Earlier this year I binged watched the show Younger on Hulu. [Don’t worry, I won’t give away any spoilers for people who might want to watch it at some point. 95% of what I’m mentioning from the first episode.] I used to always see the commercials for it on TVLand, but never watched it until now. To be honest, I thought it was a show about a group of women in their thirties living exciting and eventful lives. To my surprise, it was about a 40-year-old woman named Liza who was pretending to be 26 years old in order to get back into her career field. She was going through her divorce and restarting her life. Since she was a wife and a mother at such a young age, she put her career on hold and was having a hard time getting back into her field after being out of work for so long, and not to mention most companies wanted to hire younger people. I was immediately sucked into the plot and was curious to see how Liza balanced her double life. As I watched the show season by season, I started to become a little more hopeful. I might not be nearing 40 anytime soon, but I know what it’s like when companies just won’t give you a chance.
It wasn’t even just about Liza’s career journey that intrigued me. It was about her new life journey. I feel like I missed out on a lot. I didn’t take risks or throw caution to the wind in my early to mid-twenties. I was always afraid of making mistakes and I ended up making mistakes anyway. Seeing Liza come to life and getting that second chance to live out the years that she thought she lost made me feel optimistic again. Of course, I wouldn’t do things the way she did because lying is just not in my nature. However, I shouldn’t have to feel like I have to stay in the lines at all times. I might not be 21 or 25 anymore, but I shouldn’t feel obligated to assimilate because of some unwritten rule in my head that states risks are for people who are 18-25. All risks are not necessarily reckless. So why am I holding myself back? I want to soar. I want to feel alive. Watching Liza go back and forth from her old life to her new one you could see the difference in her energy. She seemed happier and livelier in her new life. Passion breeds excitement. Loving what you do, trying new things, and being surrounded by people who love you enables that zest for life attitude. Maybe I need to reread my post from almost a year ago (Three Things I Would Do if I weren’t so Afraid.). I need to encourage myself to push my limits and get a little uncomfortable. I can’t be a walking zombie forever. There’s got to be more to life!
JustGottaMakeIt 