I don't know why it is, but it certainly doesn't seem like a lot of almost 20-somethings are happy. I really can't even count how many times my friends have told me that they feel so alone when they're in a crowded room or how waking up sometimes feels like the least energetic part of their day. I mean, I get it more than anybody else. It's a crazy time in our lives.
We come home from college feeling stifled and frustrated only wanting to go back. We're consistently agonizing over what the future has in store for us, especially with job opportunities. And don't even mention how the days seems to be getting shorter as we think about the friends who have turned into complete strangers due to misappropriation of time.
But the secret to dispelling all of your worries and being properly happy is this: Everything in our life happens for a reason and the sooner you embrace that, the happier you'll be. It takes a while to really become comfortable with this adage, but it'll make your days brighter and your life better.
Now, saying that everything happens for a reason doesn't mean camp out in your parents' basement until you get that royalty check for your bestselling book (that has yet to be written), but it does mean to live the life of your wildest dreams and understand that things happen in divine order.
From what I've experienced, I believe that we benefit the best, not only when the stars align in our favor, but in the favor of others as well. It's the most radical approach to thinking about our lives because it's the most selfless. But when you begin to think like this, all that stress and unhappiness will dwindle down and you'll soon be smiling and laughing like never before.
Life is honestly too short to be sweating the small stuff. I don't know how many times in high school I stressed about people who didn't want to be my friends or how my parents wouldn't let me go to that rock concert that everyone else was going to. Well, let me tell you, today I don't even remember the names of those "cool kids" and I'm old enough now to see the artists that I missed out on when I was younger (albeit better and more established because of the artists' years of experience). Life is just a fantastic journey and it all happens the best when you surround yourself with great people and even greater thoughts.
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Tywan Wade is currently a sophomore at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Read more about him in Impossible Dreams: The Story of Discovering My Superpowers.