I should probably start off by saying, I have been there.

I spent years focusing more on what I wanted to happen in my future than enjoying the moment I was given.

I had myself on such a strict timeline that I ended up putting myself through more pain than I should've.

"I want to be married by 20, have my first kid by 21, graduate college by 22, second kid by 23, and maybe a third at 25."

My mom used to tell me not to spend my time worrying about everything going my way because, in the end, things were always going to go the way they were meant to go, regardless of what I wanted.

Honestly, I never really listened.

When that "20-years-old and married" timeline started closing in, I panicked.

I began to jump into relationships that were awful for me because I was so scared to miss my first set "milestone."

I had a lot of heartbreaks and pain in my life because of this.

Life never seemed to be going my way and it felt like I had no control.

Once I turned 19, I got married and ended up getting pregnant a few months later.

I felt so relieved that my timeline was finally playing out the way I wanted that I overlooked the emotional abuse and toxicity of the relationship.

After suffering a miscarriage and getting a divorce, I finally realized that my mom was right.

Life was going to play out on its own timeline, not mine.

So now I'm approaching 21 and my "have to have a baby timeline" and I've realized that I'm okay with missing that deadline. I'm okay with not being married with kids at my age.

I'm still young with a whole lot of life left to live.

And so are you.

You should push all those timelines and milestones you feel like you have to reach to be successful to the back of your mind.

Live your life to the fullest and enjoy the little moments that are going on around you.