Confusion or fear?

Confusion or fear? That is the real question.

Being an ambitious 16-year-old, thoughts about my future inundate my mind quite often. I find myself in pensive moods quite rifely, daydreaming about the wonderful and successful days to come. A teen indulged in her future, what else could one want? Well, it’s not as utopic as it seems. From a young age, I have been a constant seeker of good grades. Not because my parents wanted me to, but because I was self-driven. So, I have continued my hunt for ideal academics. Everything seems jolly but no satisfaction of grades can quench the massive question mark when it comes to my future. You must be confused. A girl who daydreams about her future has no clue as to what it looks like, how ironic? Well, irony is the new trend.

From a young age, my brother had his eyes set on what he wanted to pursue as a career. I am quite the opposite. My mind can’t set on anything. Arduous work with no purpose is useless. That urged me to think about why I am unsure in the first place? Not just me, but so many teens around me are in the same boat. Different personalities, different mindsets, different approaches. Yet we all linger on that one thing. The Future.

Why? The most common answer is confusion. Whenever someone is unsure about their future, people think its confusion that’s clouding their mind. Well, that’s bogus. Confusion is something that can be cleared by reasoning. No matter how indecisive you are, logic or liking will come to your rescue. However, there is one thing that can’t be eliminated that easily. Fear.

What many people miss out is that confusion is mistaken for fear. I believe we, humans, are never really confused, rather scared. Fear controls our thoughts, jumbles them up and allows us to believe we are ‘confused’. When in reality, we are just scared. Scared of the unknown. Scared of consequences. Scared of missing out. It’s safe to say that fear influences our decision-making process, making it slower.

Taking myself as an example, I would say I am a versatile person. I do have my passions and interests sorted out yet why am I still unable to decide? Simply because the future scares me. I fear the possibility of taking that wrong step. The prospect of doing a mundane routine my whole life, stuck in one field is frightening. There are so many fears that come into play.

Whenever someone admits they are scared, they get a mix of reactions. Some pitiful, some encouraging and others derisive. The key thing to imbibe is that accepting your fear, is the first step to removing it. Keeping phobias aside, fears of intangible things can be removed simply by embracing it. Then, the long-term confusion turns into a transitory fear. This is the way I look at it. I’m still going through the process, but all’s well that ends well. Fingers crossed.