I think one of the weirdest parts of growing up is realizing that nobody actually knows what they’re doing.

Everyone looks like they have a plan.

Someone is getting amazing grades.Someone has their whole future planned out.Someone always seems confident.Someone has a huge friend group.Someone is always posting pictures where they look happy.Someone already knows what they want to become.Someone seems to have the perfect life.

And then there’s you, sitting in your room at 1 a.m., overthinking a conversation from three days ago and wondering if you’re doing enough with your life.

But here’s the thing:

You’re probably comparing your real life to everyone else’s highlights.

You don’t see the person who cried after posting that “perfect” picture.

You don’t see the person with hundreds of followers who feels completely alone.

You don’t see the person getting perfect grades who is terrified of disappointing everyone.

You don’t see the person who always makes everyone laugh going home and feeling like nobody really knows them.

You don’t see how many people are just as confused as you are.

And maybe that’s comforting.

Because you don’t have to have everything figured out right now.

You’re allowed to change your mind.

You’re allowed to outgrow people.

You’re allowed to have a bad week.

You’re allowed to not know what you want to do with your future.

You’re allowed to be excited about something one day and completely uninterested in it a month later.

You’re allowed to start over.

You’re allowed to take your time.

And honestly, I think we put way too much pressure on ourselves to become some perfect version of ourselves as quickly as possible.

Like there’s a deadline for figuring everything out.

There isn’t.

Some days you’ll feel like you’re making progress.

Other days, getting out of bed, doing your work, answering a message, going outside, or simply making it through the day will feel like enough.

And it is.

Life isn’t supposed to be one perfectly planned straight line.

Sometimes you take the wrong turn.

Sometimes you lose people.

Sometimes you discover something you never expected.

Sometimes you have to go backwards before you know where you want to go next.

That doesn’t mean you’re failing.

It means you’re living.

So if you’re currently feeling behind, confused, lonely, or like everyone else is somehow doing better than you…

Take a breath.

You are not seeing the full story of their life.

And they aren’t seeing the full story of yours.

You don’t need to become someone else just because you’re not where you thought you’d be.

Maybe you’re exactly where you need to be to figure out where you’re going next.

And maybe, years from now, you’ll look back at the version of yourself who was so worried about having everything figured out…

…and wish you could tell them:

“You were doing better than you thought.”

Maybe we all need to hear that sometimes.