Today, I am 22 years old. I have been thinking about life quite a bit recently, and I figure it might be a good thing to write down and look at again in the future.
In the time Ive been around, I have accomplished a lot. Ive run a half marathon. Ive climbed a mountain. Ive been with some absolutely amazing women. Ive won numerous championships. Ive just about finished an undergraduate degree and written a thesis. Ive been accepted into graduate school. Ive booked my ticket to travel and explore the other side of the planet. Ive led many teams. Ive forged strong friendships. I have supported a good cause. I have tested my limitations and pushed my boundaries in many different ways.
Alternatively, I have failed at many things. Ive experienced giving a job my all and just not succeeding at it. Ive failed a course. Ive failed as a partner. Ive failed as a friend. Ive suffered defeat. Ive made bad decisions. Ive caused people pain. Ive put off doing something that should have been done sooner. Ive missed opportunities that I will never get a chance at again. Ive held back. I have tried to hold on long after it was time to let go.
I have come to realize that people and their lives are shaped based on their experiences more than anything else. I know that what I have come to stand for and believe in is directly linked to my experiences to date.
It amazes me to think about how failing at something can make you a better person, and that accomplishing something can do the opposite. I think what it shows is that experience is truly the best way to learn, but interpreting the lesson is equally as important as the experience itself. I think that if you really try, there is a positive lesson in almost every experience.
Ive also realized that almost every decision that I have ever made that has had an amazing result for me has started with being scared about it. I think it is because when we look to accomplish something significant, we are commonly at our most vulnerable. We expose our efforts, our ideas, and our feelings to the world. We put ourselves in line for possible rejection or failure, and that is certainly a scary thing.
I think that if there is any lesson I should take away from this bout of introspection, its that we should never let our fears get in the way of something we want to do. When you allow fear to paralyze your ambitions, you allow for it to paralyze your experience and in turn, your life. Today, Im 22 years old and Im making a commitment to myself- a birthday present if you will- to ensure that unhealthy fear no longer has an impact on the decisions that I make. Im making a commitment to myself to evaluate every experience and try to come a better person because of it.
Today, Im 22 years old and Ive laughed and cried. Ive loved and loathed. Ive smiled and frowned. I have experienced both highs and lows, and Ive learned from them. Today, Im 22 and I have lived.
In the time Ive been around, I have accomplished a lot. Ive run a half marathon. Ive climbed a mountain. Ive been with some absolutely amazing women. Ive won numerous championships. Ive just about finished an undergraduate degree and written a thesis. Ive been accepted into graduate school. Ive booked my ticket to travel and explore the other side of the planet. Ive led many teams. Ive forged strong friendships. I have supported a good cause. I have tested my limitations and pushed my boundaries in many different ways.
Alternatively, I have failed at many things. Ive experienced giving a job my all and just not succeeding at it. Ive failed a course. Ive failed as a partner. Ive failed as a friend. Ive suffered defeat. Ive made bad decisions. Ive caused people pain. Ive put off doing something that should have been done sooner. Ive missed opportunities that I will never get a chance at again. Ive held back. I have tried to hold on long after it was time to let go.
I have come to realize that people and their lives are shaped based on their experiences more than anything else. I know that what I have come to stand for and believe in is directly linked to my experiences to date.
It amazes me to think about how failing at something can make you a better person, and that accomplishing something can do the opposite. I think what it shows is that experience is truly the best way to learn, but interpreting the lesson is equally as important as the experience itself. I think that if you really try, there is a positive lesson in almost every experience.
Ive also realized that almost every decision that I have ever made that has had an amazing result for me has started with being scared about it. I think it is because when we look to accomplish something significant, we are commonly at our most vulnerable. We expose our efforts, our ideas, and our feelings to the world. We put ourselves in line for possible rejection or failure, and that is certainly a scary thing.
I think that if there is any lesson I should take away from this bout of introspection, its that we should never let our fears get in the way of something we want to do. When you allow fear to paralyze your ambitions, you allow for it to paralyze your experience and in turn, your life. Today, Im 22 years old and Im making a commitment to myself- a birthday present if you will- to ensure that unhealthy fear no longer has an impact on the decisions that I make. Im making a commitment to myself to evaluate every experience and try to come a better person because of it.
Today, Im 22 years old and Ive laughed and cried. Ive loved and loathed. Ive smiled and frowned. I have experienced both highs and lows, and Ive learned from them. Today, Im 22 and I have lived.
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85 days to go!