25 years and my life is still, tryin’ to get up that great big hill of hope. For a destination. (4NonBlondes)
Life isn’t linear. As someone who is approaching 35, social media has been around throughout all of my adult years. I started with Xanga at 14, then Myspace at 15-16, Facebook at 18 and then Instagram at 21. It’s very easy to take a look at your peers/friends/followers/following list and go through the life they have posted for the world to see and compare yourself to those images and the “perfect” life they display. My life was much more peaceful before (it was still chaotic but you get the idea) the social media boom because I only had my own life to look at and anytime I would get peeks at other’s is if I visited them at their parent’s houses.
I’ve started taking a step back on social media. I’ve started to have the mindset that not everything is what it seems and that no one other than the person experiencing what’s going on in the photo knows the situation 100%. How many photos did it take to get that “perfect” snapshot of the family full of smiles? Did that girl put herself in debt for that trip? Was the trip gifted to him by someone? Are they finding their job unfulfilling? What if, what if… I don’t know, I only see what they want everyone to see.
So after spending most of my 20’s comparing myself to those I saw as “successful”, I stopped and reflected. I accomplished more and felt happier about my life only when I focused on myself rather than paying attention to what others were doing. It’s easier said than done but when I started to focus on living life rather than hitting these imaginary milestones that society imposes on us, I stopped having the need to compare my “progress” to others. Not to say that I don’t have any goals but priorities have definitely changed. This year is about continuing to take steps towards a comfortable life rather than a glamorous/social media worthy one, and appreciating what I have. I want to do something that has meaning and I learning more about myself by focusing on what I like to do rather than working towards just making money. If money comes, it will come. Otherwise… My drive in life is to be able to reflect and say I that I’m proud of myself. Friends, let’s focus on ourselves and learn to embrace our present and find comfort in our control of our own outcomes. We got this. <3
