5 Reasons To Embrace The Unexpected And Allow Your Dreams To Change

An important lesson to learn at such a seminal juncture in our young lives is that dreams we generated in our younger years and what we want from life right now may not perfectly line up — and that’s okay. It’s sometimes difficult to allow unexpected and unplanned dreams to emerge.

These can be ideas that we never thought to dream or never even considered, but it’s not an unfortunate reality.

Here are five reasons why you should embrace the unexpected and open yourself up to the notion of being open to life. Throw away that 10-year plan and discover why your dreams are not what you thought they'd be.

1. A Bumpy, Confusing Road

I have never been as confused or as unsure of myself as I am right now, but somehow, it still feels incredibly freeing to be unsure of what tomorrow has in store. Will you land your dream job? Will you meet the person who will be the love of your life? Graduating college and then taking a waitressing job was an incredibly frustrating chain of events, but also, a wonderful experience that allowed me to figure out what makes me happy and discover what I want from life.

I, in no way, ever expected to graduate from college and go on to wait tables. Life is a bumpy, chaotic road on which both your negative and positive experiences shape you. Taking the road less traveled to figure things out will leave you without regret and quite possibly take you far from where you started and where you saw yourself going. There’s nothing wrong with that.

2. Meeting New And Interesting People

Had I followed my original plan to attend law school, I never would have met the many wonderful people who are now my friends. You learn so much from people who are different from you and who have different career goals; people who come from different cultures, have different beliefs and aspirations. My life would be less rich without them.

3. Places And Things

Taking a life detour, changing careers and having time on your hands to take care of yourself is a wonderful thing. It will help you get the most out of life as you figure out that what is right for you might not be right for someone else. With time, you will experience new places (both local and not-so-local) and sights (both appealing and not-so-appealing) that shape your views of the world and inspire your future endeavors.

4. Career Discovery

I had a plan; you had a plan; we all had a plan. Then life happened and you met this person and that person and you gave your dream a try and it wasn't right, and now, here you are. You never expected to be here, but alas, here you are and you love it and you never would have known had you followed your original career path.

When you leave yourself open to different possibilities, you may discover that what you originally wanted was not right or not quite good enough for you. Go you, for figuring out this life thing!

5. Unexpected Love

This type of love is love that changed me and left me to wonder how and why we love the people we love. I don't believe there are "should have to dos" and  "musts" regarding the people we love because falling in love unexpectedly is so damn beautiful. So what if he's not a lawyer, or a doctor, or if he doesn't make six figures working in finance?

What if he is a bartender, or a waiter, and he loves you and looks at you like you are the only person in the world? There is no formula or reason for loving the people you love and you may just be wonderfully surprised about whom you end up loving. It opens you up to different worlds and different world views.

Now, your dreams are definitely not what you thought they'd be.

Photo via We Heart it