There is no timeline

There is no timeline:

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There is no timeline.

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There is no right time for anything.

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No right time to have kids.

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Or buy a house.

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Or have your life figured out.

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Our parents instilled this idea in us as kids.

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Especially for immigrants.

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You need to work hard.

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Study hard.

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Get into a good school.

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Get a good job.

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Find a partner.

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Get married.

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Have kids.

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Buy a house.

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Live that life till you die.

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That was the dream they sold us.

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The idea of a perfect life.

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Only that life is far from perfect.

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And it doesn’t exist for people in my generation.

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Homes are unaffordable.

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Houses that our parents could buy working normal jobs are impossible for my generation.

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But it’s not just that.

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It’s this idea of what we thought our lives would be.

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Was at this dinner tonight.

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20 strangers all in their 30s.

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Super well organized (shoutout to Niloo).

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Everyone opened up.

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One of the big takeaways was this idea of expectation.

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Of what we thought our lives would be.

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Of what our parents wanted our lives to be.

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A few women thought by the age they’re at now they would’ve had kids.

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Meanwhile, they’re single living their best lives.

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The timeline they had in their heads didn’t line up with their life.

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And that’s ok.

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Was reminded of that this summer with a friend from university.

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We were both in Jordan at another friend’s wedding.

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We talked about where we are in life.

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While a lot of our friends are getting married, he’s not looking to get married soon.

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He’s a few years older than me and is in no rush to get married.

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He wants to figure it out.

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As he should.

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As we all should.

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There should be no timeline for where you end up.

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When you’re younger, you actually want to have a timeline that doesn’t make sense.

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Many people live in their 20s trying to work hard to please their parents.

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Only when they get into their 30s and 40s do they realize that they’ve missed out on life.

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They were too busy worried about a timeline to actually process what they wanted.

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To ask themselves questions.

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To find out what truly makes them happy.

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That should be the driver.

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What makes you happy?

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Who cares you’re not at the point your parents thought you should be.

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Who cares you’re not at the point you’re younger self thought you should be.

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It doesn’t matter.

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No one else is living your life.

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It’s you.

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So don’t worry about your timeline.

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Or accomplishing anything by a certain age.

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Everyone’s path is different.

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Just because your friends, family or colleagues are doing something doesn’t mean you have to do the same.

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Let go of expectations.

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Because one day you’ll realize.

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There is no timeline.

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