The moment you start living for yourself, is the moment you actually start your life.
As college students (or adults-in-training, as I like to call it) we’ve spent most of our lives living on other people’s schedules. Many people see that first year of college as a teenager’s first taste of freedom – a time where kids go crazy with this newfound independence and power that they never knew they were capable of. But in reality, it’s a year filled with uncertainty, homesickness, lonely decisions and existential questions of who they really are. They’re away from everything they’ve known, dragged from any support system they had been cocooned in for their entire lives.
My freshmen year was no different. Further west than I’ve ever been in my entire life, having only ever lived on the East Coast, I felt a bit lost. Fresh out of a long-term relationship and away from my family, I had every opportunity to live for me. I didn’t do anything rash or that bold though; I still did as I was told. I called my parents to talk through decisions. I played it safe.
It sounds a bit cliché, but it wasn’t until I made the decision to get a piercing I have always wanted that I realized the power of making decisions for yourself and how liberating it can be.
I’ve wanted my rook pierced since junior year of high school. I’m not an edgy person by any means, but I thought the rook was an incredibly cool piercing. Not easily seen, but a gem when you find it – it’s sleek and unique. This past summer, my friends were talking about wanting to get their noses pierced and I realized this would be the perfect time to do this. I didn’t consult my parents. I didn’t really discuss it with anyone. I wanted it, so I did it. The adrenaline rush that resulted was insane. As soon as I saw it in the mirror, I was hit with a feeling I hadn’t felt in a very long time – an appreciation for myself. In that moment, I felt so in control of my body and my life. Something as simple as a piercing was enough to liberate me from everything I thought I was expected to be.
There is so much power in saying yes when you want to say yes, in believing in and being honest with yourself about what YOU want. For the first time in 19 years, I truly felt like I was living for me. It’s cliché, it’s corny, but it’s true – your life begins when you begin to play out your own desires. Try it. It doesn’t need to be anything permanent or serious. Do something that makes YOU happy without letting anyone knew. See what happens. Liberate yourself.