Adult life - I’m not sure I’m ready for it. It’s kind of funny, looking back and remembering what it was like to graduate high school – even if it was only a short time ago. Leading up to graduation, everything even remotely related with high school simply gave me a headache. College, college is where you finally enter the real world and life starts. I remember feeling incredibly empowered and independent. I would finally attain the freedom and ability to go and do whatever I wanted to do, whenever I wanted to do it! No more silly games and drama known as high school. I was finally going out into the real world as an adult. HA!

Now that I am well into my college career, I have to laugh at this younger, oh so naïve version of myself. Yes, college is full of new experiences and changes, each working to shape me into a mature adult. There’s a problem though, I wouldn’t consider college to be “the real world”. Now I’m not trying to psychoanalyze the situation and say “but what really is the real world and reality.” What I’m trying to get at is college is another stop on the way to adulthood; a stop that just so happens to fly by incredibly fast.

Have you ever heard someone say that as you get older the days are long, but the years are short? This is college, summed up. Admittedly, sleep is a foreign concept in college which adds to the long days, but it is a strange phenomenon. Time really does fly as you get older. As such, I have begun to freak out about “the real world.” Several of my very close friends are in hardcore planning for forever mode: planning their weddings, lining up well paying careers, buying homes - the whole shebang. Then there’s me – I’m over here debating whether or not to get a salad or burger for lunch and wondering whether I should cut 1 or 8 inches off my hair. Clearly, my friends and I are both doing big things. In all seriousness though, I lead quite the carefree life. It’s wonderful, but when I hear all the plans and dreams my friends have, I cannot help but worry. I could potentially graduate in a year and I would not have any concrete idea of what career I want to pursue. Will I move back to my home state or move somewhere no one would expect? Will I have to pinch pennies or live fairly comfortably? More importantly, will I finally get a dog? I don’t have the answers and that terrifies me.

I have been doing a lot of research on job availability because of all of this worry, but that has become overwhelming too! There are so many opportunities in this world – where do you even start? So what’s next? Seek wise counsel. Luckily I’m surrounded by wise people. What I’ve learned from them is I’m okay, blessed even! The fact that my biggest worry some days is what I want to eat for the next meal is amazing. I will not have many other times in my life where I can be so carefree and flexible. My friends and I are both growing up, but that doesn’t mean we’re at the same point in our lives. While they have already begun to figure out aspects of their life, I will continue to look toward the future and seek out my passions. Somewhere along the way I will become an adult. I can worry about money, I can find a job, a place to live and, eventually, marry. What’s the point in spending this sweet and easy-going time worrying about “the real world” and wishing I could just go straight into adulthood? Rhetorical question, there is no point. God has a plan and purpose for my life and, when it’s time, those plans will become evident. No matter what a year from now holds, I know this to be true: I’m going to have wonderful friends encouraging me along the way and my loving Father by my side. Until then, I’m going to work on being content and enjoying the life I lead right now – carefree and constantly hungry.