Songs for the Road Ahead
by Briony Brake
There are very few times in life when it truly feels like one part of your life is over, and another is about to begin. And it can feel daunting. It can be scary to look ahead into a world that is completely different from anything you’ve yet experienced.
At school, you have somewhere to be every hour of the day. You have everything planned out for you. All you have to do is wake up and show up. And suddenly, at the end of the school year or after graduation, it’s all up to you. How do you want to spend your hours? Where do you want to go? What does your heart tell you?
It can be so easy, when considering these questions, to focus on everything that could go wrong. It can be so easy to bring yourself back down to earth before you’ve even begun. Maybe you are worried about money, maybe you don’t live near where the action seems to be happening, maybe you don’t know if you’re good enough yet. But if you hear any advice this summer, let this be what sticks: You have to give yourself a chance.
You don’t have to pretend there aren’t obstacles. You don’t have to pretend you’re not scared. You don’t have to live in a fantasy world where anything is possible. But you have to give yourself a chance first. You cannot shut yourself down before you’ve even tried. Because you never know what you could be missing out on if you don’t give yourself permission to see what happens. By not believing that there might be good and new things out there for you, and that you might deserve them.
We can explore the hypothetical. We can think about worst-case scenarios. Maybe you move somewhere new and you don’t like it — so, you can move again! Maybe you get a job you thought you wanted, or maybe you begin pursuing further education just to realize it’s not what you want anymore — oh well! You get to find something new. Now is the time to try. Something, anything, but try.
You have all the time in the world to have it all figured out — to have a full calendar, to know exactly where you’re going to be at 8AM, to check off a never-ending to-do list. But you don’t need to rush. Teach yourself to get comfortable where you are right now, and learn to embrace the unknown.
Summer is here and the road ahead is empty. Ah! There’s so much that could go wrong. There’s so much that’s undecided.
But at the same time, the road ahead is empty! Thank goodness! There’s so much that could go so amazingly right. There’s so much you still get to choose. How you see the road ahead is up to you.
Don’t underestimate yourself. Wear SPF. Have fun. The road ahead is ready for you.
