19/10/2022
When I was a little girl, they taught me that the smartest kids were the first to be done with the timed math quizzes.
When I was a teenager, they taught me that I needed to finally figure out what to do with the rest of my life.
When I was in college, they taught me that if you wanted to be successful, you had to study longer, work harder, climb faster than everybody else.
When I had my first job, they taught me that overworking myself was a badge of honor.
When I got married, they taught me that I needed to hurry up and have kids before it was "too late."
When I had kids, they taught that I needed to get them to grow up, move up, and hurry up out the door.
But then I finally turned around and realized that I only have this one life.
And once I realized I am not going to be on this earth forever, I decided to stop treating my life like an emergency. To walk, instead of run. To sing really loud to songs with good harmony. To always make people -- not projects -- my priority. To stop treating myself as an afterthought. To eat amazing food, pull over to the side of the road for a beautiful sunset, laugh when I want to, cry when I need to, and be an actual human person.
I used to to think that it takes strength and courage to rush through life. But real courage comes in slowing down. So this is my promise to myself: I will stop rushing things that need time to grow -- including me.
