“Real World”

If you haven’t noticed, I am a busy person. Busy in a literal sense, busy in a “thinking of the future” sense—just busy.

And that’s alright.

I do well when I have obligations and goals. I enjoy striving for something bigger and greater than wherever I am in the present. Improving is fun, it’s challenging, it makes me feel alive.

The transition out of my undergrad and into the “real world” was a smooth one—or so it would seem. I was able to acclimate to my new full-time job three months prior to graduating, I was able to support myself, and I was able to stay in the city I have grown to call home.

All was good, all is good.

However, that didn’t stop me from having some minor (okay mom, maybe a little major) freak outs about what I was doing with my life. And it shouldn’t have. At this age (and really at any age), we question what we are doing, we are confused about where to go and what to do. We sometimes don’t know what to say, do, or how to act as we face the daunting “real world.”

The “real world.”

As I stepped into it, it took over me. I worried that I was doing the right thing, that I was saving enough money, that I was doing it “right.”

I constantly thought about the possibilities in life and all of the things I needed to accomplish, and things I needed to accomplish soon.

It wasn’t until last week, about two months out of school, that I realized something—something that I think will add a few years to my life, or at least some “life to my years.”

That realization? It’s going to be OK.

Everything is going to be OK.

Where I’m at in my life right now is OK. What I’m doing tomorrow is OK. What I’m striving for in the future is OK.

Everything is OK.

In fact, it’s better.

It’s exactly where I need to be, simply because it’s where I am.

No matter your age, your employment status, your dreams, your goals, or your situation otherwise, always remember that it’s going to be OK. That everything is just the way it needs to be. That it is important to enjoy each day, each breath. It is important to enjoy each stone along your path.

Many of us are climbing a ladder to the top—the top being our dreams and our “ideal” life. Sometimes, we feel stuck on a step of the ladder that we don’t want to be on—we’re waiting for the next one, trying to reach it with every ounce of our energy.

But now, I think it’s time we take a step back. Take a step back to appreciate each step of the ladder, because without each one, well, we would fall.