Written By Sanya Mehra
Young adults have their entire life planned until they don’t. From boarding on the schedule in elementary and high school to university, where we’re finally given the freedom to choose, it is clear how scary that may be. Some of us are yet to realize that there is an impending iceberg waiting to hit us on the way to the future. What is the future meant to be? Is this the path I want for the rest of my life?
To be perceived as such is mortifying, as it is a bit thrilling. You have so many different paths you can venture upon, but the daunting question that rings in almost every mind is “which one?”
I believed from the moment I turned five that all I wanted to do was help people. Whether it be uplifting their spirits, making children smile again, or being the shoulder someone could lean on during a hard time.
So, that is what I ultimately ended up doing. I became so immersed in my studies, my academics and the need to please others before myself that I forgot about myself. What did I like to do? What did I enjoy other than studying for a biology lab exam? What did I do in my free time other than sleep off the exhaustion every week?
Nothing came to mind, and it was as if my entire world, which I had forced myself to perfect, was collapsing. I couldn’t quite understand why I didn’t have any other passions or extracurriculars that I truly enjoyed until I sat down and just stared at an empty page of all the things I liked. It was in moments like this one where I realized people tend to leave behind the things they love to achieve great things that are in the future. If it is something you enjoy in the moment, shouldn’t you want to take it with you to the future? Why leave behind something to achieve another thing if you love both equally?
In the world we live in, where it’s quite easy to be overwhelmed by the constraints of media and society, we should try to find solace in the hobbies and passions that have woven into our lives rather than abandoning them. Because, at the end of the day, why abandon something that brings you joy?
The track to happiness has always been very unsteady for young adults, and to say that I have completely perfected it is a tremendous lie. Each day that passes, I learn something new about myself and the experiences that have made their way into my life. That empty page has filled up over the years with fond memories, countless hours volunteering, and experiences that I’m grateful for.
Now, I can say with complete confidence that aside from my academics, I love to write, read fantasy books and bake over the weekend. While I haven’t perfected how to find happiness in everything and anything, the pathway, or should I say the “track”, has cultivated itself before me.