Have you ever been scared?
I don’t mean the leaping of your chest at seeing the fat, hairy spider behind your chest of drawers. Or the nerves you feel whilst taking a test, speaking in front of a crowd about something important. I’m talking about feeling anxious and uncertain, about being fearful of the unknown.
The unknown... *cue spooky music*
As somebody fairly organised who enjoys being productive, I tend to take comfort in the fact that I have scheduled plans, that I know what’s coming up, that I’m in control – or as much as I can be, anyway. I feel like most people tend to enjoy having some sort of control over something; in a way, it gives life structure and meaning.
I’m all for structure and meaning. However…this year, as graduation beckons, I’m starting to feel anxious, uncertain, fearful of the unknown. And that’s okay.
I don’t know about you, but as a 23-year-old about to be plunged into the big, scary world, I’ve never really felt like I didn’t know what was coming up. Education played a major role in this – after school came college, after college there was a gap year and uni, and now…well, there is no next step. It’s kind of like going on a long hike. I’ve been climbing and climbing for absolutely ages, and the climb itself almost kind of defines me. But now I’ve reached the top and there’s a cliff with a big, open space staring right back at me. The unknown... *spooky music reaches a crescendo*
Ok, so I’m making this a lot more dramatic and deep than it needs to be, but if you know me you’ll know I jump at the chance of a philosophical discussion (sorry, pals.) What I’m getting at here is that at this age especially, but at any age, there are going to be opportunities thrown at you, and risks that you may want to avoid in order to stay within your comfort zone. What I’m advising is saying ‘bye, comfort zone, it was nice knowing you,’ and sailing off into the sunset without looking back.
It’s March, but I’ve decided I’m going to adopt the ‘F*ck it’ attitude. This post is probably going to be full of clichés, but life really is too short and I think that while you're young, it’s important to go out and find yourself (ew, sorry.)
Say ‘F*ck it’, but in a positive way. So much of the time we’re scared of doing something because the thought of things going wrong are enough to detract us. ‘What if this happens? What if that happens?’ So many ‘what if’s, ‘but’s and ‘could’s. We fear rejection, we fear things going tits up, we fear having regrets. But guess what? Having regrets is a choice. And guess what? Everything that happens in your life is moulding you into the person you are – without bad things, how will you appreciate the good things? Without mistakes, how will you learn? It’s all a choice.
And guess what? Those thoughts in your head don’t exist. Because they’re all hypothetical situations.
It’s 2018, and we have more choices than ever before, which can actually be seriously daunting in my opinion. We have so many options and what everyone else is up to is constantly being shoved in our face – it’s so easy to feel dissatisfied. SO easy. It’s also a little bit pressurising as I find people constantly ask me about ‘what I’m going to do’ and I want to answer them. Now I’m learning that I don’t have to.
Maybe having choices isn’t easy, but the very fact that they exist for us is something we should be thankful for. Say ‘F*ck it’ more and make those choices. If you want to text somebody, text them. If you want to travel somewhere, book your flights. If you want to go for that job, go for it. If you want to eat something, bloody well eat it. If you have dreams of achieving something or becoming something, chase those dreams. What is honestly stopping you? If you truly want something bad enough, you can go out of your way to get it. It may not always work out, that’s one thing you have to remember, but if you don’t try…well.
You’ll never know.
It’s not about being rash and not thinking things through and going against what people say – it’s about knowing deep down what you want to do, because you know it will benefit you and it may be a really bloody good time! If it doesn’t work out, so what? Did you die? Hahahaha, sorry, that gets me every time…but it’s true. It’s not that deep.
IT’S NOT THAT DEEP.
The amount of times I want to grab someone’s shoulders, give them a shake and say this is overwhelming. Failure and rejection is a part of life and we can’t escape it, but I’d rather face these things than never take a risk. Go out, enjoy yourself, make a difference, appreciate life. Take the damn risks because at the end of the day (promise I’ll stop soon), if it doesn’t work out, you just move on anyway.
Life…
Goes…
On…