My soul is constantly restless. I grew up traveling with my family and it's shaped me in more ways than one. Adventure taught me what it's like to live, but the people I've met on the way have taught me how to live. On my latest trip to the Caribbean, I met a woman who was traveling with her daughter. She shared stories with me of when she used to travel with her mother before she passed. But she also shared some of her final words with me, her mother said to her, "Darling, if you want lobster, then eat lobster."
Now, reading that you probably thought to yourself, "That's a really weird thing to say," or, "Why lobster?" If you're like me, you would know there are many different ways to interpret that. First of all, why lobster? The delicious crustacean has often been associated with high-class society due to the fact that it is an expensive meal whether from the grocery store or a five-star restaurant. Not many people have had it and regard it as a delicacy or only for special occasions. In this circumstance, a woman told her daughter that if she wanted something for herself, no matter how much it cost, or if for no occasion at all, then she should have it. If you think about it, what is stopping me from going out and buying a lobster right now?
Again, this doesn't just apply to crustaceans. Ask yourself, what Is stopping you from getting that one thing you really want? Yourself? Society saying it's impractical? Life is too short to live with restraints.
This article isn't just about lobster or expensive things, it's about so much more. It's about LIFE! Not just the physical things but the metaphysical as well. Personally, I've always struggled with my own happiness. I put everyone before myself, even if it hurt me. I always put everyone's feelings before my own. Have you never hung out with someone only because you didn't want to hurt someone else's feelings? Gone to a party even though you didn't want to be there, but it made someone else happy? Eventually, I stopped and thought to myself, "When did someone else's happiness become my responsibility? When did their life become more important than my own?"
It was eye-opening. I had spent so much time worrying about if other people were happy that I wasn't living the life I wanted for myself. I may be only 18, but life is too short to live with regrets or doubts, and it's never too late to make it what you want. If people don't make you happy or support decisions you know in your heart to be right, then why are you spending time with them? If you want to go somewhere, go there. If you want to do something, do it. If you want to buy something, buy it. Don't let what society thinks to stop you. It is your life to live, so shouldn't you decide how to live it?
My senior year of high school, my dad told me, "Live for yourself and yourself alone. It's okay to be selfish sometimes." Once you start putting your dreams, wants, desires, and happiness first, it's going to make all the difference. So if you want lobster, then eat lobster, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
