People who know me personally would probably say that I have a lot of things figured out. Yes, I might have a ridiculous resume that’s sure to impress, and sure, I’m able to juggle two jobs and an average college course load, but that doesn’t mean I’m able to find my pants in a sufficient amount of time on Monday mornings. I’ve left my house wearing my shirt backwards (twice) and have face-planted on numerous occasions trying to make it to class on time. Waking up late isn’t out of the ordinary, and forgetting about work meetings is becoming a part of my weekly routine. It gets frustrating, especially because I like to have everything in my life in order at all times. But damn, it’s pretty freaking difficult to have it together all the time.

There are a lot of people I know who say on a daily basis that they need to “get their sh*t together.” Maybe getting your life in order wouldn’t be such a bad idea, but isn’t that part of what being young is all about? I’ve met very few people in their 20s who seem to have everything together, but the more I got to know them, the more I saw that they were just like the rest of us. It’s not a matter of who has it more together; it’s a matter of who’s hiding it better.

Nothing in life is perfect.Nothing. It doesn’t matter if what we post on social media says otherwise. If my life were exactly the way I made it out to look like on Instagram, my life would be so put together. Flawless, even. But is that the case?

No. Not even a little bit.

This is the time in your life where it’s actually acceptable to not have any idea what’s going on. No one can blame you when you’re trying to do well in school while balancing everything else you have going on in your life. How is your room supposed to be clean all of the time? How are you not supposed to make cereal for dinner when you haven’t had the time to go grocery shopping in one or two weeks? (I mean, it happens). Sometimes you need to oversleep to make up for the fact that you pulled an all-nighter three times in one week. And you know what? Sometimes you need to order that extra-large pepperoni pizza because it’s been one of those weeks. I won’t judge you for it, and the people that do judge you for it are probably just jealous that they weren’t able to get a slice.

If you take anything from this article, let it be this: you don’t have to have your sh*t together. That is, at least for right now. Being a functioning adult is no joke, and it takes some work. Keep trying your best, and the rest will fall into place.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to find my pants before my next class.