Stop Trying to Grow Up So Fast
A few days ago, I took an entire day off.
I sat in bed working my way through a stack of cookies and Season 1 of “Gilmore Girls” until my brain started festering in my skull. Wasting time is not a luxury that I usually have nowadays.
You see, there’s always something to do every day. That’s as it should be. I would not recommend having a Zero day, sitting in your bed doing nothing of import. But sometimes the work and stress that teens have is excessive. Not much has changed since I shared with you What Every High School Senior Is Thinking. No matter what we’re doing, there’s always some impending assignment, test, or university/scholarship application lingering in the back of our minds. There’s never a moment when we don’t worry about the future. I’m still as panicked about the future as ever, especially after watching my classmates get accepted into some of the most prestigious schools in the world.
But I’ve started to normalize this anxiety. It has become a part of me. I remind myself that all I need to do is hold on a jiffy longer. Everything I do now is to improve my future. That isn’t so bad. Children shouldn’t be coddled and spoonfed. They should fight and work diligently for a good life. But it should never get to the point where you rush through every milestone in life.
Now, with 118 days left of my high school career, I’m feeling underwhelmed by my experience. There were no cheerleaders or pep rallies. No “hanging out” just for the sake of hanging out. No Project X parties. No romantic dinner-and-a-movie dates. No sneaking out. None of the proverbial high school rites of passage. Just dressing myself in suits, going to meetings, and playing grown-up.
Seventeen years have zipped past with my worrying about sprinting to some imaginary finish line. But where is this finish line? Why does it matter? What happens when I get there? If I keep rushing through life like this, before I know it, my entire life will pass me by.
We’re all dealt a hand of cards at birth. You can’t choose what cards you receive, but you can choose how to play them. Here’s the catch: all decisions are final. Or, as a kid would say it, no take-backs! There isn’t a convenient restart button that will help me travel through time.
But good news — I have the now. I’m going to live in the moment. I’m going to do what makes me happy. I’m going to savor every moment I have left as a kid.
Slow down. Take a deep breath. And never forget to enjoy the journey.
