To everyone who needs this, including myself,
I would like to share a quote that saved my life.
I
was reminded of it because I saw it on Ester Dean’s Instagram story today.
The quote is “You are not too old and it is not too late” by Rainer Maria Rilke.
Short story behind this quote. When I was about to hit college, I was pressured, mainly by my parents, into majoring in a field I didn’t like, because they thought it would offer me more job opportunities. I spent three miserable years that I will never forget, trying to get a passing grade and studying so hard to barely get the minimum I needed to pass. Those three years drained me. I was always tired, I never had the energy to do anything, I was always anxious and always felt stressed. Whether it was for a minor project or a final exam, I always felt a heavy load on my back. Most days I found myself bursting into a breakdown, sometimes multiple ones in a single day. I used to barely get three hours of sleep because all of my built-up emotions of the day kept me up at night. And all this time, I had thought that I was the problem. That I was not able to excel at something for the first time in my life, was something that I found very hard to admit to myself.
Slowly, I began to give up on my dream and discard the thought of ever majoring in something I like.
Until I saw this quote one day. It was a little light in a world that has become very gloomy and dark. To this day, I’m still grateful I saw it. Whenever I think that it is too late for me to take up something new, I think how happy I currently am, studying what I love and doing it with such ease.
I never have to worry about my grades again. I might do every now and then because I still want to be the best, but at least I know I will pass all my tests while I study the things I love, and I do so while getting excellent grades.
My reminder to myself before anyone else who might be reading this is the following. It really never is too late. Age is not a deadline. You are not supposed to be anything by any age. You are only supposed to be happy. So be happy, doing what you want whenever you want it. Life works out for everyone at its timing, what’s important is that it works out.
