The grass ain't always greener.

It seems everyone my age is doing something totally different -- one is a mom of 2 while one has decided she doesn't want kids; one just got engaged while another has never dated; one is living at home, another moved out of the country; one is in a long-term relationship while the other just wants a Saturday night kiss in the back of the club; one is starting a business while the other has just started their 3rd degree; one is buying a house while another can hardly afford rent ...

There are so many ways to experience your 20s, but we often imagine ourselves on the other side of the fence, where the grass appears to get watered daily, and the soil is well-maintained. Wildflowers grow, and cows happily graze. Birds perch along the fence, seemingly taunting you with their songs: "Don't you wish you were over here instead?"

And sometimes I do. Or, at the very least, I am painfully aware of the things I don't have in my own field.

I have the privilege of living in London, but I don't even dare to dream about owning a home any time soon because it’s hard to set aside money for savings when I pay so much on rent and bills each month (and visas every 2 and a half years). Yet, I know loads of people who decided to live at home for the first few years after university and have saved up to get a mortgage. And I sometimes feel like I'm behind or missing out because I'm just trying to stay out of my overdraft.

When I decided to move to London and get my Master's degree, tons of students in my course were doing interviews for their first job and landing the role. I was doing another year of study while they were boldly walking into their career. While they celebrated this milestone, I feared that maybe I was stunting my growth by choosing the path I decided to walk down.

In middle school, I wasn't allowed to date while so many of my friends were in relationships. I remember crying in the school bathroom to a friend because I thought I would never find someone.

In all of these situations, I felt so behind. I felt like they all had something I lacked. If life were a race, I hadn't even begun. Or, if I had, I had stumbled on my shoe lace and fallen into quicksand. I would never progress, I could never have what they have ...

We spend a lot of life feeling like we're missing out on something, and the truth is: we are. There will always be sacrifices to make. For everything I lack, there's something I have gained. I might not be in a position to buy my own home, but I have a well-paying job that allows me the opportunity to live in one of the most famous cities in the world. I might not have found my career and financial stability as quickly as others, but I got to explore the world and find a new life for myself by moving to London for my Master's degree. I might not know the beauty of motherhood yet, but I'm enjoying life with my husband and the freedom we have to spend our days and finances as we want without having to factor in children.

Life will bring snow and grey skies in one season and abundant sunshine and flowers in the other. But how can we enjoy what one season holds if we spend the entirety of it pining for the next one? I don't want to spend my life comparing my Spring to someone else's Summer, but I do it, and I do it often. I have to remind myself that in order to get to Summer, I've got to go through Spring. But I don't want to just get through the seasons, I want to find the joy in each of them. I want to be able to dance through any kind of weather or season, through the winter snow, spring rain, summer heat and falling autumn leaves.

Besides, I can't fully appreciate the next season without the lessons I learn in the current one.

You may be working a job you find draining, but it may very well be preparing you for the role you're meant to have in the next season. You may have just ended a relationship with a guy who made you feel insecure and unloved, but in my experience, you might not have appreciated the guy who is to come without learning from the one who isn't meant to be. You may be declining those dinner dates with friends so you can save up for that deposit, but as a result, you are developing a newfound love for the casual (and inexpensive) hang and realising intentional time together doesn't have to be a big thing for it to be a meaningful thing.

Essentially, what I am trying to say is: what is now may not always be. So, soak in this season and take it in for what it is.

I have to remind myself to water my own grass and take care of it. The grass isn't greener on the other side, but it is where it's watered. If I get distracted by someone else's field, I might neglect to appreciate my own and tend to it. I'm learning to be content with what I have and where I am while celebrating others for what they have and where they are without envy.

So, keep watering your grass and watch as it grows. Appreciate the seasons for whatever they hold. There's only so much in this life we can control, and one of those few things is how we spend our days and what we decide to be grateful for. Your field is beautiful. Just because you've got daisies and they've got tulips doesn't mean your field isn't great, it's just different, and that's perfectly okay. And besides, who's to say some day you won't have some tulips in your field, too? Enjoy life through all the seasons and trust that whatever is meant to grow in your field, will grow.