The unknown is a dark and scary place because you have no idea what’s coming next. We dread the unknown because it’s the one thing we don’t have control over. When you wake up in the morning, you can choose what to wear, what to eat for breakfast, and what music to listen to on the way to school or work. You have control over the decisions you make, and you can control your future. However, how can we be in control over what our lives will be like in 10, 20, or 30 years?
In high school, the possibilities seem endless, because we may feel grown but we’re not. Most of us turn 18 while in senior year and those feelings of, “I’m an adult!” start to come in. Except when someone looks into your life from an outside view, you are the furthest thing from a grown-up. You live in your parents’ house rent-free, wake up, go to school or work, and hang out with friends with barely any responsibilities. We haven’t seen the stack of bills on a nightstand, searching for a 9 to 5 and dreading going to work every day, or even life outside the golden gates of our childhood homes. That’s where the delusion comes in of endless possibilities.
Of course, we have the D1 star football athlete who dreams of the NFL, the singer who hopes of a red carpet one day, and even the aspiring journalist craving to anchor in New York City. These dreams are in grasp right now because our lives are just waiting for that big leap. We truly can do anything we put our minds to, but still, what’s going to be our future?
We can hope and dream and even work harder than anyone has, but who’s to say we will accomplish our aspirations? Yearning for a job or chance to make it big can only get us so far, and at times it can be scary. Our unknown is not so far away as we walk across the stage with a diploma in hand.
Once we graduate, it’s time for us to create our unknown. Choosing a major and hoping college will lead to our wildest dreams, but the unknown is more than just a job. There are so many possibilities that each decision we make can alter the way our lives go. One different step can change the course of our lives.
We may lose friends in college or at any time in life. The person you thought would be your maid of honor could end up being an enemy. The big friend group you thought would never leave your side may drift apart once you grow up. The boyfriend you thought you would marry may end up leaving you heartbroken on the bathroom floor.
Many changes are going to happen and that is what is so scary about the unknown. We make it sound terrifying with the word unknown, and that has always been what I am most afraid of. I’m scared of leaving my home and childhood behind because that means adulthood and the real decisions are coming. I deal with thoughts of “What if I never make my dreams come true?” and “What if I never find someone to share my life with?” These thoughts can end up consuming you and it’s terrifying to think about 10 years going by and being a completely different person that you are now.
Except that’s the beauty of life. The unknown is a scary word because we don’t know what’s coming next. Another name for that is our future. Unknown sounds like endless despair where we won’t be happy, but the future sounds like endless possibilities where we can go anywhere.
Each day when we wake up, we have the ability to change our lives with every decision we make. Some decisions can be wrong and pull you back a few steps, but eventually, you will be right where you are supposed to be. You will make it to where you are meant to go because you are on the path of life. You are following your course and everything will happen for a reason. The unknown is a dark, and negative space we won’t find our way out of, but our future is a bright and shiny box that we are just waiting to open.
