Life is full of firsts. Remember the first time you saw snow? The first time you flew in an aeroplane? The first time you kissed a girl? Life is full of firsts, which you only get to experience once. Things become familiar; it’s not as sweet as experiencing something for the first time. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. When you first arrived in the world, everything was a first. Your parents bring you things and take you places, equally as excited to share in your firsts.

I do not remember the details but I get the general sense that it was a remarkable time. Then you grow up a little (just a little), and you are ready to go to school. I learnt more about the world and mostly, experienced more firsts. I grew older (just a little bit), and there were still many firsts to be experienced, but not as many as before. You keep growing and there are just fewer firsts to be experienced than before.

I recently exited a period of many firsts. When I went off to college, I felt what it was like to move to a new city on my own, to get a place for myself, to make my own life. Everything was new and exciting, but also difficult and unfamiliar at times. Moving across the world was not the easiest task, but what a wonderful adventure it was! I made new friends and experienced a new way of life, and what a wonderful life it was!

Life Lessons

The rate at which I experience firsts has slowed down immensely since I graduated. I long for that feeling of experiencing something for the first time again. It feels like I am reaching, trying to find new things to get fascinated with. I know I am young—there are still so many firsts to be experienced. This period too shall pass. There is something to be learned from all of this. A life of chasing does not seem very appealing to me, and I have grown a little weary from this endless chase.

Perhaps there is a lesson in sustainability here. There still lies a desire in me to experience more firsts, but I am no longer chasing them as hard as before. I am ready to experience them when they come, not before and not after. Everything happens in their own time; there is no need to rush life. I know there will come a time when everything seems new again, and there are new firsts to be experienced. There will also come a time when things slow down again, such is the ebb and flow of life.

I am grateful for all the periods, the fast and the slow, the highs and the lows. After all, we only have this one life. It’s too short to spend being upset. We are exactly where we are meant to be.