The Unspoken Truths About Life: What No One Tells You

There's been times in my life when I have had realizations that things were not as I had expected them to be when I was younger, yet it seemed as though I hadn't been prepared for that. I make note of these things and don't really judge them as good or bad, but more so just notice that they are. I also make a note to myself to prepare my son, A, for these kinds of things so they don't catch him by surprise as he gets older. Below are some things that no one tells you about life.

Everyone is Different, so Your Life Path Will Never be Like Anyone Else's

Everyone's path is different and for some reason when I was a teenager, I thought that something was wrong with me that my path didn't like some others. In some cases, I also didn't understand why other's paths looked so different from mine. Now, I have seen how unique every person and their families and situations are and realize that there is no way that it can be expected that anyone's paths should be the same. I am happy with the ups and downs that my life path has presented me and recognize that it makes sense that I would end up how I have, as only I have experienced the combination of things that I have.

You Will Have to Pretend you are Doing Fine

Many times when I was younger, I thought people just had their crap together. Now I understand that many of us adults are just faking it until we make it. Even as a teenager, I thought that everyone else had themselves figured out, when really they just were pretending they were confident and that things were working well for them. And that's normal. There is nothing wrong with acting like you know what you are doing and feeling like your a bit of a fraud for being considered an adult. We all feel like a fraud once in a while.

Some People are Just Going to be More Successful Than you

At one point, I thought people didn't reach their goals or to higher successes because they just didn't try hard enough. Now I understand that some people just have different circumstances that make things work for or against them. For example, I wanted to be a psychiatrist and didn't understand why some people didn't strive for higher goals for themselves. After meeting my own challenges that have made it more difficult to reach my goals, I now get that I have some things going for me that have made things easier. In the career example, I had some advantages in that my parents encouraged me to go to college and get a career with benefits that was not physical labor. Some challenges that I had was that neither of my parents got a college degree and I did not have a large amount of money to get me through a doctorate program. I also valued being a present parent over a higher education and bigger career. Instead, I found what was right for me and that was an online masters program for clinical mental health counseling.

Which things did no one tell you about life?

• Everyone is different
• You will have to pretend you are doing fine
• Some people are just going to be more successful than you
• Other

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