Roaring Twenties

Kody Keplinger, author of THE DUFF and the soon to be released SHUT OUT, turns twenty today! To celebrate, we wanted to share some awesome moments from our twenties.

Kathleen:

So way back when I was an intern, I had the super awesome experience of being in the office when Joanna closed a deal. The deal was for a book called THE DUFF. I hadn't been around to read it, but I was still super excited for her and the Nancy Coffey team!

Some time later, I was given an ARC and read it overnight. Started following Kody on Twitter, chatting back and forth, getting all squee-er-ific over the fact she has a fantastic sense of humor and is just TOO CUTE for words. And a couple of years later, we still chill and when we do, I still have moments of shock at the fact she's a teen!

But not today.

Today she is no longer a teen. And she enters the realm of the 20s!

Amy Lukavics said it best: being in your 20s ROCKS! (*ahem* I'm still in them and holding on with a death grip that would put any Zombie to shame). But being specifically 20 is awesome, because:

- You're officially around for TWO decades. Just something cool about saying that. (ask me again when I'm at 3 decades)

- You're officially a YEAR from being 21.

- No one can call you a teen. You're an adult. Period. And while you may have some nostalgia, this will come in handy when dating.

- If you visit Japan, you can legally smoke (BOO), drink, and vote! You can also bet on horse racing.

- You officially make me feel not as ancient when I hang out with you.

When I was 20, I had my first official editorial job -- and I never looked back. For me it was a turning point, and it's only been better from there.

So Kody -- here's to you and your fabulousness, all two decades of it! <3

Joanna:

Well, this will have to be the moment other than my wedding :-)

It was when I first moved into my own apartment, without a roommate. It was a fair-sized 1-BR. Due to the fact that I didn't own much (and just enough OCD) I had finished unpacking by the day after the move. Then I made myself a bowl of noodles and sat on my futon to eat.

I was 23. Before this, I had only lived with roommates, and before that was the communal living of college, and before that I shared a room with my sister for 17 years. I wasn't used space that was only meant for me.

I didn't have a TV and couldn't even afford to get cable internet (no smart phones then either). But I had an old boom box that I had gotten when I was 10. So I turned on the radio. Relaxed into my futon. Ate my noodles. And I was grinning the whole time. I had never felt so independent! It was the first time I ever truly felt like an adult. And I *loved* it.

Sara:

I transferred my sophomore year of college. It was one of the first big decisions I had to make on my own, and I was still hoping it was going to be a good idea the day I moved in.

I was living in the dorms, in a triple that was connected by a bathroom to another triple. It was tight living.

And as I was walking past the bathroom, I saw a person moving around in the other room.

"Hello?" I called.

The girl popped back into view. "Hi!" she said.

"I'm Sara." We shook hands over the toilet. If you have not done this, and I hope you haven't: most awkward handshake ever.

And then we stared at each other for a few seconds.

"So. I walked past this frozen yogurt place called 21 Choices. I'm thinking it must be a bad rip-off of 31 Flavors, and I feel the need to test that," I said. Because awkward handshakes should ALWAYS lead to awkward friend-date invitations. Obviously.

"Oprah says froyo is the next big food trend," said my new suite-mate. And then, "Uh, you'll soon discover half the things I say starts with 'Oprah says...'"

Thus began a beautiful friendship.

And also the realization that I would meet people in this world whose experiences, lives, and sense of humor could (and would!) change my point of view and my outlook on life in more ways than I could imagine.

It seems like a silly thing to realize, almost like it's common-sense. But though I'd KNOWN such things could happen while I was a teenager--that I would go to college somewhere else besides the small town I'd spent my entire life in and meet people who would help me grow--the year I turned 20 was the year I actually felt it.

So! Here's to all the experiences YOU will have this year. I hope they're as awesome as you are.

You can read other fab twenties moments at Erica O'Rourke's, Loretta Nyhan's, Amy Lukavics's, and Lisa and Laura Roecker's, just for starters.