Towards the end of 2012 I began to feel excruciatingly disappointed in myself. I was twenty years old, and yet looking back at twelve months it was as if I've done nothing of monumental consequence. The year had passed by with enough pleasantries and projects, a blur of new faces and obstacles, but nothing extraordinary. I honestly thought the age would have brought something life changing: perhaps some great travelling, or a head start in a future career. But nothing.
It came to me yesterday as I was preparing family flight plans for November, in the midst of editing world news bulletins at the office and simultaneously finishing my structural calculation assignments, that last year wasn't really a lost cause. It was a grace in time, if anything, a sort of quiet, preparatory term. A period of growth that only served to make my mental state more stable, bringing along a few alterations in judgement, that's justified for serving me well enough this year.
I realised that, at early twenties, you don't really have to have your shit together. There is no great urgency to figure out a progressive ten year life plan, or have a career path that compliments your university or high school qualifications. It's such a tender age, more beneficially spent exploring boundaries and making mistakes, meeting people from all walks of life and basically learning. A proper life path is just more solid once you've actually had a slice of experience.
Five year goals are only useful if you know your starting point and what you're capable of doing. And a good way to success (not just in career, but in life) was only if you know yourself and all the worldly potentials. The collective of 2012 and a first half of 2013 only solidified my understanding of what I know, what I didn't know, and what I wanted to know. So I guess once a good beginning is understood, a good ending won't be hard to pursue.
It came to me yesterday as I was preparing family flight plans for November, in the midst of editing world news bulletins at the office and simultaneously finishing my structural calculation assignments, that last year wasn't really a lost cause. It was a grace in time, if anything, a sort of quiet, preparatory term. A period of growth that only served to make my mental state more stable, bringing along a few alterations in judgement, that's justified for serving me well enough this year.
I realised that, at early twenties, you don't really have to have your shit together. There is no great urgency to figure out a progressive ten year life plan, or have a career path that compliments your university or high school qualifications. It's such a tender age, more beneficially spent exploring boundaries and making mistakes, meeting people from all walks of life and basically learning. A proper life path is just more solid once you've actually had a slice of experience.
Five year goals are only useful if you know your starting point and what you're capable of doing. And a good way to success (not just in career, but in life) was only if you know yourself and all the worldly potentials. The collective of 2012 and a first half of 2013 only solidified my understanding of what I know, what I didn't know, and what I wanted to know. So I guess once a good beginning is understood, a good ending won't be hard to pursue.
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