Sometimes, I sit down and ask myself one simple question, am I really living the life I want, or am I just trying to live up to what other people expect from me?
Honestly, I think this is a question many of us need to ask ourselves from time to time, because when you look at it very well, you will discover that some of the decisions we make are not even because we want them, we make them because we don't want to disappoint our parents, family, friends, or the people around us.
We want to be seen as good children, responsible adults, and people who listen to advice, there is nothing wrong with that, but what happens when trying to please everyone else means disappointing yourself?
I know what it feels like to have people who love you tell you what they think is best for you, sometimes.....
Yes, their intentions are good, and they genuinely want to see you succeed, but the truth is that what works for them might not necessarily work for you, they can advise you, pray for you, and even try to protect you from making mistakes..... but at the end of the day, you are the one who will live with the consequences of your decisions.
For me, life has taught me that, sometimes, you have to make certain decisions for yourself, even when people do not fully understand why you are making them....
As a mother, there are many things I have to consider before making any decision, my children, their needs, my education, my finances, and the kind of future I want to build for us, i cannot just wake up and do whatever I like without thinking about these responsibilities, but that doesn't mean I should completely forget about myself in the process.
I am a mother, yes, but I am also a woman with dreams, i have things I want to achieve, places I want to reach, and a better life I want to create for myself and my children.
That is one of the reasons I keep pushing myself to continue my education and find ways to improve my income, even when things are not easy, It would be easier to stay in a familiar environment where people already know me and have their own ideas about how my life should go, but sometimes, the environment you are comfortable in is not necessarily the environment that helps you grow.
And that is something I am learning to understand...
Of course, I don't have everything figured out yet, there are days when I feel tired, confused, or worried about how everything will work out, there are moments when I wish things were easier, but even with all these worries,
I know I do not want to wake up years from now and realise that i abandoned my dreams simply because I was afraid of what people would say..
I want to look back at my life and know that I tried, i want to know that I made mistakes, learned from them, and kept moving,i want my children to grow up seeing a mother who loves them deeply but also believes in herself enough to keep building something meaningful...
So..... I want to ask you the same question that I sometimes ask myself, are you living your own life, or are you living the life people have decided you should live?are you studying that course because you genuinely want to, or because your family chose it for you?, are you staying in that relationship because you are happy, or because you are afraid of what people will say if you leave? are you chasing that dream because it means something to you, or because you want to prove something to others?
Think about it....
People will always have opinions, even when you do everything they expect from you, somebody will still find something to complain about, so, why spend your entire life trying to satisfy everybody while the person you are becoming gets lost along the way?...
Listen to advice, appreciate the people who genuinely care about you, and take responsibility for your decisions, but do not forget that your life is yours to live.
You don't have to follow everybody's timeline, you don't have to become what people imagined you would become, and you don't have to give up on yourself just because your journey looks different from theirs.
I am still growing, still learning, and still working towards the life I want, i may not be where I want to be yet, but at least I am taking steps towards getting there.
And for me, that matters....
I want to become the woman I have always dreamed of being, not just the woman everybody else expects me to be, what about you? If nobody had an opinion about your life, what would you do differently today?
Image Is Geneated With ChatGpt