In the duration of my life, I have had a plan. And until now, I didn’t really have a choice of what that plan was.

We start out as little munchkins. We have to drink our milk to be strong. We have to share toys with our friends. We have to eat our vegetables and go to bed at bedtime. Yes, we have fun in the midst of it all, but we could not decide what we wanted to do because our parents had a plan for us.

Next came enrolling into elementary school. I wasn’t used to change; I didn’t get to see Mommy and Daddy for six whole hours a day for five days a week. Wow. And walking in single file lines? I had to fight to be the line leader. Kindergarten was the year in school when I learned how to listen and behave under someone else’s command besides my parents. So, my teacher had a plan for me, too.

Throughout school, I was told what to do. I was told where to go to class, what assignments I must complete, and how I was supposed to act. Even though they say, “You can be whoever you want to be in high school,” you really don’t get that opportunity. Sure, we try, but there was always a pair of eyes on me, scoping out my appearance, especially in middle school. I’m pretty sure that I have burned every photo of the middle-school me because it wasn’t a memorable sight.

The wretched high school days were nearly worse than middle school. In the span of fewer than four years, one must figure out what they want to do for the rest of their life. So what are we taught to do? Plan. We plan visits to colleges, we plan what GPA we need to graduate, and most importantly, we plan what kind of adult we will soon become. With such limited time, we are forced to make huge decisions that we are probably not too sure about.

So, what do we do after our plans have been called to action? Since we are college students now, we live on our own agendas. We aren’t pulled in any direction by force. We live by our clock. And to me, these facts seem a bit scary.

I have aspirations of becoming a nurse in a hospital, married to a wonderful, loving husband and having beautiful children. But, how do I get there? The path isn’t set in stone. We get trapped in the distractions and detours and the blur of life itself. With so many opportunities around us, we don’t know what’s best for us or what we feel like we should do. We get caught in the writer’s block of life — we want to write the chapters of our lives, but don’t know where to start.

But, I think there is a reason for this writer’s block. It gives us a chance to stop, sit back and enjoy the moments we are given now. Life’s greatest gifts are easily taken for granted because we choose to think ahead on a daily basis. No, I’m not saying to go through life without thinking about the consequences of choices, but maybe the next time you find yourself in a funk, remind yourself of how far you’ve come. Be grateful and embrace now.