It’s taken me a while to write a blog, not because I didn’t want to, but because I wanted to make sure I had the right words to say.

Post grad can be overwhelming for a handful of reasons. The pressures of society, figuring out what to do next, wondering who you’re supposed to be and where you’re supposed to go, it’s a lot. I never want to compare situations because I can’t imagine what some people are going through, and with that, I am incredibly grateful for my life and the opportunities that have presented themselves to me.

All year, I had a one track mind: make it to New York, and fast.

I didn’t care about anything else. I didn’t think about anything else. I didn’t want any other version of my life. It truly felt like New York or nothing.

Because of that, I put an insane amount of pressure on myself to force a life that I thought was right for me right now, when in reality, it wasn’t what I needed at all.

New York is amazing, and I have such a strong love and passion for that place. I know it will always hold a special place in my heart. But I also had to realize something that sounds so obvious now: New York isn’t going anywhere. And I wasn’t failing just because I couldn’t make it there directly out of college.

I think that was one of the hardest things for me to accept.

I’m saying this because I understand what it feels like to think you have everything figured out. Actually, not even think. Sometimes you feel like you just know. You create this picture of what your life is supposed to look like, and when reality starts looking different, it can feel like something has gone wrong.

But maybe nothing went wrong.

Maybe the plan just changed.

I am grateful enough to have gotten the opportunity to relocate to San Diego and work in fashion, which is a dream I have always had. And choosing that opportunity did not mean I failed because I didn’t follow through with my original plan. I looked at the facts, sat down, and really thought about what I needed instead of continuing to force a puzzle piece that clearly did not fit.

There is so much pressure after college to immediately become the person you’ve spent years saying you’re going to be. To land the perfect job, move to the perfect city, make enough money, have the perfect apartment, and somehow confidently know what the next five years are supposed to look like.

But I’m learning that you really don’t have to.

It’s okay to be confused. It’s okay to be scared. It’s okay for something you once wanted more than anything to suddenly not make sense anymore. And it’s okay to trust the process and figure things out as they come.

That’s the beauty of life. You truly never know what the next day will bring.

For a while, I haven’t been able to write because I’ve been so overwhelmed and stressed trying to force things that weren’t right for me. And today, for the first time in a while, I finally felt inspired to sit down and write about my journey so far. I wanted to share it in hopes that maybe even one person who feels completely lost right now can take something from it.

So, from Mads on Madison, it’s okay to not have everything figured out.

Plans change. Dreams change. You change.

And changing direction doesn’t mean you gave up. Sometimes it just means you finally listened to yourself.

I promise life has a funny way of unfolding the way it’s intended to, and sometimes what you end up with is even more beautiful than what you originally planned for.

I am so blessed and grateful to be living the life I am living now, even with all the trials and tribulations it took to get here. I’m thankful to God and to everyone around me who has supported me through every change of plans, every breakdown, every new idea, and every “I have no idea what I’m doing” moment.

And if you’re in one of those moments right now, I hope Mads on Madison can be a little reminder that you don’t need to have the entire story written yet.

Sometimes, you just have to let yourself turn the page.