Stop chastising people for choosing a different path than you did.
About a month ago someone made a comment to me which was along the lines of “you don’t want to grow up.” While this person by no means meant it in an offensive manor it was below the belt for me. See, I went through four years of college and wasn’t happy with what I was doing. I was confused and unsure and yeah, at that time, not ready to grow up. But in that time I found something I am fiercely passionate about (enough so to start this blog) and I have not looked back since.
In order to pursue this new dream of mine it required me going back to college. I could have completed that in another two years but I chose to work and go to school. For awhile, I worked full time, went to school part time, and was training for a marathon. That was too much for me so after a year I got a different 20 hour per week job, did a 10 hour per week graduate assistantship, and took three classes per semester. But, alas, in order to become a Registered Dietitian one must also complete a year long Dietetic Internship as well, which is what I’m doing right now.
In these three and a half years since graduating college for the first time I have watched my other classmates and friends get fantastic jobs, move to interesting places, and mature into what society considers to be real adults. I am SO proud and SO happy to have the opportunity to watch my friends pursue their dreams and be successful in areas that, they too, are fiercely passionate about. However, it by no means makes me any less of an “adult” because I chose to go back to college. I think mostly I get this reaction because I chose to have fun while doing it. Somehow during that time I also managed to hold multiple jobs, pay all my bills on time, graduate with an exceptionally high GPA (I mean shit, I got an A+ in organic chemistry.. who does that?!), and keep a dog and an herb garden alive. Despite all this, I frequently feel like I am being looked at as a modern day Peter Pan who lives in Neverland and, although I know I shouldn’t care, it still does make me feel like crap on occasion.
Not everyone will follow a traditional path. For me, “growing up” is about experiencing life. Seeing new places, meeting interesting people, and most importantly being happy. This is how I live my life and this is how I will continue to live my life. There is a very good possibility that I will live in three different cities in the next three years and I certainly won’t have children or a mortgage but that doesn’t mean I’m any less of an adult than those who do. I’m not sure where I’ll be I do know wherever it is I will be happy.
So my point is to find your happiness (although I know many of you already have) and let other people find theirs. Perhaps you got married, bought a house, had children, or all of the above but no matter what it is just recognize that everyone has a different idea of what makes them happy. Different is good. Unique is beautiful. My best friend Susie always says “just because it’s different doesn’t make it wrong” and I think the world would be a lot better place if we thought about that everyday.