An Open Letter to Young Adults
To every young adult who thinks they are failing,
Friend, I hope this past week has been a blessing for you. It’s a real possibility it might not have been. I know that it hasn’t been the easiest year in the history of our world but you are doing great under the crazy circumstances. Life after high school or life after college isn’t easy to begin with and now the curveballs are multiplying. There can be days where every moment seems like a fail and to be honest, that’s okay. Yesterday I did a load of laundry and at the end realized I never put in the detergent. Last week I forgot about garbage day until it was too late. Over the past month, I’ve forgotten to call back more friends than I would care to admit.
There are days where I feel like I am failing in every possible way. Sometimes I’m just looking for a single win, no matter how small. I don’t like the word adulting. It tries to sum up everything about young adulthood in a black and white way. Either you are succeeding in adulting or you’re not. You get it or you don’t, and I think that’s something we need to move past.
We have put an unrealistic expectation of what success is for ourselves. We do not enter the adult world knowing everything, nor should we. Creating healthy relationships for example is not a talent, it’s a skill. We develop it, we use it, we get better. So many of the stresses of young adulthood come from this idea we should get everything right the first time. We are growing and in those changes we are learning, albeit sometimes painfully.
Amid all the noise of jobs, friends, beliefs, and change I want to tell you that you are doing just fine. If you are reading this then you are succeeding in the ways it counts. Sometimes the victories might be small, but they mark progress in ways that you deserve to celebrate every once in a while. That pressure you put on yourself is riddled with lies. Those lies don’t come from God but if you let Him, He can bring peace to those anxious moments. When you feel you are coming up short, don’t give in to the isolation that comes with it. We are all going through these changes together, figuring it out in our very human and sometimes hilarious way.
There are no step-by-step instructions for us, and maybe that’s part of the fun. The struggle is not only real; it is unpredictable. No other season of life has the amount of change as young adulthood. Everything is new or needs to be seen new. Even family dynamics we’ve known our whole lives are different. See this season of being a young adult for its newness, for the possibilities, for the hope. There are certainly going to be days harder than others but in the end, all is gift. When you forget your wallet in your car, smirk, and then know God is laughing with you, not at you. Then Venmo your friend for the drink you already ordered.
The challenges point to a brighter future. As you discover and overcome them, you will see all that God has led you through to live that joyful hope we know as Christians even more vibrantly. I am praying for you and please pray for me. I definitely need it as today is meal prep day and cooking exhausts me.
God bless and relax; you are doing great!
Sincerely,
A Friend who feels he is failing too
