Read: Why Your 20s Shouldn’t Only Be About Self-Discovery
written on Friday, November 29, 2013 @ 11:05 AM ♥
It’s a modern cliché: Find yourself in your 20s. It seems like every article, every friend, and even some family members will encourage you to make mistakes, laugh at mishaps and defy all odds. You have been told to stray away from safety and take a chance or two, but are these bits of advice actually helpful in the long run?
Time is a strange concept. When you’re 18 people ask you where you want to attend college. When you’re 22 they question what your plans are for after graduation. Suddenly, when you’re about 25 the question becomes, any or all of my top three favorites; “When are you getting married?” “When are you getting a place of your own?” or best yet, “When are you going to have kids?” Many people tether these ideas to time and age and try to put deadlines on when each person should accomplish them.
I personally believe this is ridiculous. There should not be a time limit for when you should accomplish any of life’s milestones. The black borders drawn to precision on maps don’t really exist, so go ahead and cross them. Like imaginary borders drawn on maps, life has no real boundaries or time limits.
Are the university you attend, city you live in, or the job you’re “stuck at” not good enough? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then eave. There are no barricades locking you in. You can go wherever you choose to go in life. No matter what age you are, there are no benchmarks that absolutely need to be met, so disregard them.
Do you ever wish you could go back in time and relive your younger years? Or would you prefer to press the fast-forward button on your life so things won’t seem so uncertain anymore? If you have ever felt like this, realize that this is a very special time in your life that should not be taken for granted.
You are where you are supposed to be.
Think about it: if you went back to when you were a kid, that innocent, carefree version of you would cease to exist. And that’s heartbreaking. Maybe playing tag wouldn’t seem so exhilarating. Maybe the little things like watching cartoons while laying on your great grandma’s couch would be boring. If you went forward in time, you would most definitely be even more clueless than you already are since you only know the end product, not the path you took to get there.
And that’s just it, isn’t it? The path that you took to get where you are is more important than where you actually are in life. The decade spent in your twenties is lauded as the time of discovery and fun. Time is irrelevant and you can start being the person you want to be whenever you please. Remember that we are volatile and malleable in the best way possible.
Although the time spent in our twenties is usually more carefree than future ages in our lives will be, being young is not an excuse to be reckless. Your twenties, just like every other age in your life will be a time of discovery because you learn new things about yourself and the world around you everyday. Don’t feel the pressure to live up to the cliché that you “have to” find yourself in your twenties. Make every stage of your life an attempt to live your life to the fullest, and you will be sure to find yourself in the process.
I’ve always liked including myself in the 20 something category. growing up, but not quite grown up. you’re an adult, but still recognize that you’re part kid. i’ve enjoyed the navigating of adulthood and all of my new first time experiences. a new job. my first ‘grown-up’ paycheck. growth. being old enough to rent a car.
But it seems like the older i’ve gotten, the more aware i’ve become of my short-lived stay in the ‘twenties’ and the pressure to fit the mold of all of the rest of the twenty-fivers.
i’ve started to think about how easy it is to become controlled by our age. and the expectation of what your age signifies to everyone else. how old you should be by the time you graduate. buy your first house. get married. have kids. start your retirement. suddenly it seems like there are all these benchmarks to meet, even when they don’t match the goals you are trying to reach.
Because as easy it is to forget, you’re free to do what you want with your life. the problem is, that can be quite the responsibility, to live your life the way you want to, rather than they way you are expected to. especially if that means taking a big jump. and especially when that jump may feel like a free fall. maybe quit your first job and go back to school if that feels right. get married or don’t. maybe you drop out of school or chop off your hair. maybe you change your mind. end a relationship that no longer serves you. become a different person.maybe you move away or move back home. or maybe you’re scared to do these things because it’s uncomfortable and unexpected. maybe it’s because you don’t know if everything would fall into place or you’re scared what that would mean if it did.
And when you’re in your twenties, i hope you buy a plane ticket to paris. i hope you get lost wandering all of the streets. i hope you travel the world and read lots of new books. i hope you have interesting conversations over warm cups of tea. i hope you drink out of mason jars while dancing barefoot in the grass. i hope you have a water fight in central park. set goals and change them. quit your day job. i hope you don’t do any of these things or that you do them all. write a book. change your mind. start new friendships and let go of the ones that you need to. say goodbye to all of the things that have kept you stagnant and vow to keep moving forward.
I hope your fifties mean going back to school or starting yoga. i hope your forties include falling in love with someone new- a friend, child, or partner. i hope you stay up all night laughing with your friends. and when you’re thirty, learn something new. i hope your life is one of wisdom and youth, adventure and old age- no matter what year it was that you were born.
