But I AM Special!

So, today I came across THIS article.



Read it, soak it in.

Ok, now let's chat.


My first thought was..yay! My husband and I are both generation Y! (He's 8 years older than me so rarely do we share a common childhood experience. I'm all like, "didn't you just love Boy Meets World?" and he's all like, "I didn't get colored TV until college", or something like that)

My second though is, Woah. This totally explains me!!

I frequently feel like I'm waiting for that spectacular thing to happen to me because I'm so special and unique and amazing. (Why is it taking so long BTW?!)

Now, let me take a little break here and mention the following disclaimers that I'm sure have you worried right now:

•  I realize I am a child of God and that therefore, in that sense, I am 'Special'
• I have a wonderful life filled with a wonderful husband, great parents and two awesome daughters. I also have great friends and belong to a wonderful church. I am in no way discounting the importance of those things.

I do think this article holds a lot of truth though. Our parents DID tell us that we could be whatever we wanted to be! They encouraged us, inspired us, and gave us every means possible to fly...so now that we are grounded our frustration is mounting.

I am quickly approaching 30 and while the idea of being 30 doesn't terrify me (because 30 is so much younger than it used to be and death is not the next stepping stone) I am a little anxious because I feel like I have not accomplished what I felt like I was supposed to by this point. (well...I've still got a year and a half to blow the world's socks off so to speak so let's not get hasty) 

I don't remember the specifics of what I was going to have accomplished by 30, but I know I'm lacking and that can get discouraging.

Also, have you met my husband? 

He's pretty great. 

He also has about three degrees hanging on our wall that constantly remind me of his greatness. I am super proud of him (for realz) but I sometimes see his 8 year head start and his PhD as a reminder of what I'm lacking.

Now...I don't really consider myself a feminist but I think us women can agree that we have a few cards stacked against us in this area. Those darn kids! They're so cute and loveable...but sacrifices must be made and while I don't regret having my kiddos-or staying home with them, I do feel like my career has suffered because of those decisions. 

Oh yea...and did I mention I'm adopted? No big deal really except I read Steve Job's biography a while back and something stuck with me. Jobs was also adopted and if you've read anything about him you know that he thought pretty highly of himself (If you don't believe me just ask Wozniak). He believed that he was even more special because of how frequently his adoptive parents reminded him of that-that they chose HIM above everyone else. 

And trust me, the rest of Gen Y may feel "special" but that's nothing compared to what us adoptive Gen Y kids feel. We are at a whole other level of special. We were literally created for greatness. Trust Me. Which makes the fact that we're not measuring up that much more frustrating!

So...what's our takeaway? Here is one section of that article that stuck with me. 

1. Stay wildly ambitious. The current world is bubbling with opportunity for an ambitious person to find flowery, fulfilling success. The specific direction may be unclear, but it’ll work itself out—just dive in somewhere.
2. Stop thinking that you’re special. The fact is, right now, you’re not special. You’re another completely inexperienced young person who doesn’t have all that much to offer yet. You can become special by working really hard for a long time.
3. Ignore everyone else. Other people’s grass seeming greener is no new concept, but in today’s image crafting world, other people’s grass looks like a glorious meadow. The truth is that everyone else is just as indecisive, self-doubting, and frustrated as you are, and if you just do your thing, you’ll never have any reason to envy others.

I frequently forget this, especially #2. 

Keep Going.

                       Work Hard.

                                             Ignore everyone else. 

Also...I think we can all agree that's there is a pretty solid chance of this post going viral and I'm totally ok with that. 

Thoughts?!