Facing the Unknown
Is there anything worse than the unknown? In this world that we live in where we can see if someone has read our texts, there is still so much that we can’t see, that we don’t know.
I think it makes it harder to not know things, when it is so easy to in fact know things.
I know that I personally have a love/hate relationship with this technological world. On one hand, there are the advantages that it brings. We can get information anytime but it has also made a twenty-something’s life so much more difficult.
Why hasn’t he texted me back? He read it. What could he possibly be doing? I’m sure we’ve all been there.
There’s also the fact that everyone makes their lives on social media out to be so much better than they actually are; not to say that people’s lives aren’t great because there’s no way to know, but who posts the negative stuff? Who posts pictures of them crying over a guy or arguing with their best friend?
We want everyone to think we’re perfect, which leads to comparisons. We compare ourselves to others all the time based on what we see on social media.
I know I personally compare people to myself in regards to what they’re doing post-grad and because of that, I’m ridiculously hard on myself.
I’m working two part-time jobs, but working nonetheless. And I’m working in my field; what more could I ask for? At this point I’m exactly where I need to be.
Maybe I’m too ambitious for my own good. I have such high hopes for myself, and I never want those to diminish for any reason. I’m happy to be working as a part-time reporter at a local newspaper. I love it and (I think) I’m good at it. But it’s not what I want to do forever. But that’s just the thing: I don’t know what I’ll be doing forever because it’s still unknown, like so many other things in our lives. We have no idea how it’s going to turn out, and I don’t know about you, but I think that is the most terrifying thing in the entire world.
We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, not to mention in 50 years. Will we end up with the love of our lives and a wonderful family while also working our dream job and changing the world? Or will we be in a miserable marriage and working to make ends meet? I really hope it’s not the latter, but the worst part is that we really don’t know.
I used to think my fear of the unknown was irrational, but then I graduated from college and realized just how rational it actually is. Before this summer I knew exactly what was going to happen. I’d go back to school and take classes and go to frat parties and college bars, and then I’d come home and work at the local grocery store on winter break. It was easy because I knew.
Not knowing what comes next is scary, but it’s what you do with it that matters. The way I see it we have two options: we can be depressed and scared and just go through the motions of being a “real adult.” Or we can work our a** off and get exactly what we want. Because the unknown is scary, but it’s also the most beautiful thing in the world. The whole world is our playground; use it wisely.
[Photo by Juliette Kibodeaux.]
