Let me preface this piece by saying this: in no way shape or form am I Sartre, Camus, or any sort of philosophy expert. I am just extremely passionate about existentialist and absurdist literature. I have found that I've learned a lot from this way of thinking, and it is extremely pertinent to the everyday lives of young adults.
Life Is Full Of Decisions
Your life is defined by the choices you make. Every action, every word, and every attitude stems from your decisions. In fact, not making a decision is still a decision. According to Jean Paul Sartre, "the human subject is always free to choose her freedom at any moment, and for that reason, is always 'en situation.'"
What does this mean to a young adult? This means that technically, no one can tell you what to do. Not your friends, your parents, even your boss, or anyone else. You always have the choice whether or not to do what they tell you. When people boss you around, it's because you are letting them. So in short, stop thinking that you have to do things. You don't actually have to do anything.
Consequences
But with every decision we make, we must face a set of consequences. For example, if you make a decision to break the law, you must accept the consequence that you might pay a fine or go to jail. The consequences that go with each decision will help us to choose wisely for our own life paths. In life, you will have to face consequences for every single decision.
More Choices Exist Than You Think
Sometimes, we are presented with a 'situation' that seems to only have one choice: "I have to do this, my professor says it's mandatory to do this assignment or I'll get a zero!" Here, it seems as though we have one option: do the assignment.
However, there actually exists several choices: of course you can do the stressful assignment because you don't want to deal with the consequences of not doing the assignment; you could choose not to do the assignment, because you think it's stupid/unfair/too time-consuming/infeasible/stressful, and accept the zero; you can also talk to your professor about why you think the assignment is stupid/unfair/infeasible, and see if you can negotiate a new assignment; and finally, you could cheat, and deal with the consequences of being caught.
As you can see, there are more choices that exist for a situation with seemingly one option. Not every choice you have may be ethical, and it is important to choose wisely according to ethics and logic.
We Are All Going To Die
Yes. You are going to die. Of course we all know this, but does it ever really register with us?
Acceptance of death is one of the main principles of existentialism, and acceptance of the end of everything can help you live in the present moment. Everything will eventually end: the glory days in high school or college, an amazing vacation, your youth, your health, and of course family and friends won't be around anymore. It happens. Instead of living in a fantasy, thinking that the good times will last forever, choosing to accept their eventual end can actually give you a huge sense of peace. Instead of being crushed when the party is over, you can look back fondly, knowing you lived to the fullest in that moment.
Hopefully, my extremely fundamental interpretations and explanations of existentialism. Being a young adult can be a confusing time; you are expected to be free and finally independent, but you somehow still feel like you can't make your own choices, but instead must find your way through a bunch of preexisting conditions. Instead of ambling your way through life, make your choices with pride and consciousness, and live life to the fullest every moment you are given.
