Yes, the early 2000s were so long ago that now they can be a party theme, I’m sorry!

It’s 2026, and not for long. We have less than two months of this year for it to be over. It feels like time flies. I don’t know how to explain it, but it feels like the beginning of the year was just two months ago. How come everything goes on so fast? How come kids are being born in 2026? How come the people born in 2011 are 16 years old? I feel so old, and the worst thing is, I’m not even old. Time is such a confusing topic; it feels one way, but it acts totally different. We need to stop the clock already!

Let’s pretend for a minute that time isn’t going by as we speak. Let’s stop and relax. It’s hard to admit that we are not «the young people» anymore, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all bad. When I was a kid, I was always thinking about what life would be like when I was older. I wanted to finish school and start college, become an independent adult, have a family, study fashion design — I don’t know why I liked that; I hate to draw. I had so many ideas of what my future was going to look like. I was so prepared for a moment in time for which I knew nothing about. I was sure about what I was going to do at every single age. I was more sure than I am now. And I feel like that is a good thing. 

I used to be super pressed about the future. I had dreams, but I also had expectations of myself that were a little too much. When I finished school, I started to feel like everyone was on a ladder, jumping through each step, and I was stuck on the same one. I wasn’t, but it felt that way because I had too many expectations of myself that were nearly impossible to achieve. Now I have more clarity on that aspect. I don’t wake up every day crying because of how much stress I’m under. I wake up, get dressed, and simply start my day. I try to always do my best, but when things don’t go the way I want them to, I accept it. Just because I had an idea in mind that I planned and executed perfectly doesn’t mean that it will always have the outcome that I want it to have. Things can go many different ways, and even if the outcome is the complete opposite of what you expected, it can still be a good thing. 

It took me so long to be at peace with myself and my achievements. To stop treating everything as some kind of competition. Now I feel so at peace. Life wasn’t always about being stressed and feeling down; it is trying and hoping for the best and seeing what happens. We cannot plan everything. We need to enjoy more instead of being pressed about every single detail. Life isn’t a competition.