Different Life Stages
Happy graduation weekend!!! So so much has been going on so I want to use this blog post to recap. Through the ups and downs of these past weeks I have learned many new lessons that I want to share.
Yesterday was my graduation from high school. I still haven’t wrapped my mind around the fact that I graduated… like what?! In my last blog post I gave out advice that helped me throughout high school. I wanted to say a few more things.
Listen and learn. There is a wealth of knowledge in this amazing world and it is up to you to cultivate it. Allow yourself to be proven wrong. Instead of wanting to be right, try to want to expand, grow, become better.
Speak up. As much as you should listen to others, you should also share your opinions and beliefs.
Stick to your morals. People, experiences, things come and go, but your morals can keep you grounded. Don’t let the allure of something new and sparkly take you away from your morals.
Be nice to people and stop judging! We don’t want others to judge us, yet we judge them. We become so self conscious and insecure when others judge us. Don’t do to someone else what you wouldn’t want done to yourself.
In terms of family, don’t just fight to fight. Love your family and listen to their wise words. The sooner you realize your parents actually know so much, the better and easier your life will become. However, I know some parents might need to take this advice for themselves. Age is just a number and kids have equal amounts of knowledge to share with the world.
Something so incredible like my graduation occurred, yet at the same time something so sad like the passing of my grandfather. I was at first conflicted, I woke up the morning of my graduation, the morning after I gained an angel and was filled with despair. The memories all began to float back. The joyous times of gathering together. How could I be cheerful? However, I yearned to be happy and proud of myself on this special day. I didn’t want this day to flash by without soaking in what it meant and reflecting on my accomplishments. In this I learned…
We can have moments to feel all the emotions of one event and give it its time, but also know when to put it aside, compartmentalize, and feel all the emotions of another event. You don’t have to “dedicate” one day to feeling a certain way. You can be happy, sad, excited, nervous, tired, energized, etc. Then, know that these moments of feeling will come back. You may feel them again for hours, days, weeks.
If any of you are going through a loss, I want you to know that they would want you to be happy. Take your time to grieve, but know that they do not want to look down from above and see only sadness. They want to see your shining smile.
It is incredible that we are all at different stages of life. Different mindsets, emotions, strengths, weaknesses, challenges, goals, successes. Yet, we all are here in this world together. Living, breathing, and creating together. We are ourselves in this world, but at the same time we live as one. Through empathy and loving kindness we can be there for one another and create a beautiful world.
One life stage, challenge, whatever you want to call it that I recently came across was physical, emotional, and mental burnout. I thought I was creating a life that wouldn’t burn me out, but when I look back I see how much I was putting myself through.
The body and mind are so smart. They keep us from combusting and will do whatever it takes to show us we need to slow down. For me this resulted in about four days of nonstop sleep and exhaustion. I stressed myself into sickness. Sore throat, coughing. My body showed me that what I was doing was way too much. I was studying so much, working out twice a day, working, and had a million other things going on in my mind. The last quarter of senior year in IB is extremely challenging and on top of studying for exams, I had a thousand other things on my “to-do” list. The thing is, no matter how long your “to-do” list may be, you need to take care of yourself. We need to reserve time to recuperate or we will be forced to do so.
Taking time for yourself is productive. This is one of the biggest lessons I have learned this year. It is not lazy to take time to care for your mental and physical health.
I also know that nothing will change until you make change. It is easy to fall back into habit, but if you want to become the best version of yourself you have to make the changes necessary. Summer is the perfect time for me to take time to relax, but I know I need to make a plan for next year to prevent burnout.
Anyways, these different stages if life are beautiful and I hope you take time to look around and hear from people of all ages in all different stages. I also want you to know that just because someone is your age does not mean that are at the same stage as you. They may be going through something completely different up inside their brain.