Am I There Yet?: The Loop-de-loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood

by Mari Andrew

All too often, I was anxious to feel more settled, to have it figured out, to stop learning lessons and just reap the benefits of lessons learned. The most helpful way to get over this anxiety was to think about my life as a collection of seasons, rather than as individual steps. It’s tempting at this age to carry around a mental checklist of Things an Adult Should Have and a monthly report card with markings for each Life Category.

The frustrating thing about making a choice is that you never know what the alternative would have been like;

But the truth of grief involves stepping into the deepest, darkest, monster-infested zone and acknowledging, “This place is the absolute pits, and you might be here a long time.” It

Acceptance is not a relief; it’s the realization that you will always carry grief with you.

I’d have to go through this pain alone, and it was up to me to decide if it would make me weaker or stronger.

The great gift of heartbreak, rejection, loss—of any challenge—is that it’s the impetus to stop hoping you’ll be happy someday and start making yourself happy now. Making yourself into an adult is this ongoing process of transforming your life experience into the person you’ve chosen to be. Keep experiencing, keep challenging yourself, and keep having fun!