Life is divided into moments. Some are small. Some are big. Some make you cry. Some make you laugh. Some just make you pause and think. All of these moments, even the painful ones, create the beautiful, complicated, individuals that we are.
When we are young, we look at the “adults” around us and think they have all the answers, have their lives figured out, and thus we expect that we will have it together when we are the grown ups. Boy were we wrong.
Adults are just older kids, struggling to find their place in the world, looking for that thing that makes them happy, hoping to gain approval from those they look up to. Added into this is a maze of obligations and responsibilities that accumulate year after year.
Bottom line: Adulting sucks!
But…..
it does have perks.
As an adult you are finally in charge of your own ship. You have worked your way up from cabin boy, to first mate, and now finally you are the captain. You stare the ship into the water you wish to explore and there you can expect to find treasure and exotic lands, but you will suffer hardships as well.
There will be merciless storms, bouts of doldrums, and pirates who wish to take that which is not theirs. You will want to give up, turn back, and surrender, but you must remember that all of these are only temporary states that can change with the wind.
The goals you set in youth can now be obtainable…if you work at it. You don’t have to get permission to be who you want to be, you just have to be willing to be who you are first. It wont be easy, there will be stumbling blocks, and distractions, but even a mis-adventure is an adventure.
Graduating from high school, college, marriage, babies, death, retirement….they are all moments in life, each unique to us. Your journey will not be the same as mine but your accomplishments, your hurts, they are no less validated. It’s okay to cry. It’s also okay to be proud. It’s okay to be uniquely you.
Wherever you sail your ship, keep your compass in your pocket so that you can always get your bearings when the world becomes too big. And sometimes, take off the captains hat and remember where you came from, what it was that you wanted to be, and what mark you wanted to leave on this earth.
Coffee Dribble 