The one thing I love most about our generation is our determination to follow our passions- and if we don't like something- our guts to make a change. It sets us apart from our parents or grandparents that stuck with one job for twenty years even if they were not always in love with it. There are so many inspirational people I know. They are kicking ass every day- getting articles published in magazines, writing and publishing whole books, travelling to different parts of the world and even starting a life in a brand new scary country. These are the people that inspire me to believe anything is possible. The only thing needed to be done is to take a risk.
The only downside to this is logging on Facebook is starting to feel like Russian roulette. I still love checking up on everyone but everytime i open the familiar blue and white pages- I am exposed to a new engagement, a new move and a new job while I cannot even commit to trying the dodgy-looking new noodles in the crew mess. I am overwhelmed by how repetitive, ordinary and "stuck-in-the-rut" my own life has become. It becomes yet another thing I don't like when I look in the mrror.
Don't get me wrong I am not one of those people who believe that we are in competition or that you have to "climb over others to reach the top of the ladder" in your career. I believe that there is room for everyone to get what they want as we are all different, have different goals and offer such different skills and talents. There is room for everyone and if others can get a cool job, move to a different city, get a degree or travel to somewhere amazing I do not see any reason why I cannot. The only problem is time.
These massive life moves take time to happen. While I was happily uploading my graduation pictures, my friends studying medical degrees were sitting at their laptops- fingernails clicking impatiently on their desks crammed with notes for a degree they still had no idea that they will pass. While some are signing wedding contracts others are still looking for someone that will text them back once in a while. While some are getting their dream jobs others are trawling the jobs section of the newspaper- rocking up at interview after interview. The people getting what took time to get it and we all do not get what we want at the same time. South Africa is six hours ahead of Tortola British Virgin Island. It is not early or late. It is simply in a different time zone. The same goes for people.
My best friends from my last contract on a ship sailing from New York left the cruise ship industry a few months ago. They criticised me for going back for another contract. They had both been on ships for longer than I had. They had already left a contract thinking they should quit yet gone back for another try. By the time they left they were truly done yet I needed a few more months to get there. I still wanted some more adventure. We were in different time zones.
Some graduate by the age of 21 yet only find a their dream job by the age of thirty. Some graduate at age 29 and find a job immediately. Some get married at 21 and are divorced by 40 yet others get married at 40 and remain happily married until they die. There is no way of measuring yourself up against others as we are all have our own journeys.
This doesn't mean that I am going to feel any better when I log onto my facebook page and I see someone two years younger than me engaged with her own apartment while I do not even have my own room- it is just something I have to remind myself that my moment is still on its way. So watch this space. My time zone is a pretty nice place to live after all.
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