But what i really mean to say is that I hope you aren’t held back because of a number. and that you don’t rush into things because it feels like time is slipping by. i hope you do what’s right for you. hold on. slow down. and breathe in. your age is your age. but more importantly, your life is your life. don’t change your journey so that it matches someone elses. we need to walk different paths so the whole world can be explored. revel in the differences. and enjoy where you are.
Everytime I come across an article online, it feel as if the article is speaking to me. A few days ago, I came across an article on twitter via Tiny Buddha which reassured me of my insecurities nowadays. Just feel like sharing some parts of it.
The context of the article is about waiting for a bus that took a little too long to come with an granny, a mother and a child.
Buses sometimes come in threes because our journey in life isn’t always the same; it isn’t always predictable. Three buses at once is a blessing, three vehicles for you to choose from, three choices instead of one.
You see, the journey did have beauty. It had a child finding magic in an interaction with another human being, in the warmth of the sun, in the opportunity to stop and play. Unfortunately, some of us sometimes get caught up in getting from A to B.
We sometimes don’t appreciate what’s right in front of our eyes. Sadly, on this day, the mother missed a few precious moments of her daughter growing up.
.
.
.
As we grow from child to adult, at some point we stop imagining. We stop dreaming. We focus on the details of everyday life that are inconsequential.
A bus is a vehicle. It simply gets us from A to B. We can choose if we want to appreciate the journey.
Appreciate your travels today. There is beauty in every one of them.
Whenever you find yourself getting annoyed, impatient, or frustrated with your journey, ask yourself these questions:
What’s the hurry? What can I appreciate right now? What opportunity has this delay given me? What am I really being impatient with? What am I missing by being this way?
What would a child do right now? What’s truly important to me and what action should I take that I haven’t been?
Powerful questions ground us. They make us reflect, think, and discover. They get us to challenge our assumptions and confront our thoughts.
Do something childlike on every journey you take. Skip to the supermarket. Sing in the elevator. Stop and look all around you. Just see, hear, and appreciate. Life can be beautiful if you let it.
I know you worry about not being able to find a job.
And you worry about not being able to find a job that you like.
And you worry about not knowing for sure what you like.
And you worry about interviews.
And you worry about having no income.
But worrying doesn't make you feel better at all.
You know that worrying doesn't help one bit.
Enjoy the moment.
Because its not everyday that you get to wake up late.
Not everyday that you get to make breakfast for yourself.
Not everyday that you have time to clean up your room and spend some time in front of the computer just aimlessly surfing around.
Embrace this moment. And try to keep your worries in a small corner.
Read: Why Your 20s Shouldn’t Only Be About Self-Discovery
written on Friday, November 29, 2013 @ 11:05 AM ♥
It’s a modern cliché: Find yourself in your 20s. It seems like every article, every friend, and even some family members will encourage you to make mistakes, laugh at mishaps and defy all odds. You have been told to stray away from safety and take a chance or two, but are these bits of advice actually helpful in the long run?
Time is a strange concept. When you’re 18 people ask you where you want to attend college. When you’re 22 they question what your plans are for after graduation. Suddenly, when you’re about 25 the question becomes, any or all of my top three favorites; “When are you getting married?” “When are you getting a place of your own?” or best yet, “When are you going to have kids?” Many people tether these ideas to time and age and try to put deadlines on when each person should accomplish them.
I personally believe this is ridiculous. There should not be a time limit for when you should accomplish any of life’s milestones. The black borders drawn to precision on maps don’t really exist, so go ahead and cross them. Like imaginary borders drawn on maps, life has no real boundaries or time limits.
Are the university you attend, city you live in, or the job you’re “stuck at” not good enough? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then eave. There are no barricades locking you in. You can go wherever you choose to go in life. No matter what age you are, there are no benchmarks that absolutely need to be met, so disregard them.
Do you ever wish you could go back in time and relive your younger years? Or would you prefer to press the fast-forward button on your life so things won’t seem so uncertain anymore? If you have ever felt like this, realize that this is a very special time in your life that should not be taken for granted.
You are where you are supposed to be.
Think about it: if you went back to when you were a kid, that innocent, carefree version of you would cease to exist. And that’s heartbreaking. Maybe playing tag wouldn’t seem so exhilarating. Maybe the little things like watching cartoons while laying on your great grandma’s couch would be boring. If you went forward in time, you would most definitely be even more clueless than you already are since you only know the end product, not the path you took to get there.
And that’s just it, isn’t it? The path that you took to get where you are is more important than where you actually are in life. The decade spent in your twenties is lauded as the time of discovery and fun. Time is irrelevant and you can start being the person you want to be whenever you please. Remember that we are volatile and malleable in the best way possible.
Although the time spent in our twenties is usually more carefree than future ages in our lives will be, being young is not an excuse to be reckless. Your twenties, just like every other age in your life will be a time of discovery because you learn new things about yourself and the world around you everyday. Don’t feel the pressure to live up to the cliché that you “have to” find yourself in your twenties. Make every stage of your life an attempt to live your life to the fullest, and you will be sure to find yourself in the process.
