The aim is the journey

I’ve always thought that the aim of reading a book was to finish it. When I was a child, I used to reading books very fast and I was proud of it. Little did I know that finishing doing something is not the real purpose of doing it.

I’ve always followed this rule through my life: ending school at the perfect time without failing an year, going to bed at a certain time and wake up precisely at a certain time, doing things always the same structured way.

My life was scheduled as my parents wanted, until I failed the first attempt obtaining the driving licence, and I failed several university exams. Failure was never an option. Failure was bad, failure was money wasting, failure was crying, failure was feeling a failure, failure was being told I was good at nothing.

Reading fast was something I could still be proud of, it was not a failure. Reaching goals at the scheduled time was the goal for everything to me. University was neither enjoying the lessons nor learning. The aim was to get a financial scholarship every year and finishing my bachelor’s studies at 22, no matter the grades. Due to this self-made and forced pressure I experienced burn out.

It took me 33 years to understand that good experiences in life, such as reading a book and attend university classes, should be a pleasure, not a running competition.

Pages are written to be read, understood, read and read again, highlighted, written with notes and remembered.

The journey is the journey: the aim is not showing pictures on social media, the aim is to get richer by learning something new. The purpose is to grow and develop the life you desire through experiences, talents and inclinations.

When I reach I goal I feel happy and proud of myself, but due to this “scheduling” I also immediately find myself another thing to get, so that the journey begins again.

The aim of writing, to me, has always been crystal-clear: sharing my experiences and reaching people who may face the same life experiences.

Whenever you feel under pressure to get a good job, to graduate, to have children, to marry…remember to give yourself time to explore all the possibilities you have. We cannot know our expiry date, but we can decide the steps of our journey.