In my generation, others always ask us about school, jobs, and if there’s a special someone in our lives. I suffer from anxiety and depression, and all these questions make me feel stressed, or I feel like people are judging me. I think people my age are always misunderstood and judged by our choices.
Times have changed. For example, finding a job back then was a lot easier, than finding a job now. Now, you either have to have a degree for everything or one or many years of experience. Have you ever looked for a job, and you meet all the requirements, but then you see that you have to have a bachelor’s degree or a year of experience in sales. It’s the most frustrating feeling, you think to yourself, I would be good at this job. For example, I’m nineteen going to twenty, I was looking for a job on indeed, late August and it was a good job, and I met all the requirements besides having two years of experience. I tend to rush looking for a job, and it stresses me out, but I tell myself, it’ll come in time, and I’m only nineteen, so I try to take it easy on myself.
Then there are the school questions. How’s school? How many classes are you taking? Why did you take a gap year off? What’s your major? And so on. I know every one us gets asked these questions, sometimes older adults tend to give us a look, and you can tell that they’re judging you, and your way is wrong in their eyes, and it’s not. You do you, and if you’re happy and you feel accomplished, then that’s all that matters. As long as you’re proud of yourself, you have to have confidence in what you are doing with your life, and you have to talk with an assertive tone, because if it’s right for you then it is good for you, and no one can take that from you. People no matter what age will tend to give you advice about school when you didn’t ask for it. It makes me feel bad about myself because they will be taking more classes than I am or they are doing more than I am. My best friend and I talked about this previously, and she told me, that a lot of young adults are stressed and scared and it’s because of comments people make. She also said to me, and I happen to agree with her, that we don’t need these judgments because we have enough to worry about as it is. She also told me, she felt like a loser because others our age had jobs already and had it all figured out. You don’t have to have it all figured out, and you don’t need a job or need to do so many things because others are doing it or because of what others say to you. Stick to what you need and want to do. I don’t like when others tell me how to live my life, and I know we all get defensive about it, I know sometimes I just want to snap, but I try not to let my emotions get the best of me. There are times I feel like I have to lie about my life so that I can look good to others, but if you feel like I have to lie, then you are not proud of yourself. I am proud of myself because even though I did things untraditionally, and I wasn’t an A straight student, I still worked hard, and I still am working hard to be where I want to be.
Then we’re always asked about relationships, so are you seeing anyone, you’ve been single for too long. Why do others care so much if you are seeing a boy/ girl so much? You don’t need a relationship to have a satisfying life. I never dated in High School, and a lot of young adults think it’s bizarre and they always ask me why? Personally, for me, I was too depressed in High School to even be thinking about dating, plus I went to an almost all girl school. I started thinking about dating when I was 17 almost turning eighteen, and what can I say, I’m an old soul, and I don’t want to meet someone on bumble or tinder, and just date because everyone else is dating. I feel pressured to be dating at my age, especially from my family because apparently, it’s not normal to not have dated in my teen years. I suggest not to feel pressured to date, because the time will come for you, and if you don’t want to date or you’re not ready then don’t date. When you see others in relationships, and you have people telling you when you will get yourself a boyfriend or girlfriend; I would feel so irritated and would feel like I needed to find myself a boyfriend, so everyone can leave me alone. Don’t do that though, don’t rush it, I’m still single, and it will eventually happen.
I hope you can relate to me, and I know a lot of people out there feel anxious, stressed or depressed, I hope my experience and my advice helped somehow. Remember always to be true to who you are, and don’t do what you don’t want to do.