Feeling Caught Up In Life.

It is that time of year again. The time of year when we send big congratulations out to all those graduating from high school or college. The time of year we send them on their way with an open book of hopes an dreams telling them they can do anything or be anybody. That they are on their way. I know quite a few that are graduating this year and as I was putting together a little something for each of them I started to wonder where along the journey of my life I forgot to be true to myself. Where along the way did I get so wrapped up in life that I forgot to live? Have I totally forgotten or am I just temporarily on a side trail with trees on either side that I can't see over?

I often feel like that. I swap between feeling like I am wandering without a goal to feeling like I am fulfilling another person's goal. Some would say, "Do something about it." Easier said then done I suppose. And then I realized, that is what we tell seniors when they are graduating from high school. We tell them to "Be bold and get out there and conquer the world." We encourage them down an unknown path, reassuring them God will be there to help them find the way. I feel like a hypocrite. Here I am telling these kids to "be bold" and I myself have trouble doing that same thing.

As I pass on these wishes to graduating seniors I have begun to analyze how I ended up where I am. I think what happened is that I was so sure of what I wanted when I was graduating that no one thought to suggest alternatives to me. No one thought to encourage me to see what else was out there. They just let me follow the track I was sure that I wanted, even though really I didn't have a clue. So, here I am feeling like I wasted the time I was in college chasing after a dream that wasn't really me, closing my mind to all the other possibilities that may have enabled me to chase the dream that was me. This isn't to say that I didn't have wonderful experiences and fabulous mentors along the way, because I did. It is just that I didn't allow myself to see the other options that surrounded me because I was so set on what I had decided. Does that make sense?

If you are a graduating senior or even if you have already gone off to college, I would encourage you to look around and make sure you aren't closing your mind to all the possibilities that lay ahead of you. You never know, you might be walking by what you are called to do every day and haven't given it a second glance because you are too set on what you think you want to do.