Who knows where I’ll be in 10 years from now. I could be married with a child on the way. I could be hopping from continent to continent with simply a backpack and a few belongings. I could be living at home with my parents struggling to find work. The truth is, I don’t even know what I’m going to have for dinner tonight, let alone deciding the course of my future.

For a while now, this has bothered me. I felt like everyone around me had it figured out or at least was on their way to figuring it out. My parents always tell me that “the world is your oyster,” but I heard somewhere that oysters are on their way to becoming extinct, so that kind of puts a damper on things.

My point is, it is easy for someone who has actually “figured it out” to tell someone who hasn’t yet that their options are endless. And maybe that is true, but surely there are some who go their entire lives without actually deciding on one particular occupation or purpose in their life. And I think that is perfectly ok.

Everyone has goals in their life and I think how we approach the journey to achieving these goals should be entirely up to us. Rather than spend your life worrying about the next step in life, why not enjoy the now and make the best of what already is? Sure, we need stability and stability often means having a steady income. In this day and age, however, having a steady income doesn’t have to mean working a 9 to 5 job and sitting in a lonely cubicle all day. If that is your calling, then so be it. But, if it is not then that is perfectly ok too.

Do something that excites you and doesn’t let money be the motive for any journey you embark on. I am just an 18-year-old with an arsenal of experience much smaller compared to most people, but I do know that you shouldn’t waste your life playing it safe simply because it’s what you feel is expected of you.

I believe that working hard and helping others along the way is what opens the door to these endless possibilities. So, work to achieve happiness, work to find your true calling, but never let the fear of the unknown stop you from reaching for life’s thrills.