I don't understand why my young people are racing through life. So many are living life twenty years in advance of their actual ages. I realize there are many reasons pushing today's kids to accelerate the timelines of their lives but, from my seat of experience, I see our youth being cheated the chance to truly live. Some kids have watched their friends die before the age of 18 or shortly thereafter. Others are consumed with these being the end times. Still others long for independence from what they perceive as servitude under their parents. And finally, many are being prematurely pushed out of the nest by parents who no longer want the responsibility of their children.
The other day, my aunt told my cousin that life is not supposed to be figured out, it is supposed to be lived and enjoyed. Pure genius! This notion occupies a great deal of time and space in my thoughts lately. What exactly does that mean? While, for each of us, the path of truly living will vary and will absolutely lead in a unique direction, I can reflect on my beautiful life and offer some ideas that might also work for others.
College may not be for everyone. Many might have said that about me. But I had the choice to either get a full time job or go to school. I chose school mostly because I didn't want to work. However, I am glad I made that decision. College presented the ultimate struggle for a kid who hated school but needed to pass 12 credits a semester to stay there. It took me seven years to get my undergraduate degree. I partied a lot. I got into a lot of trouble. I am not advocating that for others but there were some incredible experiences in between the craziness. I met so many people who I never would have met without college. Going to classes by myself in a place where I knew nobody forced me out of my comfort zone and demanded that I carve out an identity separate from where I came from or who my friends were. Take a class. Go to some kind of training. Join a book club. Do something outside of your comfort zone. DO NOT JUST SIT AT HOME.
It's no secret that I don't like to work in one place for too long. The same boredom that plagued me throughout my education rears its ugly head on the job. If I don't feel like I am still learning or growing or if the experiences gets stale (what others might call comfortable), I am out! Most people see that as a bad thing but it has been a blessing for me. I have worked as a baker & a prep cook in a restaurant, a nanny, a public relations liaison, a sports writer, a publications coordinator, a technical writer, a project manager, a coach, a teacher. I have been the low man in the seniority rankings and I have been the boss. What I have discovered is that in all things, it's the people that matter most. It doesn't matter the job, or the process, or the industry, working is really all about the people you will meet and the experiences you will have. So try something you have never done. Apply for a job you think you'll never get. And mix it up. You will be better for it.
Travel. Travel. Travel. Escaping the status quo and venturing out into new, unseen places offered irreplaceable experiences to me in my twenties and thirties. Of course, I still had to work full time by then but a lot of my money went to seeing as much of our country as I could. The level of diversity in culture and food and religion and environment and people in this country is abundantly more than you can imagine. I can tell you that New York City is completely different from St. Louis which is completely different from Los Angeles and Des Moines, and Miami and Milwaukee. The way people get to work in those cities is different. What they eat for breakfast is different. Where they spend their time is different. How they talk is different. IT IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING IN THE WORLD. I can tell you that people stand in Times Square in New York dressed as Elmo to make money. In LA, you can find impromptu food stands set up in front of folks' houses where you can get the BEST tacos made by somebody's mom. The smell of beer brewing in Milwaukee is much stronger than in St. Louis and late at night, when people are leaving the clubs and the bars to go home, sausage stands are set up on the corners and, while it might have been heavily influence by the beer, I think I might have had the best sausage I have ever had there.
Speaking of food and beer. TRY IT. Eat sushi. Go to a wine tasting. Eat at the new Indian restaurant in town. Make friends with your Pakistani neighbors and get invited to dinner! Don't limit yourself to chips and mozzarella sticks.
Finally, the one thing that everyone can afford to do is volunteer. I spent every month of my 40th year volunteering for a different cause and it was the most rewarding year of my life.
The pressure to grow up is so intense these days. But you have so much life ahead of you. Live it a little. There's plenty of time to work 60 hours a week, buy a mansion, adopt 7 dogs, and join the PTA. Slow down. And, LIVE life.
