I. Am. Not. Enough. These four words are something that many young adults can relate to. Especially at our prime ages of late teens to early 20s, we experience many breakdowns and confusion. People younger than us are looking up to our actions, people our age are constantly competing with us for future careers and success, and people older than us are watching our every moves to see whether we took the rights steps to success.

Whether I hear these words directly or indirectly, they still hurt. Being at an age where the future is unclear yet I still have to act like an adult, that’s the most difficult part. I still have no idea where I am going to be working. I have no idea what I’m going to be doing. I have no idea what my future holds.

With all this uncertainty, how can I possibly handle any more negativity without experiencing extreme stress or even a breakdown? What people don’t realize is the fact that they are “adding fuel to the fire”. Except, in this case, the fire is a wildfire that just keeps on burning and getting bigger. Many people may not do this intentionally, but certain jokes and laughs can turn into something bigger, eventually ending up hurting the opposite party.

This is really hard to talk about in a personal context, but at the same time, it’s difficult not to get into personal experiences. In my case, I get this more with people my age, probably due to the heavy competition of the future workforce. Some of the hard work I put into my career just gets ridiculed and not taken seriously.

Although people do not say “You are not enough”, having your works just laughed at is an even worse feeling. There are many instances when not just myself, but other people too, are just not taken seriously, making us feel insecure and helpless. This makes us really think, “Am I enough? Will I ever be enough for other people? Will I ever succeed?”

But guess what? Other people and especially yourself should not be the one bringing you down. Honestly, when I think about all my experiences and situations, I am thankful for each and every one of them. No matter what I do or how hard I try, I know I will never be enough for everyone, but at least it’s enough for myself. I believe that every roadblock or obstacle I encounter only makes my motivation and determination even stronger.

Being halfway through university and having met some amazing people and some not so amazing people, I constantly wonder my future and my worth. I constantly try my best, my hardest and yet, I still question my worth. I know that there will never come a day where I don’t think about if I’m enough or whether I will ever be enough to people, but I still won’t be held down by this disappointment. Just some ending words, “You are enough and you will always be enough.”