This past week I began my junior year of College. I had only been to one class and was barely half way through my day when I had a mental break down. I skipped two meals that day and when I got home I started crying.

I spent that day feeling overwhelmed about the academic stress that would begin this year, the commitment that I owed to my extra curricular activities, and I was nervous about the new job I would begin in the next week.

Then I talked to a few sophomores that were eager to tell me about their new internships. And here I was as a junior without even applying to my first internship. That was my last straw.

I began to get upset with myself for not being on top of things. I looked back at all the time I wasted in my last two years of college. What was I doing wrong? How do other people my age juggle so many responsibilities at once and why can’t I do it too. How was I going to balance out my current responsibilities while adding new ones to my plate?

I considered giving up an extra curricular activity, I considered going back to my introvert ways and spending little to no time with friends, I considered training myself to rely on less sleep. I thought over and over about how I could do less of what I love in order to focus on my future career.

That’s when I realized that the only thing I could do to be happy with myself, and my career journey was to stop comparing myself to others. I don’t have to give up things that bring me fulfillment. I just have to be more proactive. I have friends my age that are already in graduate school, friends that have numerous internships on their resume, and friends that live on their own. But, I’ll only waste my own time by comparing myself to them. My path does not have to look exactly like theirs. Just because I’m not as advanced in my career journey doesn’t mean that I’m not satisfied with other aspects of my life.

It’s grate to have standards and aspirations, but sometimes everything can’t be perfectly planned out. Living in a world that is so focused on our next move is stressful. I just can let it always get to me. I will make the right next moves when the time comes, but I’ll be wasting my time by worrying about the future.

All I can do for myself is to stop comparing my accomplishments or lack there of to those of others. I also promised myself that this year would be the year I become a more proactive person. I will keep adding responsibilities to my plate and I will get an internship because the time is right for me. It’s never to late to figure out what you want to do and start acting towards where you want to get.

So, I’m prepared for the busiest year of my life because I am ready for it.