Journey of Adulting

At the age of 18, everything changes, or so they say.  Congratulations, you are now an adult. What does this mean? Honestly I am not very sure, and I think it is safe to say most people above the age of 18 are not so sure either.  Sure it is an age of change, most graduate high school or enter college at this age, and live on their own for the first time or maybe start a full time career. The day you turn 18 you are suddenly struck with questions like, “what now?”, “how does it feel to be an adult?”, truthfully I felt the same.  Aside from some cases, most 18 years olds still primarily live at home and are largely supported by their parents. When I was younger, I would always picture being so independent at 18 as I would hear the common phrase, “the day I turn 18, I am getting out of house”. You say this until you get there, and come to realize how close to unrealistic that would be.

As I reach the end of my 18th year here on this beautiful planet, I don’t feel older per say, but I do feel more alive than ever before in my entire life.  I now live with independence and confidence.  At this young age, there is so much time ahead.  The only way to make it all worth the while from here is to live each day as if it were the last, rather than constantly pondering about the future that is simply not possible without the now.  I once heard someone say to a young 18 year old, “welcome to the beginning of the end”. The end of what I thought? We are barely at the beginning. As young people we can do anything, and are so lucky to live in a place where anything is possible, and opportunities are endless.  There will always be people who make statements like the one above, and believe otherwise.  To those people I am genuinely sorry for their lack of self-belief and future hope. We have just reached the starting line, with 18 years of training behind us, through ups and downs, loss and gain, we all got here, and that is the first of many achievements to come.

Some may be viewed as more prepared for the journey ahead, they have more money, better grades, more support, etc. but everyone has one common machine or engine that can't be taken, that is hope and determination. All previous training and advantage is left at this start line.  No matter where you come from or what you have been through, you are at the same beginning and have the opportunity to live the life you thought could only be imagined.  Think of yourself as a car.  Even the prettiest, fastest, nicest car won't run without a working engine. In any scenario, a rusty old box car with nothing but 4 wheels and a working engine will surpass any beautiful race car with a broken engine. We all have an engine, our mind and soul, and it is how you decide to take care of it and control it that will determine your success.

I began my so called “adulthood” in the beautiful country of Nepal,  I wouldn’t have chose any other place. For the first time in my life I was doing something I chose on my own, and I was given the chance.  I didn’t choose to start college, although there was so much pressure of going to college right away.  I never completely understood why, college isn’t going to disappear, but an opportunity to go to Asia for 3 months may never work out the same way again.  For that reason, I jumped at that opportunity and never looked back.  It was then that I learned the rest is up to me.  I was at the starting line ready to go and begin my journey of adulthood. I realized, from birth we are immediately told and taught how to live and what to do, this is how the way your training or younger years of life go.  In some cases you get the greatest advice, while in others it is just regurgitating what was done in the past and will be continued to be done over and over.  

As a young adult, I felt I had to listen because they are adults and they must know what’s best, which in some cases is the truth, however there is an exception now.  Suddenly we are faced with many choices and quick decisions out of high school, your major, future career, college, the future life you will be living and how to get there. Using the car analogy again, you are now told to get in that car and run the engine to its full potential, however you have never done this before, so how could that be possible?  There is no need to panic and go right for the quick crash course to get your engine to work “good enough” to roll for a while, until it breaks again and again. It takes time and experience to get this engine to roar, but if you follow your heart you will, and when you do your car will be flying and never turning back. To all young adults, this is just the beginning, grip the wheel, oil that engine, put your top down, let your hair loose, go wherever you choose with all the confidence in the world and cruise through the amazing journey of life.