Five years ago, I used to believe that life had to follow a strict timeline. Graduate by this age, land a stable job by that age, get married, buy a house, have kids—all in that perfect sequence. I truly thought that if I didn’t hit those milestones by a certain age, I was failing or falling behind. That belief shaped how I measured my self-worth, and if I’m honest, it made me anxious every time I opened social media and saw someone “ahead” of me.
I worked hard to keep up with that invisible checklist. I pushed myself into opportunities I wasn’t passionate about, said yes to things that didn’t feel right, and judged myself harshly when plans fell apart. I used to panic when birthdays came, not because of getting older, but because I felt like I wasn’t “where I should be.”
But life has a way of teaching us the truth—gently at times, and brutally at others. Over the past five years, I experienced unexpected delays, career detours, emotional upheavals, and moments of deep self-reflection. Slowly, I started to realize that the timeline I was chasing wasn’t even mine—it was a patchwork of other people’s expectations, societal norms, and my own fear of being left behind.
Today, I no longer believe in fixed timelines. I’ve come to see life as a personal journey, not a race. Some people bloom early, others bloom late, and that’s perfectly okay. What matters more is whether I’m aligned with what feels true for me—my pace, my choices, my growth.
Letting go of that belief gave me peace. I now trust the process and give myself grace. Progress doesn’t always look like success from the outside. Sometimes it’s invisible, internal, and deeply transformative—and that’s enough.