Wednesday 20 March 2013

Living a cookie-cutter life


It's a long article, but do read it if you have the time. We're inundated with quotes about happiness and truth and faith, which, while are all positive and potentially true, are also a bit too idealistic and perfect. There's always going to be a quote that will make you feel better, as much as there's going to be one that will make you feel worse - so so you choose one over the other? Do you accept one and not the other? Do you allow a quote written in a pretty font over a picture of a beautiful sunset to dictate whether your work/partner/life is truly what you want?

Society sets life goals and some people feel the need to meet them in order to have achieved a successful life. These often differ based on gender; a woman typically needs to be married to her soul mate by her late twenties and have had her first child by 30; preferably a top-of-the-class university degree is also squeezed in there somewhere. She also needs to know how to prepare a roast, sew cute curtains and ensure that her family have a healthy breakfast every morning. A man's life goals according to society tend to revolve around his career with every man aspiring to be his own boss within 10 years of graduating, while also sustaining a family and accumulating wealth and possessions. 

These life goals are by no means wrong or bad, but they are not for everyone, and not conforming to these cookie-cutter ideologies doesn't mean that your life is over/worthless/futile. 

Just like the author of the article, I don't feel that I wasted my 20s, I feel that I lived them. I did some stupid things and I did some great things - this isn't about right or wrong. Ultimately, I really do believe that life is a journey and not a destination (I think Ralph Waldo Emerson had it right with that quote) and currently I truly believe that the 30s are the best decade for any woman (maybe even for men, but I can't say!)


1 comment:

  1. So true. And if you don't naturally subscribe to what is 'ideal/expected/what everyone wants' you are encouraged to rethink your values or feel guilty about your goals!

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