Growing up, many of us dream of being an adult and once we hit the age of 18, we feel ready to take on adult responsibilities. At that age, we’re usually focusing on finding the right college to go to (or even not going to college at all), knowing what career path to take, making significant decisions, learning to meet new people; all of these experiences and choices can go through our heads and can make it challenging to find our true passions. In addition to our own inflictions, there might be a lot of pressure from friends and family who persuade us to make decisions on their terms. Generally, people around us can influence the right choices and have our best intentions in mind, but there are times where we have to rely on our own judgment to know what’s best for ourselves.
When I turned 18, life didn’t change too much, considering that I was still in my junior year of high school. During my senior year, it was a bit of a rough time. I lived on my own, taking on responsibilities like keeping the house clean, getting the groceries, developing good habits; there was so much that was on my mind that became overwhelming. While handling these responsibilities, I was in the process of figuring out what I wanted to do after high school, keeping up with my schoolwork, and doing the activities I enjoy. As I was working on my college applications, I felt pressured to apply to as many colleges as possible. I remember applying to 13 schools, which quickly became overwhelming. I also reached out to many coaches to run Cross Country and Track and stayed in close contact with many, making it even tougher to make my college decision. I think I decided to apply to so many schools because my high school was very competitive. I felt pressured, thinking, “if I choose not to apply to so many colleges, I would be lesser than my classmates.” Looking back, I felt this was a very toxic mindset. Although I already had a lot on my plate with my personal and family life, I continued to push myself too hard during my college application process and felt close to the point of breaking. Although applying to many schools can have its benefits and allow for more options of colleges, at the same time, it can make it stressful figuring out where to go. After applying to many different schools, I was then in an overwhelming stage when I got the application results where I found it difficult to know where I should go. I eventually decided to go to Misericordia, which I am extremely grateful for, but getting to that point was far more complicated than it should’ve been. After facing this issue, it helped me understand not putting too much pressure on myself in general. I felt I was trying to show off that I could handle all of it, but I realized not to pressure myself and know my limits. I am only human, and even though I thought I could handle all of it, in reality, sometimes it’s best to do as much that my mental health can take. We all need to know that even if we may feel we can handle multiple tasks at once, it doesn’t mean we should. Not just making a college decision, but life choices in general.
Another thing that I’ve learned is sometimes things can happen outside of our control. When I first became an adult, I realized how life is not always going to be easy, and sometimes not everything will go as planned. Things can happen suddenly, depending on external factors that we cannot control. What we can control, however, is the way we deal with situations. We don’t know what will happen next, and the only One who does know is God. As humans, we make mistakes, and sometimes we might have regrets in our lives that we no longer could change. All that matters is where we are now, and it is never too late for improvement. For example, when the pandemic hit, we had no idea how our lives would change until we knew how serious it was. All we can do is adapt and pray for a hopeful future. Of course, children have been affected by this pandemic as well, but from an adult’s perspective, we have to make many accommodations with life choices and know what would be the best way to handle a situation like this. As a child, we mainly just have to listen to our parents to tell us what’s the best thing to do, but as an adult, we have to make the tough decisions on what we would want to do and what we should do. For example, suppose you would have the option to go to an event that follows the social distancing guidelines but all of your friends are attending another event that does not and it sounds much more fun than the first option. In that case, it would be a good idea to choose the location that seems safer, even though it might be tempting to go to the other event and give in to other people’s decisions. Those are the decisions adults need to make on their own, and it may be challenging to make these decisions. It is essential to know that these choices can affect you in the long run, and it might be difficult, but that’s all part of growing up.
When I turned 18, life didn’t change too much, considering that I was still in my junior year of high school. During my senior year, it was a bit of a rough time. I lived on my own, taking on responsibilities like keeping the house clean, getting the groceries, developing good habits; there was so much that was on my mind that became overwhelming. While handling these responsibilities, I was in the process of figuring out what I wanted to do after high school, keeping up with my schoolwork, and doing the activities I enjoy. As I was working on my college applications, I felt pressured to apply to as many colleges as possible. I remember applying to 13 schools, which quickly became overwhelming. I also reached out to many coaches to run Cross Country and Track and stayed in close contact with many, making it even tougher to make my college decision. I think I decided to apply to so many schools because my high school was very competitive. I felt pressured, thinking, “if I choose not to apply to so many colleges, I would be lesser than my classmates.” Looking back, I felt this was a very toxic mindset. Although I already had a lot on my plate with my personal and family life, I continued to push myself too hard during my college application process and felt close to the point of breaking. Although applying to many schools can have its benefits and allow for more options of colleges, at the same time, it can make it stressful figuring out where to go. After applying to many different schools, I was then in an overwhelming stage when I got the application results where I found it difficult to know where I should go. I eventually decided to go to Misericordia, which I am extremely grateful for, but getting to that point was far more complicated than it should’ve been. After facing this issue, it helped me understand not putting too much pressure on myself in general. I felt I was trying to show off that I could handle all of it, but I realized not to pressure myself and know my limits. I am only human, and even though I thought I could handle all of it, in reality, sometimes it’s best to do as much that my mental health can take. We all need to know that even if we may feel we can handle multiple tasks at once, it doesn’t mean we should. Not just making a college decision, but life choices in general.
Another thing that I’ve learned is sometimes things can happen outside of our control. When I first became an adult, I realized how life is not always going to be easy, and sometimes not everything will go as planned. Things can happen suddenly, depending on external factors that we cannot control. What we can control, however, is the way we deal with situations. We don’t know what will happen next, and the only One who does know is God. As humans, we make mistakes, and sometimes we might have regrets in our lives that we no longer could change. All that matters is where we are now, and it is never too late for improvement. For example, when the pandemic hit, we had no idea how our lives would change until we knew how serious it was. All we can do is adapt and pray for a hopeful future. Of course, children have been affected by this pandemic as well, but from an adult’s perspective, we have to make many accommodations with life choices and know what would be the best way to handle a situation like this. As a child, we mainly just have to listen to our parents to tell us what’s the best thing to do, but as an adult, we have to make the tough decisions on what we would want to do and what we should do. For example, suppose you would have the option to go to an event that follows the social distancing guidelines but all of your friends are attending another event that does not and it sounds much more fun than the first option. In that case, it would be a good idea to choose the location that seems safer, even though it might be tempting to go to the other event and give in to other people’s decisions. Those are the decisions adults need to make on their own, and it may be challenging to make these decisions. It is essential to know that these choices can affect you in the long run, and it might be difficult, but that’s all part of growing up.