Real Talk: Ending Chapters & Moving On In Life

‘Real Talk’ blog posts are my favourite to write. I like talking about topics and issues everyone deals with and thinks about. Not only is it fun to discuss these topics and get my own personal opinion out there, I also find it very relaxing and I kind of use my blog as an outlet to get my thoughts down. It can make me feel so much better if I’m ever feeling some type of way.

One thing that’s been on my mind recently is ending chapters in life and moving on. Whether this is ending a relationship that’s really already over, ditching toxic friendships, or even something simple like leaving school, your workplace or uni. At some point in our lives, we all have to say goodbye and close the door on a part of our lives.

"Who can't relate to the idea of leaving one chapter behind and moving on to the next?" 

-Mike Shinoda

One thing I find strange is saying goodbye to something I already know will eventually end. By this I mean experiences that we all know are part of life, so moving out, finishing school, graduating, etc. We know it will happen one day, but that still doesn’t make the process of leaving a part of your life behind any easier. For me personally, the most recent example was moving out of my house at university. Of course, I knew the day would come and I knew when this was even before contracts were signed, but for me moving out of the house meant so much more than just packing up my things and moving somewhere else. It symbolised the end of an era, this was the last house I would live in during uni, when September rolls around, I won’t be moving into another uni home like I have done the past couple of years, because that part of my life is now over. I still find it strange how quick these three years have passed, and I think it hasn’t actually sunk in yet that life is going to be completely different now.

"Every day is a new day, and you'll never be able to find happiness if you don't move on."

-Carrie Underwood

I’ve already mentioned on this blog before that so far, education has been pretty much my entire life. I went from nursery, to school, to college, to university. I’m not going to do a Masters, so for me, the education chapter of my life is finished. Part of me is still getting used to this idea, because realistically, it’s all I’ve known. I loved uni, I love the people I met and I love the memories I’ve made and while the memories and my friends will stay with me forever, actually being at uni is over and things won’t quite be the same again.

I think one reason why people stay in situations where they aren’t particularly happy is because the thought of leaving that situation and ending that chapter is too scary or upsetting for them to think about, let alone do. Whether this be staying in an unhappy relationship in hopes things will get better as well as the fear of being alone, or not wanting to leave a job because you’re worried you won't find anything else and you’ll miss the people around you. Fear holds so many people back, myself included.

We’re all guilty of it, I personally used to have a massive issue with letting things go, I’m a bit of a hoarder and like to keep hold of things because I feel that letting go of things or moving on means that I can never get that part of my life back. In some ways, this is true, but unavoidable. A recent situation taught me that sometimes you have to let go in order to move forward, otherwise you’ll be stuck in a crappy situation. Despite the people closest to me advising me to end this particular chapter of my life I wanted to cling on I hopes that things would magically change, as you can imagine, this obviously didn’t happen! But, moving on from said crappy situation allowed me to start a much more exciting and happier chapter of my life so ultimately, ending a chapter of my life and moving on with life proved to be one of the best things that could happen in my life! Part of me still likes to hold on to things, but I’ve grown to realise that you need to move on in life in order to move forward, and just because your life changes doesn’t mean you can’t still carry around the memories and lessons past experiences gave you. 

“When one door closes another door opens, but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

-Alexander Graham Bell

What I’m trying to say is that we all have times where we have to close certain chapters of our lives, sometimes we embrace this with open arms, and others, we have to build up the courage to brace ourselves for a change that we might not necessarily want. However, moving on with life and changing is all part of growing up, it’s what happens in life and as much as it can hurt sometimes, change needs to happen. As cringe as it sounds, it’s so true what they say, “when one door closes, another door opens.” So with this being said, the next time we are hit with the realisation that we need to leave a part of our lives behind, let's welcome it with open arms to make room for a new, more exciting chapter.

Until next time,

Becca x