Life in Motion

Growing up is realizing that you didn’t learn all there is to life from your parents or guardians. So many things, you’ve had to learn on the move. Sometimes, it feels like you’re not making a lot of progress and it can feel quite defeating. Many times, it may feel like none of your plans are working, even down to the most minute things. All of a sudden, you find yourself trying your hands on the things you never imagined, and somehow, excelling at it or not. A part of you grieves for the dreams your younger self wanted to grow up so bad to accomplish. 

The Uncertainty of Life

Growing up is understanding that life isn’t linear. Think about Oedipus Rex and how his parents tried to disrupt his destiny but his maker said, “hold my beer”. He killed his father and married his mother. If there’s one thing everyone from all walks of life agree on, it’s that life doesn’t stop for you to catch your breath. It goes on without considering the headspace or situation you may be in. I consider it one hard and rough rope that ties us together.  

If you take an inventory of your life from when you became a teenager and curiosity became the order of your day, up until now, you’ll realize that more often than not, water had to find its way. You begin to wonder what happened to all your dreams and aspirations. If you’re lucky enough to have gotten good guidance, then this should be foreign to you. I congratulate you on that end. 

The Fear of Starting Over

As young people, we often fall into the rabbit hole of wanting to have it all figured out at such an early age. Afterall, your friend has already found their purpose. What's delaying yours? We try to find answers like instant noodles. While in our quest for answers, desperation and cluelessness often makes  us do the things we shouldn’t even be doing. And when they don’t work out, we feel disappointed and drained, scared to start all over because not only do you care about what people would say, you fear facing yourself in your closet. The mere thought of having that one-on-one meeting with yourself makes your heart sink, so you just avoid it altogether. What a recipe for disaster!

The only time it’s okay to not start over or pick interest in something new is when you’re dead. I think one problem we face as young people is that we try to hasten up the process. We let the pressures on the outside get to us so much that we begin to lose ourselves unconsciously. 

Do you ever feel the urge to pack it all up and move to a whole new place? As a young person, I haven’t taken so many risks but a part of me feels like the risks we’re scared of taking are the stumbling blocks between us and where we aspire to be. More often than not, we’re scared of the uncertainties that lie on the other side. One thing we get to learn on our own is that it’s totally fine to start all over. I understand that it can be quite difficult to wrap your head around it, but that’s just normal. If life came with a manual, we would be living in a perfect world. 

Becoming Jack of All Trades 

We often emphasize the importance of consistency so much that we forget the equal importance of change when the need arises. One thing I wish we didn’t encourage was calling people, especially young people, jack  of all trades and master of none. It makes us subconsciously not want to try. It forces us to slip into complacency. It is natural to try out different things to find out what actually works for you. As young people, I think it’s imperative for us to be willing to try out new things. You’ll never be the age you are today ever again, so when is a better time to try out new things than now? While it’s important to prioritize putting effort into a skill and perfecting it, it’s also important to know when to try something else if it doesn’t seem to be working for you. We tend to move with trends, which can be harmful. On the other hand, it can be really helpful because through trends, you can find a dream. Contrary to the popular notion, trends don’t always have to be negative. Peer pressure is also not always negative. Sometimes, it’s just the push you need to bring you closer to your dreams.

Resilience is the Difference

So dear young lady or gentleman, take it easy on yourself. The only competition you have is yourself. If you take some time to look inwards, you’ll find that you’re actually a big deal. A well-rounded individual on topics that cut across industries. We don’t all have the same timeline, so it’s important that your gaze is fixed on your journey. Life will never stop for anyone to take a break, not even kings and queens, so make sure you identify when you need to stop and breathe. Let the world burn but don’t let the flames get you. And if it eventually gets you, you’re gold that needs fire to shine and become precious.