Living in an age where faster is better, it’s hard for me to accept that we can’t manipulate time. If only we had more time to figure out what we wanted to do with our lives, to figure out who we wanted to be, and to figure out what we want to become. We put this constant pressure on ourselves to do something, be someone, or be loved, and that creates a sense of urgency. I think it creates some self-hate too. Why are all my friends in relationships? Why do my siblings know exactly what they want to be, but not me? And my answer to that is, it’s just not your time.

There’s so much in my life that I want, and I want it now. It can be frustrating when it doesn't happen. But maybe you’re not in a relationship because you still have so much more to discover about yourself before you share that with someone else. And maybe you have no idea what you want to major in because you haven’t experienced the moment where you find what speaks to you yet. My sister switched her major three times and didn’t truly find her passion until senior year. She still graduated in time! Now, she’s just as sure of what she wants to be as the kid who knew he wanted to be a doctor since he was five.

This concept is called divinetiming — it's the idea that everything in your life happens at the right time and in the right way. These thoughts came to me as I almost got into a car accident last week. I watched the car in front of me get totaled, and it occurred to me that if it weren't for a few seconds, I easily could have been that person. During moments of tragedy, we recognize the importance of time but in our daily lives, we treat it differently.

These lines from a chapter of Ecclesiastes really spoke to me (even if you're not religious or a believer of God, I hope it resonates with you too): “To every thing there is season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens... a time to weep, and a time to laugh... a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.”

I'm still learning, but I try to live with the idea that where you are now is exactly where you need to be. Even if that means we have to go through a struggle to be able to understand that. This can be really hard to grasp and understand when we’re living in a world of immediate gratification. But I’m trying to trust in the timing of my life, because in the end, life becomes so much more joyful when we don’t pressure ourselves and go with the flow. So, live with an open mind and believe that eventually, things will happen. All you can do now is live in the present and be present in every moment to uncover the next chapter of your life.