A Letter from Her Thirties to the Woman in Her Twenties

“Women who are over 30… give one piece of advice to women in their 20’s… it could be about anything.”

If I could offer just one piece of advice to the woman in her twenties, it would be this: stop rushing your life to meet timelines that were never yours.

In your twenties, everything feels urgent. Love must happen now. Success must come early. Mistakes feel permanent, and uncertainty feels like failure. You look around and measure yourself against other women—who is married, who is successful, who seems to have it all figured out. What no one tells you is that most of us were just pretending.

In your thirties, clarity begins to replace pressure. You realize that saying “no” is not selfish, that walking away is sometimes an act of self-respect, and that peace is far more valuable than approval. You learn that not every opportunity deserves your energy, and not every relationship deserves access to your heart.

If I could reach back in time, I would tell you to trust yourself sooner. Protect your boundaries fiercely. Choose growth over comfort, but never at the cost of your mental or emotional well-being. Love deeply, but do not abandon yourself to be loved.

Your twenties are not a deadline—they are a foundation. Every lesson, every heartbreak, every quiet victory is shaping the woman you are becoming. There is no race. There is only your journey.

And one day, when you reach your thirties, you will look back with gratitude—not for having it all figured out early, but for having the courage to keep going when you didn’t.

You’re doing better than you think.