult responsibilities!

3. Confidence will get you everywhere.

AKA Fake it until you make it.

4. You are getting further into your career.

Hopefully, this is a good thing, but if you're not happy with where your career is going, now is the time to make a change.

5. Your parents are the best people in your life.

And don't forget to tell them that you love them. Every day.

6. Your mother is always right… about everything… even if you choose not to listen.

Trust me on this.

7. Dying your hair any color not found in nature is completely unacceptable.

Remember Manic Panic? Forget it.

8. The New York Times is your best friend.

It is no longer cute not to keep up with what is happening in the world.

9. It’s time to become politically aware.

Perhaps Bill Maher or Jon Stewart can help.

10. You will lose friends, but in the process, you will discover who your real friends are.

This is a good thing. You are growing as a person and forward movement is more positive than it is painful.

11. Your siblings (if you're lucky enough to have them) are actually your best friends.

"Sister, sister" is so much more than a TV show and hashtag.

12. Negativity will hinder you in every way and it will affect you professionally.

Changing your attitude and taking stock of all of the good things in your life (and not just focusing on what you don’t have) is the only way to live.

13. Maturity will not stifle your emotions.

You’ll still freak out, but remember that logic is key. Breathe, take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

14. Your friends are starting to get married.

So what? Proceed at your own pace and enjoy the open bar.

15. And they're getting pregnant... on purpose.

Eventually, you’ll get used to this reality.

16. The marriages and pregnancies will get you thinking about your future and where exactly it’s going.

When will you propose to me?

17. You have to do things that you don't want to do.

This is one of the inevitabilities of getting older and of life. You now have responsibilities and you won’t want to do them all — just accept this fact and move forward.

18. That extra drink or shot (if you can still even do those) may kill you.

And, I promise that you will still be paying for it on Monday morning. You will not be able to recover as quickly as you used to. Just drink less — it’ll save you money, too.

19. Also, don't expect to be able to go to bed at 6 am and magically be able to function the next day.

You’re now a real person. Get as much sleep as a real person needs. Now is the time to start paying attention to Dr. Oz.

20. If you eat like sh*t, you will feel like sh*t.

It is time to start being much more conscious about the food you eat and how much of you eat. Take care of yourself! Your internist, wardrobe and full-length mirror will thank me later.

21. Make time to be active.

Schedule time to exercise or be generally active into your day the same way you remember and make time to brush your teeth. Also, you don't want a flat butt by the time you turn 35 or a hunched back by the time you're 45, this is mandatory.

22. You're a better lover and have better lovers.

Need I say more?

23. Sunscreen.

Wear it. Every day. You're welcome.

24. Time inexplicably goes by faster.

Didn't I just turn 21 and graduate from college? Yeah… like two presidential campaigns ago.

25. You graduated high school a decade ago.

Think about it.

26. You become more aware of your own mortality.

It sounds depressing, but it is true. This means you should really be living every day to the fullest and be grateful for each day you have. Stop putting things off until tomorrow if you can do them today.

27. This is an awesome age and life will only get better from here.

For the most part, you are much more stable and wise and, for the most part, you have already made the majority of your stupid mistakes and you're awesome to hang out with because you take stances on issues and are a citizen of the world.

You're only going to get more interesting as time continues.

Photo Credit: Taren Maroun

Earlier today, my attention was drawn to a little piece on Thought Catalog called “27 Things You Must Say Goodbye to at 27.” While a couple of the points on the list are good advice for anyone at any age (stop holding grudges against your exes, don’t be a flake, don’t actively avoid watching the news, and so on), the majority of them… well… aren’t. In fact, they seem to be aimed at sucking the joy out of living, based on some lame notion of adulthood. And that? Is bogus.

I'm in my late twenties myself, and I'd like to present to you 27 things you should definitely keep doing once you turn 27 — or 35, or 52, or 105, or whatever. Life, as they say, is in the details; ruling some of those details out just because you hit a certain age seems silly to me. Just do you!

