As we get older, we learn more about ourselves, our aspirations, tasks, and are thrown into multiple places at unpredictable times. As much as we try to track everything and set reminders on what to do and where, when, why, it can be very difficult settling into always running around 24:7. It baffles me that, as a kid, I had so much free time and wasted it on watching television or sitting inside the house all day. I have now grasped the idea that the world has so much to offer and I should not have relied on everyone else to tell me what to do with my life. Now I am not necessarily saying that it is a bad thing to learn about why we should go to school, get a job, and learn to use our money wisely, what I am trying to get at is that we are in charge of our own life decisions. Was it my decision to wake up every morning in high school and successfully get out of bed, get dressed and ready to drive at 8 AM five days a week? Yes. Was it my choice to go after getting my driver's license my sophomore year of high school? Yes (after I turned 16, of course). Was it my choice to change my major in college? Yes. My point being said, this day, I am a very busy person and have an entirely different life; I am achieving my aspirations and obstacles, but I love it. The decision to take on a busy life was nobody else's but mine. I am always on the go, in a rush each and every day of my life deciding on how to take on multiple opportunities, solutions, and setbacks. Do I get stressed? Absolutely. Do I cope with it? The time eventually comes, so yes. Do I care how people feel about me always being busy? Yes and no. This is where additional questions need to come to a pause and I need to further explain why. I think it is important that we need to empathize with others and their priorities, however, we must know that not everyone is leading the same exact life. I do care that other people care about my well-being and that I am not overworking myself, however I do not care what they think about my aspirations or where they think my busy life will and should take me. As adults, we are all going to end up being very busy at some point of our lives; whether we start college, graduate college, start a full-time or part-time job, get engaged, get married, start having children, or traveling, we must be aware that what is in the past needs to stay in the past and that being busy and taking charge of our own lives alone are not bad things. We are not going to have the same friends, connections, or tasks every single day of our lives and that's ok! People should not overthink the fact that managing a busy life would disable the need to keep certain people in their life or that they are not going to enjoy being busy. Moreover, people should grasp the idea that they are always available to reach anyone they wish to contact and still maintain a relationship with someone without overdoing it. Empathy is a key component, in my opinion, because I can understand why people have nostalgia for their childhood or a time without electronics and public transportation: it was simple. Everything in the past was done without phones, computers, trains, airplanes, subways, etc. but I argue that these methods, today, are simple tools to communicate nowadays, regardless if you are living the busy life or someone dear to you is. I guarantee that scheduling a time to talk to a friend, family member, or significant other can and cannot be easy. We set compromises, accept setbacks, rely on each other that no matter where life take us, we still have an established relationship, and, most importantly, that common sense and empathy keep us grounded. I am thrown around with different people, tasks, goals, and setbacks every single day of my life. I am even thankful and shocked for the nights I get to bed before midnight. I do not meet with the same people every single day of my life, I do not have a lot of down time, and even if I made time to have more leisure time, my schedule, aspirations, tasks, and obstacles would go all over the place and I would be very off track. I am very grateful for other people's advice, support, and words to get me through the setbacks, but I personally love my busy life and doing what I want to do now; I am the happiest I have been. Sure, I do not keep in contact with everyone every day or get upset or stressed at times, but that by no means does not mean I do not love them or will never have time to talk to them again. Life is short, but we will all make it through to be there for one another at some point of our lives, but we need to learn to make time for ourselves, aspirations, and explore what opportunities and setbacks our futures holds exclusively for us. I am finally learning how to responsibly manage relationships, networking, taking on new goals, problem solving, and most importantly, being positive through it all.
