There’s a lost boy in our midst.
No, not the movie version…or is it?
In the movie, a boy moves to a weird new place where people are strange. Some of them are wicked. Faces appear ugly, and I’m pretty sure no one remembers anyone’s name. Vampires rule the tiny village off the coast and people mysteriously vanish. Anything about this seem familiar?
The real boy, not the movie version, is quickly discovering that life after college is challenging.
He is learning that the world is full of vampires trying to steal his essence. Demons fight to intimidate him into failure. Without that strange name, or credentials, no one will remember him—his GPA, his musical talents, or even his once-long hair that used to make him look like a wizard. Magical.
How will the real boy choose his path, his destiny, his passion or purpose?
I feel for this kid. He’s lost because he never learned to find himself. Somewhere, sometime ago, his tiny maturing brain told him that he’s got to or try this, but ultimately, he did it for them. And by them, I mean anyone who influenced or mentored him. It’s all about pleasing the one’s you love. But the boy forgot that he, himself, is the first person that needs loving, pleasing.
When you name the ones you love, where is your name on the list? (As seen on social media.)
I’ll use myself as an example, basically because there’s no one else jumping into the ring right now. While working on my 52-week writing prompt, my 2022 resolution, a crazy question came along. Look at your life and seek what is missing. Is it you? Well, gosh darn it, if that writing exercise didn’t stir and awake emotions I hadn’t thought of in years…well, you wouldn’t be reading this right now.
When I was in high school and everyone, as they always do, asked what I was going to be when I grew up, I remember freezing, maybe fleeing, but definitely not fighting for what I wanted. Crazy as it sounds, I wanted to major in English. Writing was my thing, and I guess it still is, but not the point.
My dad asked me to create a business plan of what majoring in English would do for my future. He did this, I realized while in my recent writing exercise, to push me to pursue a career and the steps needed to get there. Sadly, I did not take him up on his offer. Instead, my tiny maturing brain took that conversation as an insult and to figure something else out. To do what I thought he wanted, what the world expected of me–This is going to get exciting–just like the boy.
I’m older now and with over three hundred credit hours and a bunch of degrees encased behind glass (look how smart I am), I’m still learning every day. I’m learning to be what that sixteen-year-old kid wanted but didn’t have the vocabulary, tiny brain maturity, or self-esteem to follow through with.
So, boy, if you’re reading this, here’s my old person advice. Fight for your truest desires, the ones that fulfil your passion and lead to purpose. Analyze those tiny-maturing thoughts and recognize them for what they were, then turn them into what they need to be. Take a deep breath, quiet your mind, and ask your insanely wigged-out Overseers for guidance. Listen with your heart, not your mind, and you might end up surprising yourself.