By: Lauren Trongone
It’s 1:26 am and I’m currently sitting in a sleepy little airport in Portland, Oregon. For spring break this year my friends and I decided to head to the other side of the country to explore the city, coast, and inland forests of Oregon. Waiting in this airport for my redeye flight home I am leaving this trip feeling more fulfilled than I've felt in a long time. I’ve seen the most beautiful sights and learned a tremendous amount about the vast world out there beyond the tiny town where I'm from. My break was replete with waterfalls, rolling green fields, moss-covered trees, sea stacks, caves, and even a yurt. Not exactly the typical “spring break” experience that comes to mind at a Florida resort with clubs, tanning, and bikinis. Yet, I would not trade my trip for the world. In no way shape or form did I feel as though I missed out on anything.
Reflecting on this only bolstered how I was feeling about a recent realization I had already made in regards to how I want to live my life, and that is this: do what makes you happy and fulfills you even if it’s not what everyone else is doing. This mentality can be applied to literally anything in life. For example, as a college kid living on campus, I feel like there’s a ton of pressure placed on going out every Thursday through Saturday night. If that’s what makes you happy then that’s totally awesome! However, that is not usually what I find to be the case. I've talked to quite a few people who say they hate going out to frats because that scene gets old quickly, but they still force themselves into going anyway since it’s what everyone else is doing. If you ask me, there’s no shame in staying in or just doing something smaller with your friend group instead. Often, those times are so much more fun and fulfilling when you get to have a meaningful conversation with a close friend or be in the good company of people you actually know.
Another enactment of this principle could be taking part in an extracurricular activity that has grown to be overwhelmingly demanding to the point where it becomes a constant energy drainer. In this situation, you feel an obligation to remain suffering in this endeavor because you see everybody else who is similarly in this said organization staying put. Everyone around you pressures you into this distorted mindset of needing this particular extracurricular activity to be successful in life. We get sucked into believing that there is only one right way to do things otherwise if we don't do it this one way then we are doomed. This is never the case though. In this day in age, I understand how we overthink ourselves to reach that kind of breaking point. I have been guilty of having these same thoughts plenty of times. It's all about the comparison game and trying to model ourselves completely off of how others look, think, and act. At the end of the day, we need to ultimately do what makes us happy. So, this is a kind reminder to evaluate: do you feel fulfilled in your own life? Really think about if there's a relationship or job or anything else where the bad has begun to outweigh the good. Everyone deserves to be happy andget the absolute most out of their life. That said, if you are feeling unhappy, there is no shame inmaking a change or doing something differently from others around you. Do something today because it's what YOU want to do. Not because others are doing it or because it is what isexpected of you. We are all worthy of that much.