I Missed the Tutorial

So, this "early to bed" thing hasn't been working out too well lately, mostly because I'm better at finding things to do to keep myself busy while I try to think of things to blog about than I am at thinking of things to blog about. On the bright side, that was a really long sentence and, despite being kinda tired, I was able to type it in only a few seconds. I'm getting faster. It must be all the practice I get from blogging.

Usually, at this point, I turn to Facebook, find a picture or quote that's vaguely blogworthy, and put together a handful of paragraphs about it. Instead of doing that, I think tonight I'd like to muse (and perhaps rant) about how life doesn't always come with clear directions.

Disclaimer: I know about personal revelation, the scriptures, patriarchal blessings, priesthood leaders, advisors, instructors, counselors, and career aptitude tests. It's just that their guidance isn't always as perfect or as clear as I would like them to be. For example, I wish my patriarchal blessing had told me what field(s) of knowledge to study or what career path to follow. I wish schools taught people how to get into and excel in college (especially when the school in question has reason to believe that many of its students plan to attend a specific college which (supposedly) works together with the school).

I recently saw a picture quote on Facebook that said that being in your 20s is like playing a video game where you skipped the tutorial so you have no idea how anything works. A difference between this analogy and reality is that, in videos games, nothing is incredibly important, and quitting the game is an option. In life, it seems like almost everything is important, and quitting is just another way to lose.

Crud, I just did the thing I said I wasn't going to do, didn't I?

Well, I think that's enough complaining and self-pity for one night. I've often heard that one of the most important things you can have in life is a good attitude, and I recently spoke about a hymn that encourages people to stay faithful, despite difficulties and failures. So, yes, life is difficult and confusing, but that doesn't mean life can't also be good. My life may be sub-optimal, and that may be mostly because I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm choosing not to worry about that. Instead of stressing out about the parts of life I don't understand or that aren't going perfectly, I'm going to focus on making the best life I can make for myself with my limited understanding. Will my life end up as nice as it might have if I knew what kind of career and education I should be pursuing? No. But thankfully, I don't need to have an optimal life to be happy. I don't need to have an exciting career that was tailor-made to match my personality and talents. I don't need to know everything. I don't need a tutorial. I just need to keep playing. I'll learn and level-up as I go.