It takes time.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: no one has a clue what they are doing. It doesn't matter how old they are, what stage of their life they're in, how much experience they've obtained, etc. We are all living life as it comes at us, some of us are just better at pretending that we have it all figured out. And it's okay. It's okay to feel lost, scared, confused, or any of those other emotions that come with the territory of being HUMAN. I think we put way too much pressure on ourselves these days. There is so much pressure coming from all different directions- whether it's your family, friends, the media, society, even yourself. We often find that those who love us the most are the ones who put the most pressure on us, but it's simply because they want us to succeed in life. What is success, though? For some people success means money. For others it means having it all- the perfect job, perfect home, perfect family, perfect life. But you know what true success is? Being happy. Being okay with where you're at in life. Being at peace with yourself. Accepting life for what it is and not trying to fit a mold you are constantly being told you should fit into it.

The people who truly suffer the most from these types of pressures and stress are, you guessed it, us. The twenty-somethings. The ones who are just starting out their lives. The ones who are full of life and dreams and expectations. The ones who haven't been knocked down yet, and if they have been, the ones who still have the energy and will to stand back up and give it another try. I'm not trying to say that these are bad qualities to have, because I actually think we should feel this way about life throughout our entire lives, whether you're 25, 45, or 85. You should always look at each day as a new opportunity for something spectacular to occur. You should always be proactive in your own life. There's no other way to truly live. The problem is that as post-grads we put so much pressure on ourselves to live out our dream life and accomplish everything we have ever wanted- and what's worse is we want it all within a very short time. That's why it's so disheartening when you finally graduate and are onto the next chapter in your life and you find yourself at a job you absolutely hate, even though you thought you would be doing what you love, or you're not even sure what exactly you want your career to be. If you're anything like me, you want your life to start NOW. You want to have the job of your dreams (or even settle for something you half-way enjoy and make decent money at) so you can be out in the world on your own and really LIVE. But usually, as in most cases, reality slaps you in the face.

I'm here to tell you that just because you graduated college and are entering "the real world" does not mean you are going to automatically have it all figured out. And even if you're a smart individual who already knew all this and saw it coming, actually living it is not what you might have expected. It is a lot harder than any of us imagined it would be. We might have told ourselves that it'd be okay to just go with the flow for a couple years until we really figure it all out. And you're right, it is okay to do that, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. But that's okay, too. You got this. You will figure it out. It's okay to be afraid. It's okay to feel confused. It's okay to not know which direction to take, let alone which direction you're facing. The best piece of advice I can give anyone who is going through this (and something that quite frankly I need to listen to as well) is to just live. Live your life. Live in the now. Take it one step at a time. If you're in a situation in which you're not happy, change it. Do not stick with it if it is not working for you. Only you can decide what you truly want, what you truly need.

We are lucky because we are still young. But even if you're not a "twenty-something", you still have time. Time to find your passion, to find what inspires you, to do what you want to do with your life. No situation is ever set in stone. There is always a way out, somehow. Even if you just take baby steps. Have the courage to look life in the face and say, "Today I will live."