Young People Should Know…Life Gets In The Way
“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
Thanks for that Mr. Lennon. So profound. While I’m a big fan of John Lennon, it was a little too easy for him to say that when he had already reached his dreams and goals Although I’m sure he had some that didn’t include music and being a father and a husband, he certainly had the means to pursue whatever he wanted.
Life is what happens, yes, but it also gets in the way of your goals, your dreams, and your plans. Some of you are probably more disciplined or driven than I am but nevertheless, everyday crap can really make it difficult for you to make the life you really want. Then there are the unexpected emergencies and urgent needs that can really fuck you over no matter how diligently you strive toward whatever it is you want out of life.
Like say, for instance, you want to start a blog that means a lot to you and might help someone, even if it’s only one person, but then you get laid off, move several times in a year including out of state then back again, end up temporarily homeless, live in your car for a weeks, have to live with friends, end up without a car, battle depression, then you pick yourself up and slowly get your life stable again. Yes, all of this has happened to me in the last year. I still had my dreams, goals, and ambitions but life got in the way. Survival can often be a full time job and distracts from long term goals.
When you’re young and still in school, you long for the future when you can do whatever you want. Am I right young people? You think when you’re an adult and don’t have your parents and your teachers telling you what to do…well that’s freedom. And yes, it is liberating to graduate and move out on your own and figure your way around the world. But guess what? You still have to get up on time and get to work and/or school. You have to pay your bills on time. You have to follow stupid rules and play the stupid games and listen to stupid people tell you what to do and when to do it. And it sucks.
You can make plans and set goals but then your car breaks down or you get sick or you break up with your partner or a parent dies and your dreams take a back seat to life.
It doesn’t have to be a tragic event that gets in the way either. Getting married or involved in a serious domestic relationship, having a child, starting a new job, going to graduate school, all of these things demand your time and attention. Free time becomes precious, and in some cases so does sleep.
I don’t have all the answers (who does?) but while you’re going through life, keep those dreams alive somehow. Write ideas in a notebook , try to enjoy a hobby or two so you can relax and so your life doesn’t complete blow, or at the very least keep daydreaming, and as soon as life slows down and gets stable (it may never get back to whatever your normal is) pick up where you left off and keep working toward whatever your dream is. Or maybe you’ll have a new goal, and that’s awesome too, because experiences often change us, sometimes in profound ways you never thought possible.
Young People Should Know 