Living for Yourself in the 21st Century

People often ask me what I want to do with my career in just a few years. I usually respond with a generic answer, based on what I am studying: "An art director for a magazine or a website." However, at other times, I find myself responding with three words instead of nine: "I don't know."

Truth be told, I can't say that I do know. I have a general idea in mind, but nothing is set in stone. I might only be four months shy of twenty-years old, but I have had big plans for my life for quite some time.

On a day-to-day basis, I have billions of little thoughts swarming within the four walls of my mind. I'd say that about a quarter of them consist of where I want to travel, what I want to do, goals that I want to achieve one day, and ways in which I want to live for myself.

Not that I stay cemented in the future by any means. I live for spontaneous decisions and jumping into any new opportunities that I come across, no matter how extreme (clever interlude into diverting your attention to my "Yes Man" post here after you finish feasting your eyes on this one). But when it comes to the rest of my life, I find it important to think about just where I see myself.

As a college student, I've talked to many of my friends and acquaintances about where they see themselves ending up. While many of them are in the same type of boat as myself, I've come across a few who say that it will be wherever their boyfriend or girlfriend decides, and that they will go from there. It doesn't matter if they have plans or goals of their own, because they have fallen too deep beyond the realms of infatuation.

What is there in life if you cannot live for yourself?

Keynote speaker Steve Maraboli once said, "When you are living the best version of yourself, you inspire others to live the best versions of themselves."

Throughout my life thus far, I've found that people come and go. People change, plans fall through and not everything is permanent. We can't always count on people, but we can sure as hell speak for ourselves.

Society today is pushing more than ever to stand apart from everyone else. No matter how close we might be to someone or how in love we are, let them do what they want while you pursue your own dreams. If things don't work out because you chose to live your own life, don't chase them. Let them go, because they obviously weren't worth your time anyways.

Think back to when you were significantly younger. What did you want to be as the years went by? (I apparently told my family that I "wanted to be a teenager" so I guess that I'm living the dream, but back on a serious note now.) No matter what your aspirations were, you knew that you weren't going to let anything or anyone stop you from getting to where you wanted to be.

The world can be such a vast and wonderful place. Take advantage of every chance you get, because the time doesn't stop ticking by.

5 Things You Should Stop Worrying About Right Now

Life gets hectic. There's no way around responsibilities, no matter what that word might mean to you. Meetings, classes, deadlines, relationships, obligations, events, work - everything adds up. It's difficult to keep from constantly thinking about such matters, but here's a list of just a few things that aren't worth worrying about. Life is too short to be concerned with little issues.

1.) How you look for the day.
The truth of the matter is that nobody actually cares what you look like or what you're wearing. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in and what you think looks good. Wear as little or as much makeup as your heart desires. Don't feel like doing your hair? Awesome. Feel like making it look extra special? Sounds wonderful. Try out new patterns and prints to spice things up.


2.) Comparing yourself to others.
Everyone is different, and that's a fact of life. No two people are the same, which means that not everyone is going to look the same or have the same skill sets as each other. Find your passion and hold onto it. Grow through it, and show the world what you have to offer.

3.) Petty arguments.
You're not always going to get along with everybody, especially if you're particularly close with them. Instead of letting such disagreements stress you out, keep in mind that things will more than likely be cleared up soon. Chances are, you'll look back on this and laugh.

4.) Making a mistake.
Sometimes, we screw up without even realizing it. Making mistakes is human nature, and they are there to help us learn from them. Don't be so hard on yourself, because there are always plenty of opportunities to try again.

5.) Over thinking.
I am perhaps the biggest culprit when it comes to over thinking about things. I think of situations in my head and play out every possible scenario that could come from it. I manage to think of every thing I might have done wrong to explain why I haven't gotten a call from someone yet, what the future holds, etc. Lately, I've been finding that this is one of the biggest wastes of time. Life is meant to enjoy the little moments, and not to dwell on the non-existent ones. One step at a time is all we can take.

Sidenote to my rambling: If anybody knows where I could get the shirt in the picture included please let me know because why wouldn't I want it?!?

How to Stay Focused On Right Now

Nostalgia seems to be my best friend. My memories get triggered by the simplest of things, including songs, quotes and pictures. I had an incredibly blessed childhood and am thankful for everyone and everything that I have in my life. Honestly, it's both a blessing and a curse.

I think back on some of my best memories, but some bad ones creep in every once in awhile, too. I understand that I can't really do anything about things that have happened, but that doesn't mean that I don't dwell on them every now and then.

As a student and a girl inching toward her twenties, the future is definitely a place that I fast forward to. I think about every possible scenario that could happen and the outcomes, and it can get me pretty stressed out. 

When I was in high school, my English teacher introduced the C.S. Lewis book "The Screwtape Letters" to my class. While discussing the book, she mentioned how it can be easy to find ourselves trapped in our past and worried about the future.

She also made a very strong point in saying that staying focused on the present is the important thing to do. I remember thinking about how difficult it was to imagine myself staying only in the present and not in my past or future.

I've been thinking about this a lot for some reason lately, and have found that maybe  took that out of context a bit. I realize now that, while we're meant to learn from the past, we aren't supposed to live in it. The same goes for the future; we can aspire to achieve goals and work towards fulfilling our dreams, but fearing it won't do us any good.

I guess that what I'm trying to say is, be happy with right now. Look around you, and think about everything that you've accomplished to get where you are right now. You've made it this far, congratulations! Now, focus on setting your future up, but be happy with now. Don't settle, and do the best you can in everything you do. Everything can and will work out in the end.