I’m sure you have all heard the famous J.R.R. Tolkien quote, “Not all those who wander are lost.” I’m sure that you have even used this quote as an excuse for literally having no freaking clue what you're doing with your life. How self-satisfying to tell yourself “It’s OK, I’m just wandering. I’m not lost.” You go to family functions and questions fly your way. “What are you doing with your degree?” “What kind of job are you going to get?” “When are you going to get married?” “Why are you obsessed with getting puppies? What about children?” “Where are you going to live following graduation?”
Your answer? “I’m just keeping my options open.”
Internally, though, you are on the brink of implosion. You have no idea what you want to actually do with your life. It’s scary to be a twenty-something year old in this world, in the age of new technology and independence: a world where you can be anything that you want to be. Honestly, the problem may be that we do live in a world full of so many options. We can be completely self-satisfied but still feel that there just has to be something else out there. We find our dream job, our prince or princess charming, or our dream geographical location and then suddenly we become frantic. Is this what I am meant to do with my life? There must be a better job out there, partner or place to live. We become an absolute anxious wreck. We fall in a never-ending trap of the worst four-worded question there is, “What do I do?” closely followed of course by, “What am I doing?”
In the past, I know that I personally would often look around and feel like everyone around me had it so together and knew what they wanted out of life. Truth be told though, none of us have a clue. I’m here to tell you that if you’re reading this and you feel completely lost, you are definitely not alone. You are told your entire life that your twenties are full of adventure and opportunity, not to mention the time when you really “find yourself.”
Everyone seems to be wasting their time trying to do this whole “finding yourself” thing, myself included. But guess what? You’re right here. You are you. Stop looking! Even when you’re “lost,” you are still a rock star. You got this! You are making memories. You are living your life. I have realized that some of the best memories I have and lessons I have learned are from being utterly “lost.” Have you ever heard someone start a story with “Remember that one time that we followed the GPS directions exactly and made it to our destination in the exact estimated amount of time?” Of course not. The best stories begin with “Remember that time we got lost on way to…” This is where the beauty of our twenties actually lies.
So wander. Be lost! The best adventure and opportunity actually exists when you don’t have it all together. Don’t worry about all of the options of life. Ditch the GPS. Choose your winding, bumpy road -- and stick to it. There’s no adventure in going the straight and narrow path. Make sure to stop and take some pictures before you let the scenic route of your twenties pass you by. Oh, and be sure to wave to the rest of us clueless twenty-something-year-olds as you pass us by. Perhaps we could even carpool since we’re all pretty broke too. Whatever you do, don’t lose hope. Chances are, someone is looking your way is wondering how you have it all together as you are enjoying your unplanned route.
