This is actually an old post that I kinda made a huge overhaul on. Still have the same points as its older version đ
Do you have that person in your school or workplace or neighborhood? That smart-Sheldon who won the chess tournament or happy-go-lucky-Larry who won employee of the year or Tracy-girl-next-door who baked the chocolate pie that got the highest-bid.
They have this light in them. Their sureness and confidence blind you, make you look away.
And then thereâs you. A helium balloon. Floating aimlessly and letting yourself be carried away by circumstances. You look at them again and you think, âMan, they have everything figured out, donât they?â
Yo thatâs me too. The helium balloon. And you know what? Iâm okay. Itâs okay to not have everything figured out right now. Hereâs why.
There are still so much to discover
The world around you extends beyond your reach. Think about that. There are still so many things beyond what you see in front of you and you canât possibly know all of them all at once. There are simply so much more for you to discover. And not only around and beyond what you see; even inside you.
If youâre a fellow young adult, Iâm willing to bet there are still parts of yourself that you donât know much about.
And friend, thatâs completely okay!
Like Shrek famously said, we have layers (although, I know he meant ogres. But câmon! Even humans do right???) Weâve barely scratched the surface of who we are.
I like to think that the teenage years and early-twenties of your life are the time for self-discovery. This is when youâre starting to get a grasp of every bit of youâwho you are and what inspires you and what you aspire to be.
So go ahead. Give yourself permission to explore both your outer and inner worlds.
We all have our own paces
So weâve already agreed no one has it all figured out, right?
Well sometimes, itâs not accepting this fact thatâs difficult. Itâs believing this is true for you. Itâs believing that itâs not necessary for you to have everything figured out right now. This is incredibly difficult to acknowledge, I know.
Whenever I think of where I am in my life at the moment, I always (always) end up comparing myself to others. Itâs an annoying habit that Iâm trying to end. Because it ends up with me thinking, âI should be at this point in my life right nowâ or âWhat am I doing wrong?â or âJust give up; this isnât for me.â
Total killer of your self-esteem, I tell you.
I took a time off school last year and during the five months that I was away, I learned a whole new kind of scary things. But it was also during those five months that I learned I wasnât part of any ârat raceâ.
I wasnât âfalling behind.â
I was, and am, simply trudging through life in my own pace, period. It took me going back to uni to have that registered in my brain, ya know. We should totally learn from turtles and sloths. Theyâre incredibly slow right? But what if theyâre only incredibly slow in our perspective? Maybe they thrive at that pace. And thrive they certainly do. Just like how cheetahs thrive being the fastest animal on land.
We all run our lives at different paces. Quick or slow, it doesnât matter so long as you reach your goal and have enjoyed the journey to get there.
Youâve got time
This relates to being at your own pace.
See, I think we have this belief that time is constantly slipping away from our hands. As if we need to achieve a certain number of things at a certain amount of time.
I mean look at Alexander Hamilton (why does he write like heâs running out of time?)
But donât get me wrong, Iâm all for making specific attainable goals. In fact I like making these kinds of tiny goals. The problem arises when we try to place ourselves in âstandards.â Like by thirty years old you have to start thinking about starting a family. Um, no thanks?
Young adults, especially, are placed in immense pressure to think about their careers by age fifteen, some even younger. My family, bless them, never really put me and my siblings under pressure. My mom would always say, âPssh donât think too much about it. Youâll know it when you know it.â But society isnât as kind, we all know that.
The point is, most teenagers are still patting our way in this maze called life. We take a wrong turn here and arrive at a dead-end there. Weâre still starting to grasp life. Still identifying the many options laid out for us. It seems unfair to expect us to have it all figured out already, donât you think?
Iâm jealous of those awesome peeps who stride through their lives at a brisk, sure pace. In a way, they motivate me to be surer of every step I take. But because of that, I also empathize to those who are uncertain like me.
If you beat yourself up over not having things figured out, stop it. Hereâs the truth, in its unfiltered un-sugarcoated state:
No one really has it all figured out. Not even Sheldon or Larry or Tracy. No matter how much it looks like they do.
Instead of wallowing up in self-pity (and I know firsthand how hard this part is) find comfort in knowing that you are not alone.
So hereâs what you can do:
Give yourself permission to explore your world, the inner and outer ones. And, in your own pace, pat your way around the maze. Stop looking over how Sheldon or Larry or Tracy. This is a maze made especially for you. And finding your way through it is not going to be an overnight process.
It will definitely take time and dozens of wrong-turns and detours. But youâll be fine. You got this.
Maybe you would get there. Maybe you wouldnât. But on the way, youâll pick up lessons and new experiences. Treasure those more and learn from them, because these are what youâll be carrying with you to your next destination, wherever that will be.
Your turn: What are you working on at the moment? Whatâs happening in your life right now? Share it with me in the comments below! đ
Hey guys! I just wanted to let y’all know that starting October (aka tomorrow), I will only be posting on Saturdays. I want to give away some time to fully participate in Inktober so yeah đ Don’t worry! I will still be active here (interacting with other blogs and dropping embarrassing fangirling comments) and on social media. I’m reconnecting with Bloglovin so if you have one, share ’em below so I can follow you, okay? Okay!
Hope y’all have an awesome October and see you all next Saturday! đ