It is the beginning of 2019 and I know that everyone is trying to have those basic New Year's Resolutions but I challenge all of you that are in the same boat as me to try to reevaluate your life. As a millennial, we are constantly hearing that we do not work hard, that we want things handed to us or that we use mental illness as an excuse for our lives. I honestly want to throw a brick to anyone that actually believes that. We are more than excuses, we work tirelessly every day in order to make a good life for ourselves and not make the mistakes of the ones before us. We have become more aware of stressors in our lives and ways to help one another. Even though we have one another, does not mean that we don't feel like we are drowning every now and then.
I am 21 years old and I am in a time where I do not know where I am going. I am in that black-hole space where I should be growing up and being on my own but there are so many obstacles in the way that I am not fully sure if I even qualify as an adult. Yes, I am over the age of 18 which America would take me out of the minor list and classify me as an adult but there is so much more to being an adult.
For me, I have been battling with holding on to so many things in my life. I am the kind of person that has to constantly be doing something every day. Recently, I have come to the terms that I have been biting off more than I can chew. As I sat down on my bed and was watching a rerun of Friends, I realized I needed to make some changes in my life. I needed to take a step back on some of the different clubs, positions, and commitments that I had made in the past.
Being busy does not equal success.
It took me a while to come to terms with that. I think I was trying to keep busy so I did not have to worry about other challenges that are going on in my life. I have less than a year until I graduate college and have to get a "big-girl" job and I am not ready.
That is what adulting means. It is recognizing that you are struggling and need the extra help. It is trying to understand the triggers for the stresses in your life. In one of my previous articles, To The Woman Who Thinks She Can Do It All, You’re Not Wonder Woman And That’s OK, I talk about how we are not Superman! We need that reminder, especially nowadays.
So this is a reminder, a pat on the shoulder that we can get through our struggles no matter what it is. It is also a primary thought that maybe you might be biting off more than you can chew. Now that it is a new year, rethink of your priorities and what actually needs your attention. Is there anything you can live without? Have you outgrown anything? Do you feel like you are constantly under pressure and just don't want to do any of it? If you answered yes to any of them, then it sounds like to me that there are a few things that you should leave behind in 2018.
