As I embark on my new adventure there are so many unknowns that are truly frightful. My life was boring and dull however it was predictable. It gave me a sense of security knowing my routine, how my day will look like. The sameness of the morning routine from the time that I woke up at, the daily routine that I put in place allowed me to know the start and end time of my day. There was a sense of reassurance in the sameness of my days, then I decided that I needed to change in order to live and not to just exist.
Funny how in our youth we struggle with trying to find ourselves, to determine where we belong in this big vast world. It is during this time that we do the things that are unexpected of us yet at the same time we have a sense of freedom to take that adventure and try new things to see if it falls in line with our vision of where we want to be. Spontaneity is looked at as a youthful attribute and almost as their rite of passage in life, yet that level of freedom thinking as an adult is looked as an identity crisis.
We all seem to go through life trying to figure out where we belong and if we can find that right person to share your next adventures with. However, as time passes people change and their values, thoughts and beliefs differ from their younger self. What do you do then? You are at a place in life that you worked hard to establish, you take great pride in all your accomplishments. You are deemed successful in a societal view yet you feel empty and unfulfilled with a great distressing feeling of something is missing. It is a great struggle because when you look around you have the kind of life that other would desire. You know it and feel that you should be grateful but the emptiness that you feel leaves you in constant internal conflict.
What do you do with those feelings? Do you stay status quo and question your ideology or do you take the plunge and go deep within yourself and ask the thought provoking questions that will help you process how you feel and figure out what it is that you can do to make your situation bearable.
Many people live with this struggle and do not know how to speak with someone else because of their inner fear of being judged. These feelings are valid and yet you shouldn’t let them limit you in your progress. To move forward and learn, others are a participant in that process whether you ask for it or not. We are not meant to be alone travelling through this life solo unless we choose to be too scared to live and experience. Fear alone is the one thing that will ensure that you are alone.
Change does not have to be associated with negativity. Anything that challenges your comfort zone should be welcomed because it means that there is growth potential in that experience. There is something to learn and expand from if you are willing to experience change.
Joanne Robinson
