What 30 historical icons were doing when they were in their 20s

Let’s face it, your 20s can be intimidating, difficult, and downright stressful. Following typical societal expectations, you’re meant to graduate college, meet the love of your life, and build a blossoming career in 10 years.

Sometimes you just need a reminder that not all paths in life take the same course. In fact, some of the most famous people in history didn’t find their true callings or become notable until much later in life. For every mega-successful person who rose to fame in their 20s, there are also some late bloomers.

Below are 30 notable historical icons and exactly what they were doing in their 20s.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. earned his doctorate young.

After earning his B.A. at 19 and his B.D. at 22, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. graduated with his doctorate from Boston University in 1955, when he was 25. In 1954, MLK became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery and had previously joined the NAACP. In 1995, he would lead the famed Montgomery bus boycott. During this time he was arrested, abused, and his home was bombed.

At 28 years old, Dr. King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He would become the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35, just four years before he was assassinated.

Alexander Hamilton signed the Declaration of Independence before he was 30.

Founding father Alexander Hamilton was a highly successful government official in colonial America by his early 20s. Hamilton said he had his first job at age 11 and moved to New York at the age of 16 to attend what is now known as Columbia University but left to join the Revolutionary War before graduating.

In his early 20s, Hamilton became Washington’s loyal advisor and military strategist. Hamilton would then go on to sign the Declaration of Independence and serve as Chief of Staff to George Washington all before the age of 30.

Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first job.

Believe it or not, media mogul Oprah Winfrey was fired (or, rather, demoted) from one of her first ever reporting jobs in her early 20s.

Despite the setback, Winfrey went on to host the show "People Are Talking," where she'd spend the remainder of her 20s making a name for herself as a television personality. She didn't land her namesake show until her early 30s.