As humans we fantasize about what our lives will look like when we reach a certain age. If you’re like me, then you, my friend, are a planner. You like to plan out what your future life will look like and how it's going to play out. Sort of like having an itinerary for the journey of life. The only thing is that you can only plan your life so far ahead before this thing called fate comes knocking at your door.
Let me go ahead and start off with a little example for you guys.
A younger version of myself wanted to be married by 22, have a child by 23, and own my dream house by 25.
Instead, I am now 26.
I have no children, I have no husband, and I have no dream mansion.
But what I do have is ambition, goals, dreams, and endless potential.
I have exceeded all my educational goals, I have a new full-time job, I began to pursue a small business doing something that I love on the side, I have people in my life who love and care about me, and I have a new home that I can call my very own. I may not be where I envisioned myself a few years ago, but in reality, I’m in an even better place than that. I am exactly where I need to be.
As I sit here and think about the life that I thought I wanted back then, I laugh.
I thank God endlessly for saving me from some of the things I thought I wanted at that time.
We live and we learn.
And one thing that I have learned is that life truly is about timing.
You can’t try to force things to play out a certain way or rush into things that take time, patience, and hard work. I’ve come to find that everything happens at its time, right when it's supposed to happen.
It’s crazy to me how we can envision a whole future for ourselves, but in the end life is only going to go in the direction that it needs to. Nowadays there’s this huge societal pressure on the younger crowd to live up to a certain lifestyle by a very young age. Social media influencers have created this image of having huge financial success by the age of 23, buying big houses, expensive cars, etc. which then causes people to think that they need to be on that same level right away. What we often fail to realize is that there is no comparison because every path and every journey is different. Not all of us find financial wealth at an early age (or for some, ever). Not all of us go off and get married and have a family at a young age. Not all of us earn a degree in 4 years and find the perfect well-paying job right away. School takes time, success takes time, love takes time. These things don’t just happen perfectly overnight.
Another thing that I have learned is that during these transitions in life it is important to just let things flow. When new opportunities for growth present themselves, take them. If something doesn't work out, it simply wasn't meant to be. When people decide to leave, let them. Trying to hold on to certain things in life only prevents you from going in the direction that you need to go in. I would know.
May this serve as a reminder that it's okay to have a change in direction, or a change in your life plan. Some hurdles are placed in front of us for the better, others more to test our strength in life. It's completely normal to get knocked down, but what truly matters is how we get back up and redirect our focus.
Life seldom works out the way that we plan, but hey, that's okay! Don’t be afraid to welcome change. It’ll open up new doors, begin new chapters, new beginnings, etc. This is my new chapter. This is where I’m meant to be.
With ceaseless love,
Meli
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