Somewhere between dream and reality

When I was younger, I thought I knew exactly how my life would look.

I imagined myself being confident, independent, and successful. I thought I would have a clear career, a good job, and enough money to buy the things I wanted without asking anyone. I even imagined the kind of person I would become.Growing up made me realize that life doesn't really follow the plans we make for it.

After finishing school, I thought everything would become easier. Instead, I had morequestions than answers.

What should I study? What kind of job should I look for? Should I continue with the plan I already had or try something completely different?

Sometimes I would look at people my age and feel like they had figured everything out. Someone was getting selected for a job, someone was starting a business, and someone else was travelling and enjoying life.

Meanwhile, I was sitting in my room, making plans and changing them again.

There were days when I felt proud of myself for trying. There were also days when I felt like I wasn't doing enough.

The hardest part wasn't failing.

It was not knowing whether I was even moving in the right direction.One evening, I found an old notebook from a few years ago. Inside it, I had written down things I wanted to achieve. Some of those dreams still mattered to me. Others didn't feel important anymore.

At first, I felt bad about that.

Then I realized something.

I had changed.

The person who wrote those plans didn't know what I know now. She hadn't experienced the things I had experienced. She hadn't made the mistakes I had made or learned the lessons I had learned.

Maybe changing my dreams wasn't giving up.

Maybe it was growing.I stopped trying to force my present life to look like an old version of my future.

I started focusing on what was actually in front of me.

One exam at a time. One skill at a time. One small improvement each day.

I still have big dreams. I still want a comfortable life, a career I can be proud of, and the freedom to make my own choices.I just don't need to know exactly how everything will happen anymore.

Somewhere between the life I imagined and the life I'm actually living, I found something I didn't expect.I found myself.

And maybe that's what this part of life is supposed to be about—not having everything figured out, but slowly becoming someone you are proud to be.