No matter what stage of life we are in, life is hard. There are ups so high you feel like you are invincible and lows so low you wonder why you keep going. In my opinion, most of this is tied to knowledge and perspective.
     When we are kids, we are frustrated because everyone older than us thinks they know best. We are bossed around, herded, but hopefully, also challenged to grow, learn, and develop. Kids ask WHY all the time. "Because I said so" isn't an answer. Giving kids reasons as to why we do things will help them grow and understand. It will make them feel respected and everyone deserves respect no matter how young. Being a kid and not having the answers is hard. But a kid who isn't given the chance to learn the answers and ask questions of him/herself is a kid who will have it hard forever.
     When we are teenagers, we are still supposed to be learning and growing and asking questions but we are just on the cusp of independence and waiting for that is antagonizing. If you are a teenager, enjoy it. You have some perspective on life already. The worst things that usually happen as a teen is that we begin to realize that life isn't rainbows and butterflies, but for the most part our highs and lows are school dances and breakups and sporting events and fights with parents. Teens are so smart. They have the world at their feet. If you are a teen, tell yourself every day that you can do anything and ask 5 new questions every day. Don't stop looking for answers until you get them. If you aren't a teen but you know some, challenge their questions, make them think, but please, please, don't ever tell them they "can't" or they "won't be able to" do something. Being an adult is hard enough. Let them live in the life of "anything is possible" for as long as they can.
     In college we pay a lot of money to supposedly prepare ourselves for the real world and the rest of our lives. Or we pay a lot of money to drink beer and come out with student debt and no idea what to do with ourselves. I didn't drink a lot of beer nor do I have student loans, but I'm almost five years out of college, 1.5 years out of grad school, and I still have no idea what I'm doing. I'm wondering if being in your 20s is the worst stage of all. There are still highs, there are still lows, but now that we are "adults" and supposed to know what we are doing, the highs are shorter usually followed by a low "oh, shit, what did I get myself into." And that's OK, I think. We aren't supposed to have it all figured out in our 20s or even 30s or beyond. Surround yourself with good people. People who'll dig you out of a hole when you hit your bottom (or finally realize you aren't in college anymore and the hangover is real), and people who'll cheer your way to the top of your highs. Just because college is over doesn't mean it's time to stop learning. No way. This is the time where we learn about ourselves with the most flourish.  No one is paying your bills anymore. No one has a say in where you go or what you do, so explore. Be bold. Be scared. I'm scared every day. But if you aren't doing things that are scary, if you only ever hang out in that comfort zone, you'll never change. You'll never learn or become better if you don't take on a challenge. Learning doesn't stop at college. We take these risks like sky diving and bungee jumping and drinking too much and climbing mountains. If you would put your faith in a parachute or a harness, why wouldn't you put that faith into yourself? You are amazing. Exactly the way you are. And it's OK to not have any idea what you are doing. You are worth it. Life is worth it. Think how much higher the high, better the reward, when you've gone through the low and the challenge to receive it.
     I don't know what happens beyond our 20s. I can imagine it's still hard. Maybe our highs and lows start to even out some. I think we still have melt downs and freak outs. But that's where perspective starts to come in, right? As we get older, we realize life is too short. Live it now. Take the risks. See what happens. If you fall, you fall, so what? You know that wasn't the option for you. And that's OK. Move on to the next thing. Let go of the things that don't serve you. Embrace the things that do and learn more about them. I imagine that the worst thing that could happen in this life is to wake up and realize it's too late. I believe in you.