Amy felt the pressure of being a Year 12 student as she entered the schoolyard on the first day of her last year of school.
She arrived with many expectations and many decisions about her life. She had much work ahead of her, and Amy felt like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Amy was well aware that the school expected her to get good grades. She’d had countless conversations with the Careers Counsellor about what subjects would give her the best chance to get into a university of her choice. She knew she had to score high on the examinations if she was ever going to succeed in life.
Amy also had the pressure of her parents, who had invested a lot of money in her private school education. They expected her to do well and go to university and choose a professional career to justify all the money they had spent on her.
Then came all the expectations from family, friends, and even strangers, all of whom expected her to know what she was going to do with her life and how she was going to do it.
At 17 years of age Amy, felt the pressure of having to decide what she was going to do for the rest of her life. But Amy wasn’t sure what she wanted, and the pressure was extreme.
So began Amy’s story of “Living up to other people’s expectations” and believing that she was expected to make other people happy first.
It is incredible to think that the responsibility to map out a future for the rest of your life is expected of teenagers! The pressure to “get it right” is incredible.
However, life is about progressing, about moving forward, about making a contribution to the world that reflects your individuality. It’s about finding out what gives your life meaning and purpose.
We all have something unique to bring into this world and make it a better place. Some of us are fortunate to find it at an earlier age and carve out a career, and for others it may take time to develop and evolve.
Just like flowers that bloom at their own time, each person will open from a bud and find their purpose and meaning at the right time.
So this week’s challenge is to exercise patience and give yourself the gift of time.
The purpose of this exercise is to remind you that you are in control and not to be unduly influenced by other people’s expectations. Now is your opportunity to take back your power and decision-making from others by exercising patience.
By taking the time to think about your response, you remember that you have a choice—and life is all about the choices you make.
Deborah Ruth
Storyteller
