When I was five, I had my whole life planned. What I would do. Check. Who I would marry. Check. How many kids? Three.
There were some major things missing, like where I would live, but I knew that becoming a nurse and marrying my kindergarten sweetheart would make me happy. And in my five-year-old mind, there was no doubt these things wouldn’t happen.
Why? Because when you’re five, you don’t understand that things don’t work out as planned 99.9999 percent of the time.
It feels like the older I get the more mature I become, the more I know, the more I understand what it means to be happy, the more I understand life. And yet, as I get older and all of those good things happen to me, the more unsure I become of my future and the harder it is to remember how far I’ve come.
A lot of times, I don’t like talking about it, so I silently torture myself, but occasionally, an article pops up on my Facebook newsfeed or is linked to one I’m already reading that offers advice and bucket lists to twentysomethings and important things to remember. And as weird as it is, these have really helped me, so I’d like to share them with you.
1. “Minimize your passivity.” Yes. You are strong and whatever you’re feeling is valid, so just say it. Passiveness not necessary. “Start a relationship with your crush by telling them that you want them. Directly. Like, look them in the face and say it to them. Say, I want you. I want to be with you.” Double yes. Like I said, your feelings are valid, so just say it.
2. 3,5,6,7,10,12,13,15,16 and really of them are great pieces of wisdom here.
3. Take enough pictures to remember your life later. Yes. I have the awful habit of deleting tons of pictures of myself because I think I look bad, and I know I’m not the only one. We really just need to stop. Also, I know this if from Cosmo, but most of the advice applied to men too. So make sure to look at it, men.
4. Get paid to do something you love. Isn’t that what work should always be about?
Next time, you freak out about your life, just relax. And remember to plan your future and think about it, but don’t let that dominate your life. You still need to live in the present. That’s the most valuable thing these lists have helped me remember.
