“People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” – H. Jackson Brown

I have to remind myself of this some days when I feel an unwarranted pressure from the expected “norms.” As a society and a culture we have placed norms and stereotypes on where and when our lives should lead us in terms of marriage, children, success, looks, wants, needs and in so many other areas. I find these extremely frustrating to be honest. Everyone is different and has a different plan. Not everyone’s keys to happiness and fulfillment are the same, as they shouldn’t be.

I don’t like feeling that I have to make X amount of money or be married by a certain age with kids by another. That’s the fun of being an individual and living my own life. I can do whatever I want 🙂 We all can! How boring life would be if we all took the same road. Be an individual, follow your own goals and dreams and remember the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: “Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.”

Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets. This quote reminds me of my favorite poem by him, “The Road Not Taken,” which ends with this:

“…Two roads diverged in a wood,

and I – I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference.”