Let me tell you what the future holds. I saw what it holds.
Paying $400 for a textbook about something you don't want to know anything about. Midnight stress-eating a bag of Cheetos that probably makes your insides orange, and hating yourself for liking it. Gaining 15 lbs. Your first all-nighter, and not because you can't stop watching Grey's Anatomy but because you are dying over that $400 book. When you finally hear the birds chirping at dawn, and it's not a beautiful morning symphony but a sign that you have failed, once again. That's what the future holds.
Dear fellow young person wondering about their future:
You are going to find yourself becoming a weary young adult. Before you really find yourself. You are most likely to feel like you have really messed up before you realize that all along, this was the best thing that's ever happened to you. And life requires you to go through all of the disappointments and boringness to get to a place that feels like where you're really supposed to be.
I am still on my path to finding out what my own future holds, and I am almost done with five years of college. I don't know if that path actually gets anywhere, and if you ever arrive at a place where you're like: "This is it. This is that future that I was looking for." I don't think you ever get there, and I don't think that I really want to...
I had to fill out a tax exemption worksheet for my summer internship recently, and it was truly a traumatic experience. Maybe my accountant friends will laugh at my misfortunes, but I was truly in shock. How did I get here? How is this something I actually need to know stuff about? ADULTING?! HOW DID THIS BECOME MY LIFE? But it is. I hate it. And I love it and would not trade it for any more years of blissful teenage unawareness about "what the future holds."
I love being here -- a place where I start shopping for things to keep for a while in my own kitchen and looking up rental rates in different cities. This is my future for now. I have learned to like it and not look so much forward, always rushing to the next thing. The future is now. You should know that every day is that future that you wonder about - it is every new day full of new things to learn and see. It is probably only gonna get harder from here, and if you just graduated high school, you definitely only got through the easiest part of life. But just go on. Live your future! It is scary, but very bright and thrilling.
I'll tell you what the future holds.
It holds wonderful adventures and unexpected turns and some of the best people you'll ever meet. It holds your first big love of your life. It holds unforgettable sunsets in completely new places that will become your own. It is about to show you what your next big dream is going to be. It is going to give you heartache that will make you strong and kind, if you're wise. It is waiting for you to introduce you to the ones who will change your life. It is waiting to introduce you to yourself.
