Every time an engagement photo pops up on my Facebook feed I die a little bit inside. Everyone is moving on with their lives, and here I am, stuck. It’s a hard pill to swallow when it feels like everyone you know is either getting engaged, having babies, or landing their dream job and here you are- still getting drunk at the same dive bar every Saturday night and auctioning off your number to random Tinder boys. Honestly, it sucks. It’s discouraging. It’s depressing. I’ll be the first to admit it. It almost feels as if your whole life has been put on pause while everyone else’s is on fast forward. That little waver of jealousy, the green-eyed monster takes over making you question why the hell you aren’t moving forward with them.

You feel stuck. You feel like you’re falling behind everyone else. And that time is no longer on your side anymore. 

One thing you need to know more than anything else is this: you have permission to be wherever the f*ck you are, when you’re there. Point blank.

Because life isn’t a race. There is no finish line.

And I’m finally seeing how different our journeys are from one another. And how some people will find their place in this world sooner than others. Some people will find love sooner than others. Some of us need take the time to really find ourselves before we find somebody else. And that’s okay. I’m learning to stop comparing my life to someone else’s.

I’m learning that my life is mine to create on my own, and that it will never compare to someone else’s- and that’s the beauty of it.

I’m learning that by constantly worrying about the things I don’t have I’m failing to to appreciate the things that I do. And those things will take time. I’m learning to cherish what I do have, while working towards what I want. I’m learning to be supportive and cheerful for my friends when they reach major milestones. And to be a little less envious while doing so.

I’m learning how important it is to appreciate my journey exactly where I am in that very moment. And to stop constantly wishing

I was someone else, somewhere else, doing something else. I’m learning to focus on the present moment instead of worrying about the future.

I’m learning that I am really and truly okay, no matter how far I am in life. I’m seeing how my value really lies in my uniqueness. And the more I bask in my own positive energy and follow along my own unparalleled path, the more I’m able to appreciate my journey. I’m learning that just because it feels like everybody else is ahead of you, doesn’t mean you are behind. It doesn’t mean you stop there. It means you keep going. You keep growing.

Because you are not falling behind, you are simply in transit.