Comparisons

 Wherever you are in life with whatever you're doing- 

you're going to be ahead of some and behind others.

 That's okay. Own where you are. Take time to embrace and celebrate that. 

Continue moving forward.

      Truth be told, I am definitely guilty of doing this. Maybe it's a bit of insecurity, jealousy, or the "grass is greener on the other side" complex, but I sometimes compare myself to others around me. Facebook takes this to another level. (Thank you social media for allowing us only to project our "best" self or who we want to be perceived as) I scroll through my newsfeed and there are normally baby announcements, engagement pictures, wedding pictures, promotions, graduations, etc. Life is happening! And sometimes those little nagging thoughts come sneaking in like "she is a year younger than me, how is she engaged?!" (I'm 24 btw) or "they got into John Hopkins med school?!, how the hell did that happen?!"  And it doesn't have anything to do with my path or my plans, do I want to be engaged (not right now), did I want to get into Hopkins for med school? Nope, sure didn't. But it's the fact that they are taking another step in life, progressing forward. 

      I see friends buying houses and going on fabulous trips and I long for the days when I can just pick up and go somewhere for the weekend or paint my kitchen, in my house, that I own. Here is the difference, while I am becoming a lifetime student, they were working their asses off at a job. To earn money to buy the house, the car, and the trips. Something I plan to do in 3 years but until then, I am happy for their trips and the pictures so I can add the locations to my bucket list.

     There is no reason for me to compare myself to someone a year older than me that just finished med school and is doing residencies. Just like there is no reason for me to compare myself to someone almost finished with the PhD program I am currently in. They have a few more years of dissertation work on me and a half written manuscript. It would be like a masters program comparing themselves to a doctoral program, apples and oranges- and speaking from experience, definitely different levels. 

      I have been in a 9 month relationship, that doesn't equate to friends that have been in six and seven year relationships. It doesn't take away from my relationship either, its just a different stage. I have obviously been in relationships before, and so I know from experience and watching new couples come together and fall apart, that your relationship and timeline is yours together and alone. Do with it what makes you happy. All comparing yourself to others does is add pressure, self doubt, and unhealthy self confidence. This quote is a simple reminder that I am not on the same path as others are, the speed of my plans is conducive on how/ when I accomplish certain steps, everything will happen in due to time, so there is no need to force things. If I should compare myself, it should be to the person I was yesterday, I hope I am better than I was. I hope I learned something, I grew and improved in life. I shouldn't compare myself to other people's middle but focus on me, a better me. 

XOXO