It won’t all work out.

Words of wisdom from someone who used to plan her life meticulously

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Last week, I was talking with a recent high school graduate. We talked about life, her plans, her dreams, and where she thought she’d be in the next few years. After mapping out her next steps, she sighed and said:

“I hope it all works out.”

When the words came out of her mouth, I was overwhelmed with the need to respond. I’ve been working on not immediately responding to people and avoiding giving unsolicited advice, but for whatever reason, I felt like I had to say something.

Before I even really knew what I was saying, I looked across the table at her and said, calmly but with the confidence of someone who knows this to be true:

“It won’t.”

We discussed the reality that very little of what we plan for ourselves comes to pass. For example, I look around at the life I live as a 22-year-old and am honestly surprised at how I got here.

I’m working a job that didn’t exist in its current form when I started college, about to graduate in a major I didn’t know existed when I came to Auburn, in a friend group of girls I didn’t know a few years ago, about to marry a man I would have been convinced wasn’t my type freshman…