Early Bird
Have you ever heard the phrase, “The early bird gets the worm”? Did you know that’s only half of the saying, but people rarely finish the witticism? The real phrase says, “The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” Wild, right?
But what’s this even mean? We all know that the idea of the early bird getting the worm means that we should act quickly and not procrastinate, but the second half of the lesson is perhaps even more important.
Pressure of teenage years to figure it all out immediately
Okay, let’s put this into the context of high school. Throughout our teenage years, the pressure to know what we want to do in our lives lingers constantly. Time feels like an invisible deadline, shadowed by the fear of missing out or not accomplishing enough.
The expectations from family, school, and sports can carry a heavy weight on your shoulders. Every decision made feels unchangeable in the moment because it feels like it could define our future. The pressure of trying to figure life before it has even started has always been a struggle.
Some have their lives planned out in high school, some in college, while others haven’t given it a thought. People around you can add stress to these situations, making figuring life out feel forced and lead you to make decisions based on where other people are at in their lives even if that’s a decision you’re not ready to approach yet.
Maybe this isn’t a race after all
People post what they want other people to see, which is their accomplishments. Everyone has different goals in life, but the first step is understanding that you don’t need to have a set goal in mind to plan out your entire life ahead.
Your goals could be different from your friends and that doesn’t mean they aren’t as important, it expresses your interests rather than theirs. Everyone has their own niche and interests they desire to accomplish and they may take more time to achieve compared to your friends, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t up to pace with the others around you. It simply means you are on your own path that will unfold how it is meant to be.
Understanding Growth Isn’t A Race
Growth can be measured in time, but the meaning of time is experienced differently by everyone. The expectations to have life figured out at such a young age are pressured by society everyday. Expectations about the career you should pursue, where you should live, and, most importantly, who you are supposed to be.
You only see other accomplishments, not the work behind it. Social media can be an example of this.
Constantly consuming your mind with negative thoughts with the fear of running out of time can affect your well being and set you back in life while other people keep moving forward. Focusing on the present rather than worrying about what is out of your control can help let go of worries and experience each moment. Jude Schryver (‘27) explains this well when he said, “I tell myself that no matter where I end up going to college, I will reassure myself that I will do great things in life no matter where I end up.”
It’s a checkpoint
Growth feels rushed because of the invisible deadline that is approaching. Milestones in life, such as graduating high school or college, can be seen as strict deadlines to have achievements completed, when in reality it can be used to track your progress. Other people are at different points than you. In high school, there are four years, eight semesters, and 1461 days, each one carrying an expectation that we should already know who we are becoming. The truth is, it’s a checkpoint to figure out who you want to be. The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius once said, “We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.”
When the time is right, you — and only you — will know that your second life has begun.
