I love creating lists, making plans, and mapping out my life. I always have. For as long as I can remember, I've always set these (now, in retrospect) somewhat unrealistic expectations for what I want to accomplish by a certain time.

Life is inherently unpredictable, and to combat this somewhat terrifying realization, I, like many others, dream up these extensive plans in my head that I convince myself can unfold precisely so. Well, if there's anything that I've learned from the last few months, it's this startling fact: Life is not guaranteed to anyone. You cannot map your life out. Your future is for living, not planning.

That's right. Repeat it to yourself. Sit with it. Your future is for living, not planning. If you're someone that values stability and is comforted by the idea of drawing out these maps of how life will go for you, get used to being uncomfortable because the fact is that life doesn't pay attention to these plans. Life is messy.

You will encounter people that you never thought you'd find in your wildest dreams. You'll lose people along the way that you thought would have played a larger role in your story, only to find that they will not. You'll build your dream around a place that isn't what you think it is going to be, and you'll fall in love and fall out of love and get hurt and heal and none of it will be on your own time. Because life rarely gives you what you desire; it gives you what it knows you need. Even if this causes momentary distress, try to comprehend the fact that everything that exists in your life is there for a reason.

Whether you believe in God or the universe or some other entity that plays a crucial, intervening role in your life, there's one indisputable notion: you are not given what you want, you are given what you need in order to make you grow. These are rarely the same thing. Get used to being uncomfortable. You'll find that this will be for your greater good, and that what is in store for you is much more wonderful than you ever could have imagined. So throw your map to the wind. You never really needed it anyway.