Over this past winter break, I met up with two of my close friends from high school and caught up on the past semester. We updated each other on a variety things including our love lives, classes, next adventures, etc and how complicated things can get or had gotten. About halfway through our deconstruction of the past four to six months, I threw up my hands and said “We need to just let it be messy!” One of my friends pointed at me and said, “That’s our New Year’s Resolution, to let it be messy.”
Now, I’m not usually one for New Year’s resolutions but this is one I can get on board with.
Photo above: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/370561875567958774/?lp=true
According to an article in the New York Times, many resolutions are abandoned because they are either unattainable or something that we do not actually believe. It is recommended that resolutions be specific, which I’ve chosen to ignore because, while “let it be messy” is broad, it’s also applicable to a lot of different things and I don’t want to set too rigid of a goal either.
Life is imperfect and sometimes it gets messy but we’re twenty years old and it’s okay if life is messy. It’s okay to date someone even if you’ll be different places after graduation. It’s okay to step out of your comfort zone and live in a different country. It’s okay to have no idea where your summer internship will be. It’s okay to be sad, and upset, and disappointed, and joyful, and scared, and excited. Let it be messy, in fact, lean into it! Embrace the uncomfortability and uncertainty because we are only young once and we do not need to have everything figured, regardless of what other people tell us.
I’m reminded of this as I start my semester abroad, far from home and away from my closest friends to just take a deep breath and let things be messy. I’m allowed to make mistakes and take the wrong bus, misunderstand a cultural norm, or feel extremely out of place. Let it be messy. Recognize that you’re uncomfortable, identify why, and move from there.
Photo above: https://trip101.com/article/best-things-to-do-toledo-spain
In order to ensure that I actually follow through on this resolution I made this graphic and made my phone background this:
Photo above: courtesy of author
Seeing something everyday is a constant reminder to let go of a my anxieties and welcome the chaos.
Bottom line, instead of freaking out about the future and agonizing over my mistakes, I’ve decided to roll with the phrase that my friends and I came up with and let it be messy. We all need a little mess in our lives as we are imperfect beings who always have more to learn.