The poem below was written in an attempt to express my confusion.
I was about to graduate from a Master's program, find a well paying job helping people, and start thinking about vacations and perhaps having children. That is, until I found myself as a new graduate with no job, no money, no husband, and no “american dream” future that was supposed to be mine.
Instead, I found myself a single woman once again with no idea on how to even survive as an “adult” or in the “real world”.
Here and Now
Is Not
Where I Was
Supposed To Be
I Chose
A Different path
Than this one
For Me
One of Love
Companionship
Togetherness
Adventure
So Much Was
Supposed to Happen
The Expectations
Single
Married
Children
The Future
School
Higher Education
Degrees
Successful Careers
That’s What’s
Supposed to Happen
the Path to
be Taken
and yet
that cookie cutter
is not the Path
for everyone
Apparently
Not for me
Instead
I was Sent on the Path
less traveled
a Path
Not Discussed
one that’s
not Supposed to be
and yet
I often wonder
is it where
I’m meant To Be?
-ME
The struggle continued when I tried my best to keep pursuing the idea of what life was supposed to be. I still tried to find the ideal job, following the initial path I was on, but something didn’t seem right. I had lost my passion, if I even really had one to begin with, for what I was doing. I wanted to find all the easy ways to find success in my new career, and instead I found that I never really cared and didn’t feel like myself anymore.
In return for my efforts, or the lack thereof, I was fired. I found myself alone, asking others for help, trying to find any sort of job, and also trying to heal or rather adjust to this new life.
This led to many changes for me. Changes that were for the better, even when it didn’t look like it was. I moved back in with my parents and found a part time job with a local bakery. In a further attempt to heal my mind I started writing poems, like the one you read. I began finding that I had a passion for putting words on a page, for sharing thoughts in a new way, and for helping people on a larger scale than what I could have imagined before. My world, the one that I thought shrank to a marble, exploded with possibility and multiple paths to try.
What is the moral of my little tale?
A piece of my story and a chance to share hope.
After a major life changing event, good or bad, in your personal world or on a world wide scale, you may find yourself still trying to find what you think your life is supposed to be or look like. You may be trying to keep the normal things going like nothing happened and all is well. In this attempt, you may find your life lacking the previous joy, passion, or contentment that you had before.
Here is where the difficult truth comes in my friend,
IT’S NOT GOING TO BE WHAT IT WAS.
Things have CHANGED.
Read that again because your life is not going to go back to normal. This change is not going away. What has happened is what it is and you must adapt and adjust to the reality of now.
Everything changes around you and learning to change with it will push you to thrive.
You are now in a space of opportunity, of new “normal”, of possibility.
So stop wishing for what you had or think you still have and step forward, into the new chapter you are meant to start writing.
With the words you read here, I hope you find truths, inspiration, emotion, and the knowledge that you are not alone.
-M.E.
Friends, many Canadians today suffer from success and the trials that come with achieving success… Therefore, in an effort to begin this brand new year on an unhelpful note, I offer these humble insights for the year to come. I have creatively titled today’s sermon, Three Amazing Resolutions That Will Help You Avoid Success in 2018.
The Fat Mirror
Diana Sol3 years ago« I'm not enough, » « I'm not pretty enough, » « I'm too fat » … We all have, one day, looked at the mirror and thought that we weren't good enough to go out and enjoy the world around us. Instead, we put on leggings, comfy socks, wide t-shirt, and we stay at home.
How To Change Your World
Jessica Roberts3 years agoWe all want to make the world a better place (except on those days where we wouldn't mind watching it burn, either), but such a concept seems impossible and nostalgic, at best. Corruption, fraud, human selfishness, and an endless cycle of pain often seem to crush any effort to try and stop the sky from falling, and the political and spiritual leaders who say they are here to help often end up doing us more harm than good. However, I'm not here to sell snake oil or tell you of a balm from some middle eastern shore, but I am here to say that there is a way for you to make a real and lasting difference in the world. That is. Your world.
Everything Will be Okay.
Trenten Priest9 months agoHello Reader, My name is Trenten and I am going to take you to a place where you need to be right now... but, before I do please clear your mind. Get rid of ALL negativity thoughts... everything going on in the world, and in your life right now, just stop thinking about it... yeah that... STOP... Breathe... Seriously take in a deep breath and breathe out.. Breathe in REALLY BIG and breathe out all of that negativity...
Sacrifices
Raven Tilford10 months agoThere are days where I just sit down and think. Life requires a lot of sacrifices. Sometimes we fantasize about a world with less responsibility. Of course it would be ideal but things just doesn’t work in that fashion. Can I speak on the real sacrifice of being a single mom. Lack of time to take care of yourself. There are days I hide in the bathroom just for a break. It isn’t easy not having a chance to breathe. Time to myself would be amazing but mom duties calls. Giving majority of my time to little human beings can be exhausting. They will grow up to become amazing people. All of my hard work pays off. Let’s speak on the sadness sometimes. Not being able to cry in peace, wanting to lay in bed some days and never getting up. I’ve dealt with depression 10 plus years and sometimes it comes back knocking on my door. Simply getting up to cook would cause me to feel sick inside. This is the side of motherhood that never gets talked about. Days were I feel life just doesn’t have purpose. Same routine over and over can become boring. For the women that are tired and feeling unfulfilled. I understand how you feel and once felt that way. I know as women we have to make a lot of sacrifices but one day things will be better. I’m not ashamed to say there were days I wished for a better life. Asking why did I create this type of life.....
2020 Not Over
Michanda J11 months agoI know 2020 hasn't been easy on anyone so far. First we spent most of January waiting for World War 3 to pop off. Then in we spent all of February mourning Kobe Bryant, his 13-year old daughter Gianna Bryant and the other nine victims in the helicopter crash (I'm still not over it). After that coronavirus finally got its time to shine absolutely shutting down the entire world in March, and forced everyone to postpone whatever extravagant plans. They had planned for the next couple of months and it absolutely sucks. I mean the world is still being affected by corona as I write this right now. So how can I say that we can still make 2020 our year with everything that's going on.