1. Indulging in your favorite foods every so often.

The key is moderation — your metabolism changes the older you get, so yeah, that everything bagel with cream cheese is going to hit you differently than it did at 18. But it certainly won’t kill you to have one every once in a while, so go ahead and enjoy it.

2. Having wild nights out with the girls.

Everyone needs to blow off steam every now and again. Now you can do it while drinking good wine instead of cheap vodka!

3. Watching kid’s TV shows.

On the contrary, children’s television gets even more interesting the older you are. It gives you the ability to see the bigger picture, and from a developmental psych perspective, it's fascinating.

4. Reading YA books.

See: Watching kid’s TV.

5. Traveling.

Studies have shown that people often regret not the stuff they bought, but rather the experiences they didn't have. The older you get, the more likely you are to have disposable income; put it to good use and go have an adventure or two.

Yoga pants? White dresses? Captain American t-shirt? Your partner’s Oxford cloth button-down with a sharp pair of trousers? Do it. It’s your life.

7. Having stupidly long phone conversations with your BFF.

Just because you’re not a teen anymore doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to tie up the phone line for a good long while to catch up with your best friend. Even better, Skype!

8. Crushing on that cute guy you always see at the coffee shop.

A little romance is good for the soul. On that note...

9. Flirting.

Flirting is fun!

So is falling in love!

11. Falling out of love.

Less fun, but sometimes necessary. Don’t worry about “settling down," no matter how old you are.

12. Painting your toenails blue.

Or green, or purple, or sparkly, or whatever. Nail polish colors do not have age limits.

13. Learning new things.

That old saying about not being able to teach old dogs new tricks? Bullshit. Whether it’s going back to school or picking up a hobby, go right ahead and challenge yourself to learn something new. How else are you going to keep things interesting?

14. Coloring outside the lines.

Literally and metaphorically.

Why not?

16. Ordering a milkshake with dinner.

Bonus: Now you can add booze.

17. Going all-out on your birthday.

To be fair, I don’t really think anyone, no matter what age they are, should be celebrating a “birthday week” or “birthday month” — mostly because it seems excessive and annoyingly “ME! ME! ME!”; however, that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to celebrate your birthday at all. Have a party! A shindig, even! Or just treat yourself to a quiet night in, if that’s your jam! Birthdays are for having fun, no matter how old you are!

18. Talking in baby voices to your dog.

Or your cat, or your parrot, or your alternate pet of choice. Pets love that shit.

19. Taking spontaneous road trips.

Remember that whole thing about traveling and having adventures? The same thing applies here. As long as you have both the time and the resources to do it, go. Randomly decide to drive up to Niagara Falls over the weekend just because you’ve always wanted to see it. You will thank yourself in the long run.

Plenty of people have made total career changes and seen great success because of it. And I don’t just mean financial success; sure, that can be part of it, but personal happiness also counts as success. Just because you’ve been doing one job for the past 10 years doesn’t mean you’re stuck doing it for the next 10.

21. Getting so absorbed in the book you’re reading that you stay up all night to finish it.

Bonus points if you read it under the covers with a flashlight.

22. Throwing a Frisbee around on a lazy summer Sunday.

It’s fun, and it’s exercise. Everybody wins!

23. Getting nostalgic.

But also…

24. …Dreaming about the future.

The best part is that now, you’ve got the know-how to make whatever future you dream for yourself a reality.

Who cares if it’s a boy band?

26. Laughing.

Loudly. And often.

And lastly…

27. Not worrying what anyone else thinks about you.

A lot of the prevailing wisdom on how to behave when you "grow up" seems largely concerned with how others might perceive you based on your likes or behaviors. You know what? Forget them. If you like One Direction, awesome. If you dig hair accessories, awesome. If you like watching MTV, awesome. If you love bagels, guess what? Awesome. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for people who are going to give me the Lucille Bluth just because I still like watching cartoons. I’m much too busy living my life.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Adventure Time queued up and a batch of chicken tikka masala to make. Dinner tonight is going to be epic.

Images: Giphy, Giphy, I Am Brony, The Perks of Being Anonymous/Tumblr, Cotton Candy & Darkness/Tumblr, biTe