College gals, there is this constant struggle to have a plan.
I am more than a year away from graduation and already people are asking "what's next?" left and right. Quite honestly, I couldn't tell ya'. Since turning 18, life has pretty much been one mound of uncertainty after the other.
I'm not sharing this to just post a rant about how my life is a mess, but for ALL of the girls out there in the same boat, because after talking with some friends, I am 100% sure that they all feel the need to have it together too.
Now, here's the deal. I am fully aware that it feels like everyone around you is getting their dream job, getting married, or just "living their best life", and while it is oh so important to be happy for our people, there is not a need to limit yourself based on their successes because you to have successes. And guess what? At the end of the day, their "best life" may not be the same as your "best life", and that is ALRIGHT.
You don't need to be in a relationship.
You don't need to be that "career girl".
What you do need is to take things one day at a time. You need to surround yourself with people who remind you what you are capable of, yet simultaneously keep you in check and keep your heart in the right place.
You might be working where you have always wanted to work a year from now. You might meet the love of your life by next year. You might be married, having kids, or living abroad. We really never know where things can go, yet there is no shame in being where you are and making the absolute most of being fully present in the moments of today.
Listening to a speaker once, I heard a phrase that went something along the lines of "If you are not content where you are at now, you also won't be content in the next stage of life". (PLEASE READ THAT AGAIN AND JUST LET IT STEEP FOR A MOMENT.)
The thing is, for now, you are here. So if you aren't living where you have always wanted, going on dates with Mr. Right, or working your ideal job, it doesn't mean those cool adventures will never come. It also doesn't mean that you have to sit and worry about when they will.
Today, focus on contentment. Focus on leaning into each little lovely thing that has been laid right in front of you. Sure, today might hold some challenges, but they are going to force you to grow like crazy.
Maybe you can be really grateful and content with your school life, with your creative outlet, or with your side hustle. Take those passions and run with em'. This world can be a brutal place, but it doesn't mean you can't be happy where you are.
Let's get super cliche for a second and throw at a quote that we could all learn from, "Bloom where you are planted".
Where are you currently planted? Keep on blooming sister. I don't know where I am going, you don't need to either.