Tuesday, July 3, 2012

An Open Letter to the Young and Driven

When you feel as tough you are on top of the world right now, cherish it; for there would be days that all you'll be able to do is reminisce on it.

I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it but I probably will
Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture a little of the glory of well time slips away and leaves you with nothing mister but boring stories of glory days

- Glory Days, Bruce Springsteen

All of us have those days under our collars—those days that seemed as though nothing could go wrong or that you'd survive whatever comes your way. Said golden days are our days of glory, days we think we could bring with us forever to brag about.

When you are in college, it's easy to think about the so-called bigger, harder world out there. It's easy to convince yourself that with proper education and drive, you'll survive it.

When you're safe inside the four walls of your office, doing the job you actually hate doing, it's easy to think that you're fine. It's easy to be fine when you have long said adios to the minimum wage.

That's why most of us resort to Facebook statuses such as: "My life is so hard." or "Lord, help me for the toughest challenge of life. Math exams tomorrow." or "Grow up. The world does not revolve around you."

At some point, when you are safe and sound, you tend to think that life would be easier once you passed the said Math exam or once you're able to counter-bitch that God damned bitch in your office.

They make you tougher; but let me tell you this, they don't prepare you for the life out there—not even one bit.

Out here, it's cruel. People will step on your foot on the train, you'll get lost on your way to your first interview, your dream job would reject you countless times, and if you're the luckiest person on Earth, a personal family matter will come along with it all.

To simply put it, not everyone will have their dreams coming true soon as they step out of the grounds of their Alma matter.

Some days, not only would your dreams crash, your days would be so unlucky that someone steals your umbrella while it's raining hard outside.

There are those days—or sometimes weeks—that crying is the only thing that can make you feel better; even crying doesn't do it sometimes. Worst, there will be days that you couldn't just cry anymore because watching your dreams collapse brick-by-brick is painful, like watching the World Trade Center fall in front of you with your beloved one inside said building.

There would be days that giving up seems like the easiest thing to do.

But let me tell you this: don't.


Some of us are born to work from 9 to 5, doing forgettable stuff and some are born to sing and have people voting for them. You, you might be born to be something else but make sure to chase whatever you think would look like the future you want for yourself.

Believe me, it sucks descending the escalator thinking, "This is not the life I imagined to have."

It won't come in a snap or as early as six months after you graduate. Some wait a lifetime to have their dream jobs.

One day, when you're out there clad in your formal wear (that looks so much like what you wore in your thesis defense), clutching your envelope of valid documents in one hand, remember one thing: do NOT expect anything.

In her book Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult said that there are two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations.

Our expectation of how the world should be is the part that actually cuts the deepest. Perhaps, when we go out there, it will always be an excruciating, melting realization that life isn't always the way we want it to be.

But when you're young and driven and while you're still yet to experience the cruelty of the circumstances, live your glory days but never, ever, take your feet off the ground. As they say it, when we keep ourselves grounded, it's easier to find our way back to a safer haven.

Keep your feet on the ground so that when you hit the bottom, it doesn't hurt as much as falling from clouds.

The writer, per se, wouldn't a hypocrite to tell you to never stop chasing your dreams. We all have our limits. I, however, advice to never give up without putting a God damned fight.

Sure, when those tears have dried, the heart hardens a bit more. Sometimes, the heart becomes hard enough to be incapable of dreaming.

When we get hurt, it is human nature to run out of faith and hope. But just like everything else, it will be restored in the morning.

Some people die fighting while others live their lives hoping that wherever their unwanted road leads them, it would be better than the dreams they had when they were still young and driven.

When you are young and driven, it's easy to dream and kid, dream on. Fight on.

While you're still young and driven, set your expectations low and your hopes high because at the end of the day, we define what defines us.

And if you are reading this and you happen to be a person standing in the line between giving up and seeing how much more you can take, the writer says: nowhere in your birth certificate did it say that life is easy.

It's not but this is all you have. Either waste it mourning around in self-pity or you could go out there and change, not the world, but your perspective about it.

Sincerely,
A 21-Year-Old Who Hasn't Given Up; At Least Not Completely, At Least Not Yet

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