Bloom Where you are Planted

I feel like this generation has been caught up with the future. Our parents ask us who we want to be, and we start compartmentalizing our likes and dislikes, thinking our careers are these series of steps leading to the end of the finish line. 

In every season of life, sometimes all we do is talk about the next one. When you’re in middle school, you dream about the day you’re in high school with more freedom to go out and drive a car. When in high school, you dream about leaving your small town for a life of adventure and studying things you actually want to learn. In college, you think about post-grad life where you’ll make money for the work you do and when you won’t be so stressed all the time. 

With our eyes focused on the best of the next best thing, we don’t focus on the best of the right now. Think about the last time you’ve truly been present in your life. Maybe it was with friends, late at night, laughing and relaxing. Maybe it was reading a new book that you were excited about. Perhaps it was stepping onto that college campus and taking the classes you signed up for at orientation.

Whatever it was, lean into it. Life’s too short to obsess about when these series of days are over. After all, Cameron Boyce was only 20 years old before his life slipped away. We are too busy taking for granted the current season of our lives that we forget, we are often in the midst of the place we dreamt about being.

For me, I’m currently on summer vacation, working at an internship while writing a blog. And although stress returns to my mind every time I think of school, I am forgetting the me that sat through finals week waiting to get to summer vacation. In school, when I’m hustling all over and only sleeping 5 hours a day (yes, I know this is extreme sleep deprivation), I am forgetting the me who dreamed about stepping foot on a college campus to learn more about myself and the world around me.

What I’m trying to say is simple. Be here and be grateful. With all of the winding roads of life, you have ended up here. And maybe where you are, it isn’t beautiful. But this season of something to be grateful for. 

You are being buried in deep soil, and the rain may be pouring down. In that case, bloom where you’re planted. 

You are in the bright sun with the most colorful petals surrounding you. Bloom where you’re planted.

Find some humans.

Get intimate and vulnerable with them about where you are. Tell them about why you don’t want to be in your current season of life. Let them remind you of some reasons why it’s a decent place to be.

Find your light.

Everyone has something they look forward to. It could be a good book, or a favorite movie. Or it’s a game night every week with your friends. Find whatever it is that makes you happy and do more of it. Chances are you’ll be too present to talk about how much life sucks.

Find your roots.

When adversity seems to be knocking at every door, when every time you try something it fails, you need something you can cling to in times of hardship. Perhaps it’s a mentor. It’s a motto that has gotten you through your darkest days. It’s a faith that reminds you that if it’s bad, it isn’t over.

Take your time to be present and grow exactly where you are.

Signing off, 

Gigi

What season of life are you in? How are you planning to bloom? Comment below.