Ecclesiastes 12:1 ,"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;"
About a month ago, I was scheduled to undergo a procedure. When I made it back to the holding area, I had an interesting conversation with the nurse who was preparing me. To make small talk, she asked what I did for a living. I explained it to her, and she responded, "Wow, aren't you too young for that much responsibility?" I'll be honest, I wasn't completely sure how to respond, she was much older than me, and I fumbled together some kind of sarcastic (and what I thought was comical) comment.
Since having that conversation, though, I have been thinking about where I am with my age. I'm 25, completed a Bachelor's degree, working in a management position in my career, and just purchased my first home, fully funded by only my husband and me. I felt proud of my accomplishments in comparison to the typical stereotype of millennials like myself.
That thought made me realize there is a bigger problem at hand. The problem with that thinking is that I was comparing myself to the standards set for my generation. This triggered my thoughts, and I wondered, maybe the problem with the millennial generation is not their quality, but rather, the standard that people expect that they will maintain. My generation was trained to go to college, essentially waste that time by partying before reality hits, and cross your fingers that you actually get a job in your field (or at least a job you can tolerate that also pays your bills). My story was different than that, and I was responsible for working and handling reality once I embarked on my post-high school journey. Truthfully, at 25, 7-ish years out of high school, people should expect for me to function at a high level, not the other way around. By now, I should have learned to provide for myself, maintain a job, and function as an adult. This does not seem to be the norm, however. I know life circumstances always come, but why is there such an acceptance of this generation failing?
Thinking back on generations prior, it was not an abnormal thing to hold much responsibility at a young age. Many women have had children headed toward their teen years by the time they are my age. Raising a human life is no small task. Even today, there are people my age that fight and offer to sacrifice their life for their country. That sacrifice is no small thing when you have your life ahead of you, and you have no guarantee of coming home after each battle. All the major battles of this country have involved passionate people of my age stepping up to bring our nation together.
Considering these things actually makes me feel the opposite of proud of what I have done in my short time. There is a lot more that I can do with my life, and it would be a shame to agree with that person and start believing that I should limit myself based on my age. I really believe that for everyone, old or young. Age is just a number, and I would rather spend each moment of my life making an impact than believe I needed to wait to move forward until I got a bit older. As a generation as a whole, we need to quit limiting ourselves to the ideas that have been placed upon us. There is much more to life than working, coming home, eating, going to bed, and repeating the next day. Each person on this planet has a unique purpose, and this can be used to bless so many people.
If you truly consider your age, whatever the number may be, you will realize truly how little time you have. Each moment you spend doing nothing, is a moment you have lost. I encourage you, don't look back on your life and wonder "what if" , but rather think until your last day, "What's next?". --That is truly living.
