Keep Swimming!
Have you seen nemo?
There are two types of people in this world: Pet Smart fish and pond fish.
The difference between them is how they navigate change.
Pet Smart fish require a special baggie. Said baggie must sit in the new body of water until it reaches temperature, then you can safely release the fish into the new ecosystem, aquarium, or your brother’s water bottle for a not-so-harmless prank.
Pond fish, on the other hand, are well…how do I put this? YEETED.
They are yeeted so hard that they sometimes lie MOTIONLESS, just trying to catch their breath. But once they do, man, those fish take off and start exploring.
Now, before you start taking offense saying, “But Alivia, there isn’t one right way to adapt; what’s wrong with stability? and blah blah blah.”
You’re not wrong. Neither fish is bad; in fact, they are both needed in this world to make fish shopping a better place!
But the advice for both types of fish stays the same.
KEEP SWIMMING!
Swim when scared.
Swim when tired.
Swim when happy
Swim when in love.
Swim when anything happens in life.
Because if I've learned anything in DC–besides taking all the opportunities you can get– I’ve learned it’s a privilege not knowing what’s next, and swim where life takes you!
If you are freshly graduated, heartbroken, an empty nester, retired, or facing so many other changes life yeets your way and feel trepidation about what’s next, may I offer up some unsolicited advice and perspective.
You are so lucky to have options, to be able to choose the next step on your path. To reinvent yourself over and over and try everything.
With that…
Throw as many stones as you can until one skips.
Break your heart until you find someone with needle and thread.
Say yes, be kind, and give until you feel brittle in the bones, and give some more.
The day we’re born, we start to die.
So you better keep swimming.
Until next blog,
(Also sorry if this is preachy; I get real emotional at midnight- but I haven’t posted in so long that I thought I had to write something!)
There are two types of people in this world: PetSmart fish and pond fish. Whether life gently eases you into change or completely yeets you into it, the advice remains the same: keep swimming.