Wow, it’s almost been a full year since my last post! Sorry about that, but it feels good to dip back into this project. Now, to brush off the dust off the top of the blog with a short & sweet post. It’s something I’ve learned over the course of my first year spent properly on campus around a variety of people. The picture above is a snippet of the town I live in Leamington Spa. A path flanked by flower beds which thrive during summer. I thought it an apt metaphor for what I want to discuss today.
When you surround yourself with people, naturally, we’ll start to compare progress.
We’re at the age now where people’s plans & ambitions begin to take shape or really take off. The age where career & academic trajectories of people around you take off at a breakneck pace, leaving you in the dust. It’s easy to immediately think “Wow, I really need to get it together.” Given my slight imposter syndrome and trepidation at what the future possibly holds, I’ve fallen victim to these kinds of thoughts far more easily. But more recently, with the experience of exams, applications and just life in general, I’ve learnt to take it easy on myself. It’s okay to see the person next to me dash ahead, as long as I know I’m moving forward too.
See, it’s a tough pill to swallow for sure. But accepting that everyone goes through life at their own pace is so important for your own progress. Just because someone you know sprints ahead doesn’t necessarily mean you have to as well. There are always, always going to be people around you that may seem like they’re ahead and some that seem like they’re lagging behind. But truth is, everyone’s simply running their own race, at their own pace. And you are, too. Of course, you need to know what you want. A destination, an endgame. That’s a whole other ball game.
But do take it easy on yourself. This is your race. Trust the process. You’re not early, you’re not late. Down the path of life you’re running on, you’re right on time.
