life. everyone's is different. well...to some extent. over the past month or so, life has been knocking at my front door. not life as in breathing, but as in who i am, my future, careers, my hopes and dreams. i feel like i am having a midlife crisis, at the age of 21. is this normal?! all these options and decisions are rather confusing. And... i say that with some irritation attached, to make things a little bit more confusing, people that i have come in contact with lately, people who don't even really know who i am, share their expectations that they have for me, and they all seem to be the exact same thing...hmm, interesting. maybe this has been around since the beginning of time and i am just noticing it, but the way people live their lives and pursue things, are from what others tell them they need to do. for example, children go to school for 13 years or so, and then graduate. this is surely an accomplishment to be celebrated. after 13 years of education, it's exciting to finally be free and do what ever you want...right? well, not really. college is the next step. it's pretty much expected from your parents, your siblings, friends, coworkers. so you can't possibly not go or drop out because everyone is expecting you to be a success in that area. oh, and by the way, you better know your major by the time you set foot into the door of the college your parents influenced you to go to, because they themselves went there. since college is so important, you can't get married until you finish school, because if you get married before hand, you will drop out and that would make you a failure. this, of course, would be damaging to those around you, because you have not lived up to their expectations. when you graduate from college, get a high paying job. money is the key in life, at least that's what everyone says. making alot of money will make you happy and secure, then with your wealth of security, you can have kids. but when you have kids, make sure you put them in a day care, so you can work and make more money. this, ladies and gentlemen, is reality for a majority of people in the world! maybe i am exaggerating a little, but it seems to me that life is supposed to be written out for you in this order and you must follow it, or you will be considered a failure. why are people so hung up on expectations? i have been struggling with that for a long time, and now i am realizing that the only thing that matters is what Jesus wants for me. What is he calling me to be? i don't want all of these expectations on my shoulders. what will it get me? maybe money, maybe success, and that's great, but it will also get me stressed, unhappy, and wanting more. but with what God wants, i will surely be happy, relieved, and content, and that would be worth more to me than what this world can provide. this is simple. this is good. this is the way my life needs to be.
