You are Enough

Recently I had my five year class reunion. I was waiting to be asked “What are you doing now?” And surprisingly enough I had people coming up to me to congratulate me on everything I have achieved since being out of high school. ( I can thank social media for that one! One way to keep up with everyone’s lives.) For the ones who did congratulate me with my achievements my response back was “Thank you! I feel like I am not doing enough!” Once I had left the reunion I sat back and thought about the way I responded and thought I never took the time to congratulate myself for all I have done and come to realise I am doing enough, but I also want to continue doing more.

Before my senior year of highschool I decided to join the Army National Guard. Three days after high school graduation I left for basic training and AIT. I came back and decided I was ready to go to college but that didn’t work out the way I thought it would. I then decided to start working at my family’s business. In 2020 I got called up to deploy in 2021. In 2021 I deployed for 10 months. Coming back from deployment I had a goal to compete in a bodybuilding competition and beginning in August of 2022 I began prepping for a show to finally stepping on stage in 2023. Not once but twice. All of these big accomplishments have led up to now being out of highschool for the last five years. Even though these are big accomplishments there’s also the little achievements that many do not see. It’s the little things like working on a healthy routine and habits to find a balance in my life, working on relationships with the people around me and learning more about inner self..

Being in my twenties I have found that everyone is in different stages in life. I have friends travelling around the world. Some who are starting their own families, getting engaged, married, having babies. And others that are taking it day by day finding what they still want to do in the years to come. I think many people, myself included, look at the way social media portrays everyone’s lives and think they are behind from where everyone else is at. But in all reality we have our whole lives to figure out where we want to be and who we want to become. If you were to ask me five years ago where I would be now I wouldn’t have mentioned half the things I’ve achieved. The funny thing with life though is as you continue to grow and gain experience, meet new people, have more conversations, read more, you begin to create a new mindset. Having a new mindset follows with creating new goals, finding new career paths, new hobbies, new healthy habits, ect. What’s most important is to find what’s important to you and start chasing after it.

I have to say It’s a great reminder to hear from others that you are doing enough from their perspective. When I think about the response I should have had to those who congratulated me I should have responded “Thank you! I still want to do more.” Instead of “Thank you! I feel like I’m not doing enough.” To me that gives myself reassurance that I am enough but I still have so many other things I want to achieve.

So please if you take anything from what I have said it’s to start congratulating those around you and also congratulate yourself, big and small, for all that you have achieved are achieving, and setting to achieve. Because you are enough.