When You Feel Like Everyone’s Moving Ahead Without You -by Taha Tariq

 You ever scroll through Instagram or Snapchat and suddenly feel like everyone else is speeding through life while you're stuck? People are posting college acceptances, internships, gym transformations, friend hangouts, and smiling selfies - and you're just... there. Same room, same routine, same feeling of “Why am I so behind?”

It hits hard, especially when you feel like you're trying. You're doing your best to stay afloat, pushing through stress, showing up to school or work, maybe even forcing a smile when you don’t feel it. But still, it feels like you’re stuck in the slow lane while everyone else is sprinting.

The truth is, a lot of people feel like that - they just don’t talk about it out loud. And a big part of it is the illusion that social media creates. Everyone’s highlight reel makes it look like they’ve got it all figured out. But you don’t see their breakdowns, their panic at 1 a.m., or the days when they feel just as lost as you. It’s like we’re all playing the same game, but everyone’s too scared to admit they’re struggling too.

There’s also something deeper at play. According to psychologist Dr. Meg Jay, the twenties - and even the late teens - are filled with what she calls “identity capital.” It’s the pressure to constantly build up experiences, achievements, and checkboxes so you don’t “waste time.” But sometimes, that mindset makes you feel like your worth is only tied to your accomplishments. And when you don’t have a shiny update to post, you start to feel invisible (Jay, 2012).

But here’s something worth remembering: growth isn’t always loud. It’s not always something you can post. Sometimes it looks like getting out of bed when you didn’t want to. Like applying to something even if you’re scared. Like choosing to rest instead of forcing productivity. That stuff matters. It counts, even when no one else sees it.

You’re not behind. You’re just on your own timeline. And yeah, maybe it looks different than your friends’ or classmates’, but that doesn’t make it any less valid. Some people find their purpose early. Some find it after failing five times. Some don’t find it - they build it from scratch.

It also helps to zoom out. Think of your life like a book. You wouldn’t want every character to peak in chapter three. There’s more coming - more chances, more changes, more growth. You’re not stuck. You’re just in the middle of figuring it out. That feeling of being behind? It doesn’t mean you’re failing. It just means you’re human.

So take a deep breath. Log off if you need to. And remind yourself: just because someone else’s life looks fast doesn’t mean yours is slow. It just means you’re going at the speed that works for you.


Works Cited
Jay, Meg. The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter - and How to Make the Most of Them Now. Twelve Books, 2012.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ReachEquilibria: A Nonprofit Organization With a Story Behind It

Image
  On July 20th, ReachEquilibria hosted their first ever bake sale at the Coppell Farmers Market. The bake sale was intended to raise money for the organizations mission to spread mental health awareness. This money would be donated to local clinics and hospitals and used to buy materials for care packages to send out to those in need of support. The stand was lined up with various different brownies, cakes, pastries, and cookies to be sold. The bake sale started at 8 AM and went through 12 PM on that Saturday.  From my personal experience, I started at 8 AM and was the early “shift” for the group. I was first nervous because of how it took quite a bit to get our first sale. Fortunately, that nervousness was quickly erased as people started coming by and learning about the ReachEquilibria cause. In my first hour there, the stand sold over $50 dollars worth of goods. This included a very generous donation by a lovely woman and her husband of $40 .  I left after the first h...
Read more

You Don’t Always Have to Reinvent Yourself -by Taha Tariq

  Lately it feels like everyone’s relaunching themselves. New persona. New image. Big transformation. And it can make staying the same seem boring- or even lazy. But have you ever considered that reinvention might not be as fulfilling as it’s cracked up to be? Studies show that people who chase constant self‑reinvention often feel less happy. Researchers at the University of Georgia found that Americans who change their identity frequently report lower well‑being compared to those who stay more consistent (Haas). Reinvention can feel like trying on a new mask, but underneath, you might be skipping the hard work of acceptance. Self‑reinvention is often glamorized as brave or bold, but Arianne Cohen writes for Fast Company that it can leave us feeling less happy, not more. She quotes a psychology professor pointing out that culturally, Americans view identity as something we can reconstruct- when in reality, what we often lose is a sense of authenticity and stability (Cohen). Reinve...
Read more

When Friendships Start To Fade -by Taha Tariq

  There’s this weird kind of pain that comes when a close friendship starts fading - not with an argument or some big falling-out, but with silence. It’s quiet. Subtle. One day you’re sending each other reels and talking about life, and then suddenly it’s been weeks. You check your phone and realize they haven’t replied. Or maybe you haven’t texted either - not because you didn’t want to, but because it started to feel like you were the only one who cared. That kind of fade hurts in a different way. It's not just about missing them. It's about mourning something that’s technically still there, just not the way it used to be. You keep thinking: did I do something wrong? Was there a moment where everything shifted? Or did life just naturally pull us apart? No one tells you that friendship grief can feel just as real as a breakup. But it absolutely does. Part of it is that there’s no closure. No conversation that says, “Hey, I think we’ve grown apart.” You’re left with unsent text...
Read more