Listen ya’ll… I am a 26-year-old (almost 27) female. I like to think I have my life semi- together. I own a house, a car, a dog, and have a solid job. Looking at those terms, I feel like I’m doing okay… until I get on Facebook or Instagram and see the newest marriage or baby announcement.
In those moments, I really start to rethink what I’m doing, and I know I’m not the only 20/ 30 something year old thinking the same. That was until I listened to Kenny Chesney’s “Everyone She Knows.”
YA’LL… This song is legit.
It speaks words on what many of us are going through, and guess what? It’s fine… (everything is fine).
“And everyone she knows is having babies.
They got tired of fighting with the clock.
And her mama’s always asking,
if she’s ever gonna have one.”
When did it happen? We went from our friends having babies as being scandalous to it being on the regular. This is the reality check. This is supposedly the new normal that some of us are sitting back flabbergasted about.
“She’s stuck between 17. And everyone she knows.”
How accurate is this? No, we are not teenagers anymore, we are adults. But some of us aren’t moving as quickly as others around us. One minute you’re all drinking beers at the bar together to the next minute, you’re miscommunicating beer bottles and baby bottles.
“She goes out on Saturday night.
She comes home late, she don’t have to fight.
And she thinks, ‘Ain’t got it all, but I got it alright’
And for a minute she’s glad that she ain’t like everyone she knows.”
These lyrics are key, and personally, the part that hits home for me. Yes, maybe it would be nice to be in a serious relationship, or have a family, but honestly, I only have to worry about me, myself, and I… and I know I’m not the only one that thinks this.
What happens if you come home at 2 am? Nothing, you’re just getting old, so there is a high possibility that you will be hungover the next day. No judgment for that frozen pizza you make either. When you wake up the next morning too, you are not going to have anyone nagging you around. You just may have a splitting headache and some serious regret for that drunk text you sent your ex… twice.
All in all, Kenny Chesney just sings about us “ in betweeners” and the life’s we live.
There is something awesome and respectful about getting married and starting a family, but there’s also something profound about learning who you are as a person. At the end of the day, there is no time line on how life should go. Good ole’ Kenny just gives some of us the reassurance that we are not alone, and we are doing just as well as those who quote, unquote… “have their life together.”
It’s together, maybe just a little bit more dysfunctional….