I’ve always liked including myself in the 20 something category. growing up, but not quite grown up. you’re an adult, but still recognize that you’re part kid. i’ve enjoyed the navigating of adulthood and all of my new first time experiences. a new job. my first ‘grown-up’ paycheck. growth. being old enough to rent a car.
But it seems like the older i’ve gotten, the more aware i’ve become of my short-lived stay in the ‘twenties’ and the pressure to fit the mold of all of the rest of the twenty-fivers.
i’ve started to think about how easy it is to become controlled by our age. and the expectation of what your age signifies to everyone else. how old you should be by the time you graduate. buy your first house. get married. have kids. start your retirement. suddenly it seems like there are all these benchmarks to meet, even when they don’t match the goals you are trying to reach.
Because as easy it is to forget, you’re free to do what you want with your life. the problem is, that can be quite the responsibility, to live your life the way you want to, rather than they way you are expected to. especially if that means taking a big jump. and especially when that jump may feel like a free fall. maybe quit your first job and go back to school if that feels right. get married or don’t. maybe you drop out of school or chop off your hair. maybe you change your mind. end a relationship that no longer serves you. become a different person.maybe you move away or move back home. or maybe you’re scared to do these things because it’s uncomfortable and unexpected. maybe it’s because you don’t know if everything would fall into place or you’re scared what that would mean if it did.
And when you’re in your twenties, i hope you buy a plane ticket to paris. i hope you get lost wandering all of the streets. i hope you travel the world and read lots of new books. i hope you have interesting conversations over warm cups of tea. i hope you drink out of mason jars while dancing barefoot in the grass. i hope you have a water fight in central park. set goals and change them. quit your day job. i hope you don’t do any of these things or that you do them all. write a book. change your mind. start new friendships and let go of the ones that you need to. say goodbye to all of the things that have kept you stagnant and vow to keep moving forward.
I hope your fifties mean going back to school or starting yoga. i hope your forties include falling in love with someone new- a friend, child, or partner. i hope you stay up all night laughing with your friends. and when you’re thirty, learn something new. i hope your life is one of wisdom and youth, adventure and old age- no matter what year it was that you were born.
But what i really mean to say is that I hope you aren’t held back because of a number. and that you don’t rush into things because it feels like time is slipping by. i hope you do what’s right for you. hold on. slow down. and breathe in. your age is your age. but more importantly, your life is your life. don’t change your journey so that it matches someone elses. we need to walk different paths so the whole world can be explored. revel in the differences. and enjoy where you are.
Everytime I come across an article online, it feel as if the article is speaking to me. A few days ago, I came across an article on twitter via Tiny Buddha which reassured me of my insecurities nowadays. Just feel like sharing some parts of it.
The context of the article is about waiting for a bus that took a little too long to come with an granny, a mother and a child.
Buses sometimes come in threes because our journey in life isn’t always the same; it isn’t always predictable. Three buses at once is a blessing, three vehicles for you to choose from, three choices instead of one.
You see, the journey did have beauty. It had a child finding magic in an interaction with another human being, in the warmth of the sun, in the opportunity to stop and play. Unfortunately, some of us sometimes get caught up in getting from A to B.
We sometimes don’t appreciate what’s right in front of our eyes. Sadly, on this day, the mother missed a few precious moments of her daughter growing up.
.
.
.
As we grow from child to adult, at some point we stop imagining. We stop dreaming. We focus on the details of everyday life that are inconsequential.
A bus is a vehicle. It simply gets us from A to B. We can choose if we want to appreciate the journey.
Appreciate your travels today. There is beauty in every one of them.
Whenever you find yourself getting annoyed, impatient, or frustrated with your journey, ask yourself these questions:
What’s the hurry? What can I appreciate right now? What opportunity has this delay given me? What am I really being impatient with? What am I missing by being this way?
What would a child do right now? What’s truly important to me and what action should I take that I haven’t been?
Powerful questions ground us. They make us reflect, think, and discover. They get us to challenge our assumptions and confront our thoughts.
Do something childlike on every journey you take. Skip to the supermarket. Sing in the elevator. Stop and look all around you. Just see, hear, and appreciate. Life can be beautiful if you let it.
I know you worry about not being able to find a job.
And you worry about not being able to find a job that you like.
And you worry about not knowing for sure what you like.
And you worry about interviews.
And you worry about having no income.
But worrying doesn't make you feel better at all.
You know that worrying doesn't help one bit.
Enjoy the moment.
Because its not everyday that you get to wake up late.
Not everyday that you get to make breakfast for yourself.
Not everyday that you have time to clean up your room and spend some time in front of the computer just aimlessly surfing around.
Embrace this moment. And try to keep your worries in a small corner.
