The other day I was talking to a man at my bar and something he said stuck with me while we conversed about life.
He said to me this...
"You live a life of doing the things you want to do, I have lived a life of doing the things I was suppose to do."
This statement stuck with me.
Rewind to the beginning of the conversation, the gentleman was asking me about my life and the things I do for fun, where I'm from...etc. The standard stuff. I told him I loved going to concerts/ festivals, traveling, being outside, and just going on spontaneous adventures.
I said I was from Michigan originally, but had moved to Florida from North Carolina.
He seemed very intrigued by my responses.
The conversation continued and eventually me moving to Colorado next month got brought up.
The man responded with the question:
"Well what's your plan when you get out there? What's your reasoning for that?"
My response was simple:
"I don't really have a plan, I'm just winging honestly...but I trust the universe to present me with the right opportunities when I am ready for them."
My reasoning for leaving was simple too:
"Life is too short to be spent in one place."
He seemed almost shocked at how calm I was in such uncertainty. He continued with praises for being so brave and adventurous. He told me he spent his twenties building a foundation for himself. He got married at a young age and had kids before he was 30. He explained to me that while this lifestyle is logical, he had regrets for only doing what he was suppose to do rather than what he wanted to do.
That small encounter was my inspiration for this blog post.
Now, I feel the need to make a disclaimer...I am not saying this lifestyle is for everyone, because it's not.
But if these words can help encourage one person who is unfulfilled or unsatisfied with their life, to start living a life they are happy with every single morning, then for that I am satisfied.
At such a young age our brains are engrained to follow this cookie cutter path of life.
Graduate high school, go to college, get a degree, get a 'real' job (boy do I fucking hate that statement), buy a house, get married, have kids, and live the white picket fenced American dream....
Well, my response to that ideal plan was this:
fuck the white picket fence
Having the personality I do, I knew this conventional lifestyle was not for me. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, its logical, and it works. Which is why so many people follow it, but for me I craved something more than logical.
I craved uncertainty, adventure, and losing my stability from time to time. I wanted to become a storyteller, and a collector of experiences.
So that is what I began to do.
I stopped listening to what other people told me I should be doing and instead started listening to what I felt I should be doing.
In turn, the universe has granted me some of the greatest gifts...
I have met some of the most beautiful souls, seen some of the most beautiful sights, have some of the most crazy stories, and have become nothing short of grateful for each and every day spent on this earth.
And the crazy thing is, I am still so young. I can't even begin to fathom what is yet to come on my journey of exploration.
Do you ever have those days where you wake up and are just so overwhelmed with joy and excitement over the life you life that you cry?
I do, more often than I'd like to admit.
I don't have a plan, and I'm okay with that.
What I do have though is true happiness, and zero regrets.
At age 19 I made a promise to myself to not be one of those people who grows old and constantly finds themselves saying "I wish I did that."
Instead, I am going to grow old and say "I am so glad I did that."
I may not have a plan but I do have goals, a curious mind, and a wandering heart...and with that combination I know I will be okay.
Your life should be spent doing what makes you feel most fufilled, regardless of what other people say you should be doing.
So if you haven't started yet, start now.
Book the flight, quit the shitty job, climb the mountain, run the race, pack up everything and leave...
whatever it is that you've been wishing to do, get out and fucking do it.
xoxo, Jessica
