A Dramatic Reassurance That Change is Good

Building pressure and ticking clocks. Every second feels like an eternity wasted. I am twenty-two years old with an infinite array of possibilities strewn before me. Each one beckoning me to choose. Each one promising to be the right path. A decision grounded in fear. Fear that once I choose a door, all the others will slam shut behind me with a deafening quake.

I must use my degree. I must make a good salary. I must choose a place to live and to stay. Every decision seems final and that is what makes being twenty-two so hard.

If I become a journalist, can I still learn other skills and put them to practice? If I accept a job that supports me, can I still try something new? If I choose a place to live and call home, can I still see the world and explore new places?

If I keep moving and exploring will I ever find community? I have good friends, but none of them are with me. We are all branching out and facing these choices which have separated us and made relationships feel so temporary.

All these thoughts scare me, but I am lucky because I have faith. I know that God has a plan for me and His timing is perfect, even if I don’t understand it yet. I am only human and just like you and everyone else, I long to find my place here, where I belong and in whose company.

Living in Disney World made it easy to put off making tough decisions and moving forward. Now, as I plan my journey back home to Oregon, I am anxious to create a new routine for myself. To anyone else who feels the way I do, like life’s only getting harder as we go. The changes are good in the end and we come out stronger because He is good! We’re in this together to continuously become a better version of ourselves.

My adventures bring me joy and make my life full. It’s time to go home for now, but I’ll keep searching for the answers. Pass on any wisdom you have to offer and the world will be better for it.