Life is genuinely such an adventure! With so much pressure from society on young adults and students, changing your course of life may seem unexceptable. Everyone has the assumption that we should all have this crazy thing called life figured out. In my opinion, that is not the case. Life is all about trial and error. This goes for any age, race and gender. I do believe most of this pressure comes with good intentions. There are so many options and a variety of pathways you can take in life. Sometimes hands on experiences and jumping into the swimming pool head first is the only way you can learn about who you really are and about how life really works.
Personally, I graduated from high school, moved to an island, moved back to the city I grew up in, and finally moved to a desert for college! There is no cookie cutter or white picket fence idea about what you SHOULD be doing with your life. Afterall, it is your life. Not to say planning and setting goals are not important or beneficial, but it is okay to detour from those plans.
It is crazy how much pressure we put on ourselves to have a perfect life or meet a certain standard. Life is messy! Plans could and do instantaneously change in a matter of minutes or even seconds.
Ask yourself, “Where do I want to REALLY be in 10 years? What is actually important to me? How can I make it happen?” Then reevaluate, think, but do not overthink! It is so important to always practice self love and motivation with your choices and judgements. I am personally not very familiar with Harry Styles, but I absolutely love this quote he once said, “A real girl isn’t perfect, a perfect girl isn’t real.” This is so true and it goes for both boys, girls, and everything in-between. As a perfectionist, this is something I have had to and will continue to remind myself every day.
People are not perfect and life is not full of Barbie and Ken dolls. Even Barbie knows that. In the last few years, Barbie has had to alter her image to fit a new “normal” standard. The company started to lose business due to low self-esteem rates and insecurities coming from the young girls playing with and purchasing barbie dolls. They created a model to attempt a change. “There are a seemingly infinite number of combinations of hair texture, hair-cut and color, body type and skin tone.”
If you ever start to feel down on yourself, or you start doubting your “life plan,” comparing yourself to others on the internet or even books and TV shows is not a solution to this problem. In fact, it will probably just make things worse. Live your life for YOU and only you. Try not to compare your expectations or standards to other people, because everyone has different opportunities and life situations. Not everyone has the same things that you have. Not everyone has the opportunity or finances to complete their goals. Count every single blessing you have, and do not judge others.
I hope this article was motivational to you but most importantly I hope it encouraged you to show yourself and your life grace! In a world full of so much chaos and tension, there are so many things in life to be grateful for.