That’s Jee, 24 going on 25

24 is a weird age. You feel like an adult but not really.

Jeehye Jung
Jul 27, 2017 · 2 min read

Barely young enough to blame things on your incompetence or “life inexperience.” Almost old enough to start seriously worrying about your debts (both financially and physically- no more 3 hour hangovers, mine lasts two days now).

So it is only fitting that at 24, I learned the greyscales of life.

Bittersweet emotions tangled between dreams and reality.

Midway compromises that reconcile separate parties.

Fulfilling equal duties within symbiotic relationships.

In my professional life, this greyscale applied to the unsensational phase of growth. The last two years were “eventful” of sorts. From launching, to again changing into a new agency; from applying different strategies (high volume/low fee/short term, or low volume/high fee/long term) to settling into one (I chose the latter); from hiring, to letting go of employees.

Finally I settled into a work flow. Less ups and downs these days. Small successes there, small losses here. Unsensational. Very greyscale.

Meanwhile I see quite sensational successes around me. My fellow medical school applicants are graduating, photos of their M.D. degrees popping along my feed. A few of the models I started with are now in the high pages of Vogue. I feel disappointed with myself. After graduating university at 19, I expected better.

But what is better? That I don’t know yet. That’s why I miss the diplomas, the awards and scholarships, the press. I miss having a boss, a teacher to look up to for a “good job.”

I miss all these things but I know better: to persist.

Life on the greyscale. Confident and knowledgeable enough not to screw things up. Cautious and inquisitive, finding subtle answers along the way.

That’s Jee, 24 going on 25.

Jeehye Jung

Written by

Jack of all trades, master of some. Co-founder at Amuse Agency.

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