I would never claim to have all the answers. All I can do is tell you about my life situations that in a way mirror yours.

I felt like a loser at age 26 because I had dropped out of college whereas all my friends has graduated and started working in their careers. I was working at a restaurant and was desperately unhappy and depressed, not knowing what to do with my life.

The answer for me, was just to start doing something. Whenever I have waited around for life to come knocking at my door, providing me with the perfect job, boyfriend, or life purpose, I have been sorely disappointed. I started out finding a good therapist. I have always had a lot of on-going, negative, dialogue running through my head (thanks to an abusive domineering mother) and I needed a positive person to show me a healthier way to self-talk. I have also been on and off anti-depressants for years, which have helped.

When I felt stronger, I started college again, quite successfully, and graduated at age 29. But I had to get over the negative label I gave myself about being an “older student.” After that, I worked many different jobs, some successfully and some not so successfully. I married at 32, had a child at 35, lost $100,000 from my husband’s poor investment strategies, and divorced at age 48. At age 51, I’ve been working on getting a secondary teaching credential. Talk about being older than everyone else! The other people in my program are an average age of 25!

So what’s the point of all my ramblings? Recognize the negative labels you apply to your life, consider the idea that you might be clinically depressed, find support, and then go out into the world and do something…anything. Don’t wait for some divine inspiration. And don’t be fooled by the people around you that appear to have their lives completely together. They don’t. And anyway, in a millisecond, loved ones can die, fortunes are lost, and we are again forced to start over again with nothing.

I would never claim to have all the answers. All I can do is tell you about my life situations that in a way mirror yours.

I felt like a loser at age 26 because I had dropped out of college whereas all my friends has graduated and started working in their careers. I was working at a restaurant and was desperately unhappy and depressed, not knowing what to do with my life.

The answer for me, was just to start doing something. Whenever I have waited around for life to come knocking at my door, providing me with the perfect job, boyfriend, or life purpose, I have been sorely disappointed. I started out finding a good therapist. I have always had a lot of on-going, negative, dialogue running through my head (thanks to an abusive domineering mother) and I needed a positive person to show me a healthier way to self-talk. I have also been on and off anti-depressants for years, which have helped.

When I felt stronger, I started college again, quite successfully, and graduated at age 29. But I had to get over the negative label I gave myself about being an “older student.” After that, I worked many different jobs, some successfully and some not so successfully. I married at 32, had a child at 35, lost $100,000 from my husband’s poor investment strategies, and divorced at age 48. At age 51, I’ve been working on getting a secondary teaching credential. Talk about being older than everyone else! The other people in my program are an average age of 25!

So what’s the point of all my ramblings? Recognize the negative labels you apply to your life, consider the idea that you might be clinically depressed, find support, and then go out into the world and do something…anything. Don’t wait for some divine inspiration. And don’t be fooled by the people around you that appear to have their lives completely together. They don’t. And anyway, in a millisecond, loved ones can die, fortunes are lost, and we are again forced to start over again with nothing.