Optimism is the Key to Success

     When I was 6 I couldn’t wait to be 12, when I was 12 I couldn’t wait to be 16, now that I’m 16, I can’t wait to be 18. Life is a constant journey of always waiting and wanting and living in the future. But what happens when we always live in the future? We forget to live now, in the present. We get so caught up on what we’re going to do when we’re older, where we’re going to live, who we’re going to associate with, and we seem to ignore the things that we can be doing now- what we’re doing tonight, or who we’re seeing next week, or what kind of hobbies you enjoy. When you get older you can’t wait to have kids, then you can’t wait for them to move out, or you can’t wait till you land your dream job, then suddenly you can’t wait to retire. It falls under the idea that the human species is never satisfied. So what actually happens when you appreciate where you are at this exact moment in life? You get to hang out with company that you enjoy and do activities that make you smile. You get to wear clothes that make you feel good and eat food that tastes good, and work a terrible job that puts some cash in your pocket, and you get to enjoy yourself. When you live for the moment, you finally get to appreciate everything around you, because you are able to realize that although this may not be the life you want to live right now, doesn’t mean that you aren’t thankful for it.

     Living in this day and age as a teenager I completely understand that it can be a challenging task to just live for today, without constantly wishing for Friday, or summer, or graduation. We’re taught to plan ahead, be prepared for the future, work towards goals. And of course how can we work towards goals if we don’t set them, think about them, constantly reference them, and occasionally dream about them? By the age of 12 you’re thrown into this system of schooling that teaches you that you need to know what you want to do with the next 70 years of your life now. Kids learn much quicker than you think, and once you’re taught a certain way of living, it’s complicated to get them to just stop. I mean, kids know what they want to do with their lives as young as 6 or 7 now, and that’s terrifying, because how can you really know? It’s all a gamble in life and I think that’s why we get so focussed on the future. Because although we are unable to control the present, in our minds, we are able to completely control how our futures turn out. Because we believe that we were taught that if you had a goal, and persisted, and dreamt just big enough, you can reach it no matter what- and we somehow seemed too misinterpreted it along the span of growing up- by thinking that life will be exactly how we plan it.

     It won’t turn out the way we want it to, anyone could tell us that. But it can still happen. Personally I have goals that I set years ago, altering them slightly as I grow up; figuring out what it is that I actually want to do with my life. It’s hard, being as controlling as I am, to accept that there are certain things in life that I just won’t be able to control. But just because there’s no guarantee doesn’t mean I shouldn’t still be optimistic about my future- we all should be. I want to be an actor, a singer, a dancer, a general performer, yet I also want to be a director, an organizer, a makeup artist, and writer, a journalist, a reporter, a talk show hostess, an archeologist, an environmentalist, a public speaker, a traveler, a friend, a wife a mother. My options are limitless because although I know my immediate plan come to the end of my high school career, I also understand that through life my plans will change, as will my circumstances and interests and talents. I can accept that multiple topics intrigue me, and that I could be happy exploring any one or multiple of those jobs. I want to work at Disney, on a cruise, on Broadway, off Broadway, everywhere and anywhere in between. I want to work in Spain and England and France, I want to work at the New York Times and anywhere else to express my views. I can understand that although my options are limitless, I am not bound by one job or one city my whole life. I intend to live anywhere and anywhere I can, to see the places I know others will never have the chance to.

     My point being, if you are willing to grow, and accept that life will not be what you plan it to be, then maybe you can stop waiting, and start living. Live today, live tomorrow, don’t wait till your 20 or 30 because eventually you’ll be 70 saying you wish you lived instead of always looking for more. It’s hard to just breathe, take in your surroundings, and be thankful for everything you have in life. We don’t want to be happy; I believe that’s just how we are. We always need to be stressed or annoyed or complaining about something that doesn’t matter in the long run- when really, none of it matters. It doesn’t matter if you’re 10 minutes late or spilt coffee on your shirt or hand in an essay a day late. None of it matters, because really, that’s life. There are obstacles that get in the way and sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. We need to accept that about life, continue to be optimistic about the future, but remember to live now, and not wait. Begin.