via mugley
Every morning I walk from my $50/month parking lot to my work building. The building whose parking costs $135/month; an amount I cannot soberly spend on parking. I don’t mind the nice little walk in the mornings. Especially when the weather is as perfect as it is now. A nice breeze. Clear skies. It’s quite invigorating to be in the open air, getting my body moving after my commute. There is one point in the walk that I always encounter that just makes me a little crazy. No matter how fast or slow I walk, the timing of the stop lights never works in my favor at this one intersection. I’m always about two steps too late to make the light and have to wait until the next time around. This morning when I was walking, I was thinking about recent events in my life and realized this intersection is a metaphor for being in your twenties.
You graduate high school, and everyone acts like it’s the beginning of your adulthood, but really is it? Maybe for some. But for those who decide to get their bachelor’s degree or higher education beyond that, it’s really only the beginning. The beginning of this long waiting game. Because once you graduate college after four years (or longer if you continue on) then you will start your career (hopefully anyway). Then once you start your career, it’s only a little longer until you are really settled and move up the ladder and start making enough money to be comfortable. And then if you live in a metropolitan area, you’ve got to wait a few years, save even more money before you buy a house, which you should have before you start a family. That is if you’re lucky enough to already have found your partner, otherwise you just have to wait some more for the “right” person to come around.
It seems like the time is never right for anything when you are in your twenties. Those who are older, who have been there, look back and tell you not to worry. Life is not a sprint. That it’s all about the journey and not the destination. But why then, do I feel like I’m just a horse, pulling a cart, reaching so hard for that carrot, and it constantly being just beyond my reach? I think this is the dilemma most over-achievers face. In high school, you get straight As, and you get the recognition. Hey you graduated! You’re valedictorian! Here’s your medal! Instant rewards. In life, when you take those extra steps, when you make someone else’s life easier, no one is there to give you a gold star. The rewards will eventually come in, but in that moment you feel like you are putting forth more effort than you receive. People will say that it will all be worth it in the end, just be patient. And I do trust that it will be.
At least it better be. And maybe for my patience it can be chocolate-covered, with sprinkles, and dusted with gold.
