I’m not someone who’s super comfortable with unknowns or feeling in-between. Which is funny in this stage of life. It’s even funnier when you think about the fact I switched between parents houses a couple times a week until I was 16, and had lived in 17 different houses by the time I turned 17. Still, experience with unknowns and change doesn’t do much to make it more comfortable — it just makes us better equipped to handle it.
Emerging adulthood is the endless in-between. In-between being a teen and being a grownup, in-between being dependent and being full independent, in-between major life stages, in-between school and a steady career, in-between social circles, and so on.
But in knowing that there is often nothing I can do about these in-betweens — at least yet — I’m trying to become better about embracing the middle. Honestly I’m not entirely sure yet what that will look like. Part of it will mean trying not to stress about things outside of my control. And part of it will mean just learning to live in the tension.
There isn’t a call to action here, just a reminder that it’s okay to feel in-between. It’s okay to not love that feeling. It may not go away for a while, and when things settle in one area they’ll probably become more tumultuous in another. But you’ve made it this far, and you’ll keep making it through whatever in-between you might feel stuck in today.
As always, questions and comments welcome below, on Twitter @ohgrowup, or Instagram @oh.grow.up. Thanks for reading, and good luck adulting!
oh grow up 