Stepping back to Move Forward: A Teen’s Take on Making a Mark

“I have always found comfort in seeking my parents’ advice, and we make it a point to sit down and talk things over.”

One’s teenage years are definitely quite a ride. In my experience, I can say I’ve grown so much from both my successes and failures – and it has all added up to make me who I am today, and get me where I am today.

There are times now, being in college, that I find myself a little overwhelmed with things. Like anyone else, I have big dreams and goals I want to achieve; however, getting swamped with a heavy workload, chasing deadlines and losing sleep it sometimes feels like too much all at once. I have always found comfort in seeking my parents’ advice, and we make it a point to sit down and talk things over. They always remind me to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It’s a much-needed reality check that helps me get back on track and see what I need to change to be able to move forward. I tend to overthink things too much, so it also helps to take a little breather and focus on doing things one step at a time.

After graduating high school, I realized that I didn’t get to do much for myself. As I was listing my accomplishments for my yearbook write-up, I thought back to all the times I didn’t grab an opportunity because I doubted myself and I didn’t want to risk failing. From then on, I promised myself that I’ll do more in college. I knew that I just had to set my mind on it and focus on the bigger purpose, so back in my first year of college my friends and I decided to join a competition and we came up with a business plan for a social enterprise which aims to help densely populated poor communities and the growing problem of plastic waste. Our group was chosen to be in the Top 12 finalists, and that in itself was a cause for celebration. I can say that it was pretty fulfilling to have been able to start something like that. I believe I still have a long way to go in terms of making my mark in this world – but I’m proud of the little ones I’ve made so far.