When you are in college and in your early twenties, it can feel like you are supposed to have your entire life figured out already. I mean just a few years ago, or maybe even as early as a few months ago, we had to ask for permission to use the bathroom, and now they have us making these huge decisions that are going to effect us for the rest of our lives; it can all be incredibly overwhelming. We think that if we make a wrong move or any kind of mistake that we won’t be able to fix it, but trust me when I say it is a lot harder to permanently screw up your life than you think. You won’t do it by changing your major a few times or taking a year off to find yourself. Many millennia’s like myself find themselves believing this common misconception that everyone else has their life perfectly planned out in front of them and so should we. The cold hard truth is that no one has their life totally figured out, especially not in your twenties. Hell, even adults who seem like they have it all together have no idea what they’re doing 85% of the time.
Your twenties are supposed to be our time to be young and free. We are supposed to use this time to make mistakes and learn lessons. This is our time to discover ourselves and become new people over and over again. This is our time to be who we want to be fearlessly and unapologetically. We can’t do all of those things if we are stuck worrying over our futures, thinking that if we don’t have everything meticulously planned out, we will wind up losing it or something. You won’t. Your future isn’t something written down on a piece of paper. It is an endless series of opportunities and decisions that lead you to the life you are supposed to have. There is nothing wrong with having a passion or ambition towards something, if anything, that is what will set your life apart and keep it from becoming mundane. You just can’t let the anxiety of ruining your future ruin your life before you have even had a chance to live it. Trust me when I tell you that I am no stranger to the all too common 3 A.M. panic attack that you have completely and utterly ruined your whole life. My biggest piece of advice to anyone worried about their future is to take few deep breaths and step back from the situation. Giving yourself time to calm down and sleep on it will allow you to come back to the problem hopefully with a clearer head and the ability to see it through a new perspective.