At times it feels like your world has turned upside down on account of the changes happening in your life. Finding out that one small thing will be different from now on catapults you into questioning everything.
In a short amount of time, I’ve ended a relationship, had a work colleague leave the company, gained additional responsibilities and opportunities for work and now today I am shuttling off for what should be my last flight of the summer to Chicago. This week is the week – my oldest sister is getting married and things will be also be different from here on out.
Seeing other people move on and take on different challenges makes me wonder if I am on the slow track and need to do the same as well. For all my maturity and earned wisdom through the years, I’m still just twenty-three years old and after taking into consideration my bills, the one indispensable thing I have is time – and I feel that I should do something with it.
Everyone would still like to think of themselves as young and full of possibilities, yet people also want to show maturity and experience. We can’t deny the fact we are growing, but it is a continual process – meaning at one point you will never say ‘I’m done growing.”
There are three different ways that we “grow”:
Growing up – when you realize you have to start taking care of things like bills and new realities hit, like how hard it is to keep in touch with people after college.
Growing old – when you go do something you did when you were younger, such as going to a club, show, or however you spent your time as a youth and at one point think “I’m too old for this.” Supposedly you should start feeling this way in your thirties – I thought it last week.
Growing still – when you sense you are not yet the full, complete you that you had always imagined you would be, when you are still wondering about taking chances and make enough dumb mistakes that you realize you still have a lot of learning to do.
This idea of growing up and not having all the time in the world can be daunting, but there is nothing one can do but “keep calm and carry on” and see life as an opportunity to get as much out of it as you can.
The best way is to take that anxiousness and do something that will bring good. All weekend I was in a strange mood because all of these unexpected changes. I decided to make banana bread and bring it to work. It may seem selfish, but it felt great to bring some positivity. No one likes Mondays, so any little thing to make it a bit better does wonders. When I get anxious, I bake. It’s a great coping mechanism that others get to enjoy as well.
My Name Is Reb 