It's Okay Not to Have Everything Figured Out by Shuxuan Chang

 It's Okay Not to Have Everything Figured Out by Shuxuan Chang

      During a recent family gathering, everyone met at my grandma's house. After dinner, the adults began asking me and the other teenagers about our plans for the summer and our future. They asked questions like which college we wanted to attend and what career we hoped to have. Sometimes, those questions made me feel like I was expected to have everything figured out already.

        One of my relatives asked me about my dream college. Whenever I ask her a question, she often tells me, “You should search online instead of asking me.” I always felt confused by that. It wasn’t because she didn’t answer my question—it was because whenever she asked me for help, I always tried my best to answer her questions. I wondered why she couldn’t do the same for me. Later, she called my parents over and asked them about my grades. At one point, she asked them something that I didn’t understand, so I asked what it meant. She simply replied, “You don’t need to know.”

         On the way home, I kept thinking about what had happened. At first, I felt frustrated, but then I realized that not everyone likes to share what they know, and I can’t control how other people respond. What I can control is how I react. I also realized that it’s okay not to have every answer about my future right now. I’m still learning, growing, and figuring things out, just like many other teenagers. Asking questions doesn’t make me less capable—it’s part of learning, and there’s nothing wrong with that.