The last couple of years since I graduated college have been an adventure in figuring out who I am and where I want my life to go. But I have to say, I wasn't prepared for it at all. Why doesn't anyone really ever mention just how challenging the post-college, 20-something years are? Why no warnings of how hard, confusing, and awkward it is?
One of the best things I have learned in my 20-somethinghood is how to embrace the challenge and the uncertainty that comes with it. Basically, I just had to learn that in all situations, it's okay.
Don't know what choice is the right one? Think you made a mistake?
Questioning your career path?
Make a fool of yourself at work?
Social life not as booming as the college years?
Going through the socially awkward reality that is making adult friendships?
It's okay. It just is. Life isn't going to be perfect now, or ever.
Oh, and you know that friend your age who landed their dream job, is happily married, bought a house, adopted a puppy, and still is out every weekend posting fabulous pictures of their dream adventures coming to life? Ya, their life isn't perfect either. If they were honest, they'd tell you. Or, maybe they're delusional.
But the point is, no one has their act so together that they don't run into hard, stressful, depressing, or awkward situations at least some of the time.
The corny saying is totally right: life is about the journey. It's about stupid choices. It's about missing family and close friends who are living across the state or across the world. It's about every weird encounter you have as you try to connect with new friends. It's about that terrible date where you had nothing in common and that strange relationship choice you make ("what was I thinking?"). It's about making tough choices where there is no "right" answer. It's about screwing up at work and making yourself look like a fool to the boss and coworkers that you bust your ass trying to impress. It's about coming to terms with your own fragility and mortality, and that of those around you.
And it's also about those few great friends you make who become like family. It's about getting to know your actual family as an adult, and enjoying them for the people you never realized they were. It's about that ridiculously fun date that didn't end up going anywhere, and feeling okay with leaving it at that. It's about cherishing phone appointments, Skype hangouts, and those rare occasions when you get to see the people who matter most. It's about discovering all the things you love that make you feel absolutely alive. It's about the risks you take that turn out in a best-case-scenario kind of way. It's about finally getting recognition for working so hard. It's about feeling good because you volunteer, lend a hand, donate, and do all you can to make a difference.
And it's okay. It's all okay. You bask in the good and inspirational moments that give you the fuel to take life by the horns and keep at it. You don't take yourself too seriously. When the harder times come, you realize that they'll pass, and you'll be a better person on the other side of the challenge.
Embrace it. Just embrace the awkwardness of this life stage. Take it for what it is, soak in every moment, the good and the bad, and learn from your mistakes. You'll feel uncomfortable. And it's okay.
