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By RACHEL RAIFORD | Staff Writer

I wrote to you about my feelings leading up to college graduation in the spring. Now that the long-awaited event has come and gone, I have mixed feelings about moving on.

I took a week to visit with my family after graduation. It was a week full of celebration and joy. However, I did not feel excited to celebrate the achievement I had worked so hard for.

I was filled with uncertainty and confusion. While I had secured a job, I wasn’t in a place where I felt secure enough to start the next chapter of life.

You see, the ages between 18 and 25 hold drastic changes. Moving, graduating, endings and beginnings are everywhere I look.

For me, this looks like starting a career, ending a relationship and fully starting over. It’s caused me to scramble for an easy fix for everything. To keep it short, this summer has been eventful.

I am not one to do much of anything without a plan. I like structure and guidelines on how to go about things. What I’ve learned is—it’s impossible to plan your entire life at the ripe age of 21 because of all the changes you undergo in these formative years.

In these early years of adulthood, it’s all about learning. Learning about yourself and how to be an adult while still channeling a child-like feeling.

This is a time for failure too. We aren’t supposed to have anything figured out at this stage of life.

I have won the lottery though. I have plenty of people to look to for help, something that isn’t always easy for me. My family, my friends—they’ve all been at my side leading me through it.

The beginning of this next chapter isn’t a race and not everything has to be perfect all the time.

It’s a messy stage. Almost nothing goes as planned and at times it feels like the world is on fire. It’s beautiful.

Life is so beautiful no matter how messy it is. I believe that’s something we all forget sometimes.

So, be patient with yourself. Allow room for failure and accept help when it’s given. Learn how to be an adult. Let go of the idea that everything has to be perfect—nothing is.