Throughout your life you have probably heard “don’t be selfish,” or “being selfish is rude and self-centered and you’ll never get anywhere with an attitude like that.” What they don’t tell you is that, sometimes being selfish is exactly what you need to do to get where you want to go and do what you want to do. As a wise person once said, “You’ll regret one hundred percent of the things you didn’t do.”
Have you ever really wanted to see that new rom-com but all of your friends can already see how the movie is going to play out (because let’s face it, they are pretty predictable but that’s besides the point)? You really want to see it but since your girls don’t want to you just decide to wait for it to come out at the Redbox. Or, have you ever sat at home on a Friday night because your normal crew wants to chill…but you really wanted to hit the bar. Or vice versa, you wanted to stay in and take a mental health break but you’re getting peer pressured into going out? Well, you should; you should do exactly what you want to do and this is why…
These years, the twenties and late teens, are growing years. Years where we get to take chances because we are young enough to do so, years that we need to take advantage of because, why not? Not just with the little things, like the formerly mentioned rom-com or going out to the bars, but about the food you want to eat, the trip you want to take, where you want to live, jobs you want to take: do these things for you and you alone.
As I am currently studying abroad, I am constantly doing things for myself. This trip has made me vastly more independent and selfishly minded. Normally, I believe I live a non-selfish life. I wouldn’t say I’m exactly selfless, but I don’t go out of my way to do things that only benefit myself. This trip abroad is a trip for myself. I love the friends that I have met here but I don’t feel this obsessive need to always be doing what my friends are doing. I suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out) a lot in my life, where I do things because I don’t want to miss out on what other people are doing, especially my friends. What I never considered was what I might be missing out on in my own life, my own interests, wants and needs. This study abroad trip is for me; I traveled here alone and I had a set list of things that I intended to do. It’s important to “do you” at times in your life and this is my time to do just that.
It’s important to live for yourself while you can, in the coming years there may be things like marriage and kids in your life and your life will change and center around these people. But for right now, you only have you and your life ahead of you and you should seize these moments and make them your own. It’s important to do things for yourself during these years whether big or small because these are the things and events and opportunities that will help you to grow and get to know yourself better. You will get more out of doing the things that you want to do than you will for just following along for the ride with others.
These years are here for you to make mistakes and live the way that you want to live, better yourself and live and learn. These years are for you and you alone so take advantage of these years.