Early 20s: Never settle !

DECEMBER! Wow! That was so quick. 2017 is almost about to end. What a year it has been so far. Some very significant changes occurred over the last 12 months. Also, that is how it’s supposed to be. Early 20’s is all about being dynamic and bustling with life, constant change before you get all sorted and settled.

So how was it for you? Got into a relationship? Got out of one? Got your dream job? Got a raise? Left a job? Travelled to a new place? Shifted out of city? Met with an accident? Got jailed? Okay that was a drag. I sincerely hope the last one wasn’t true for anyone of you.

This early stage of adulthood is interesting because we’re not completely dependent on our parents for the most minuscule thing and also at the same time not completely independent of it either. Get the catch? Like having a temporary job and not having to remember to pay your insurance, bills etc. is relatively okay. Unable to fend oneself from relatives and ill health is also okay. Not knowing to cook is also excused. This very phase of discovery and experimentation lends us the liberty to explore various jobs, experiences and places to live in.

So a quick recap to how the year has been will make us contemplate what we’ve done new this year, achieved, learned from it. Number of friends we made, new connections in professional/personal life, got back to a relative after a long time, learnt a new hobby, attended a concert, crushed over a person, met someone you idolized for a long time, tried doing something for the first time, wrote poem, surprised your parents, completed a thing on your bucket list, donated blood, etc. This list is by no means an exhaustive one and every person will have their own profound moments and experiences to add to it.

By now you must’ve realized that irrespective of whether you had a job or not, stayed with or away from your family, the good things happened to you. We often tend to measure our accomplishments by academic and professional life graphs. Being oblivious to the fact that these are just supporting cast to the main lead role that you are. There is a life bigger than the excel sheets that you bang your head on or the grades you worry about. Work life will always continue to exist latter in life till the time you’re efficient enough to the company (read as retirement) but the time spent now in cringing about lack of a certain job or not a good enough job or being stuck in a university you don’t fancy will just rob you of this precious time at this point of life.

Go out there, visit a historical place, sleep under the stars, go camping in the woods, treat your parents to a dinner, gift your friends for no reason however paltry it maybe, call up your teacher tell them you miss her/him, enjoy solitude and just cherish all this. These are the grades, my friend; no one talks about having scored. I wish there was a rating as to what new thing you tried this year and your accomplishment were based up on it. I admire Bhutan as a country for it measure GDH (gross domestic happiness) of its people instead of GDP (gross domestic product).

A friend who has this brazen chutzpah towards life compelled me to think about how much we keep worrying at this point of time when we really should be constructive. Things will fall in place as they have to. We just need to keep marching a happy tone and not regret over a thing failing as there are several windows of opportunities we’ve not even heard of.

So let’s all sail. Bon voyage!