One of the best things about being in your twenties is that pretty much anyone will help you.  If you need a mentor, someone to encourage you or help you out, people are often more than willing to lend a listening ear, comforting shoulder, or helping hand.  As one twentysomething pointed out, "Now's the time to ask, before you become the competition."

Oh, yeah, and you can still be silly.  You can play paint ball or laser tag and build potato guns.  Even if you don't have a kid, you can still act like one.  Look for any opportunities to have some fun, learn something, and get out there and enjoy it.

4. Energy and Youth

The twentysomething years have a youthful vibrancy.  There are an excitement and hope that permeate every fiber of our being.  You can use that energy to accomplish personal goals, and if you can't change the world, at least you can change the world around you.

Shane, a 31-year-old living in Los Angeles, says that youth is to be treasured and enjoyed.  "For some reason, good or bad, it's still okay to screw up," she says.  "It's okay to try everything within God' eyes before you have to settle down or be responsible.  Yes, you should learn to invest, register your car on time, have an occasional blood test, watch your sodium intake – but don't forgo the opportunity to hold on to your immature youth.  Pull a fun prank on your friends, backpack Europe on $5 a day, meet everyone you can – just because."

Shane says one of the things she's most proud of is that she's never missed a trip or chance to travel or do something crazy.  She keeps a set of envelopes in her dresser drawer labeled for all the different trips she's planned:  one for summer graduate school in Vermont, another for the Nantucket Film Festival where she entered a screenplay, and another for a trip to Africa to document the AIDS crisis. 

"If I didn't have enough money at any given point, no fret, I'd find an odd job and get it," she says.  "Nothing stood in my way of going places and visiting all my friends every year.  Granted I never thought of saving for a condo or a 401(k) or getting a dental plan, but I sure never missed out on something cool."

5. New Relationships and Friendships

For some, those new relationships include marriage, while for others, they include developing strong friendships and a sense of community.  During your twenties, you can form friendships that will last a lifetime.

After moving back to Colorado, I became established with a group of amazing friends.  Not just any ordinary group of friends – we were The Tribe.  From all over the United States, with diverse backgrounds and some pretty amazing experiences in our pasts, we were joined together by our love for Christ and a desire for deeper relationships.  I started as an individual in a new city, and by the time I left, I was part of a group of brothers and sisters in Christ that goes beyond anything I ever would have imagined.  I have moved around a bit since those days, but that group of friends continues to hold me accountable and share both my joys and my tears.