I read a blog the other day titled “23 things to Do Instead of Getting Engaged When You’re 23,” and began to wonder what I have planned for my future (as if I really have a say in how it goes). I certainly hope my future includes such things as a good job, marriage and kids — then eventually grandchildren. I know that I want this in my future. But, why does it seem that everyone around me is wanting this now. Why are some in such a hurry to start their lives?

Recently, I received my bridesmaid dress for an upcoming wedding, and I couldn’t help but think, “I am in last place in the race of starting to have a grown-up life.” Everyone I know seems to be starting these grown-up adventures, and I don’t even feel like I’m prepared to graduate college. But then I realized that many of my classmates were feeling the same way that I did.

In the game of life as an adult, who is in charge of telling us if we are winning or losing?

Who gave society the upper hand in telling us when the proper time is for us to start these new, more mature lives? I’ve never seen a guideline stating what the proper age to get married was, or around how old you should be when you have your first child. Everyone is different, with a different goal and life plan in mind. Some start this life early, while some start this life late. And that is fine.

I don’t think that someone who is young, that is married and has a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job, is any more mature than someone who is still in college. But, I don’t believe it makes someone who is graduating from college any better than someone who didn’t graduate, but has a spouse and a child on the way.

I have decided not to worry about the fact that my peers are picking out venues for weddings and baby showers, while I am looking at ones for a graduation party. I’ve come to realize that it’s time to focus on more important things, and realize that what is important to me is not going to be of the same importance to someone else and vice versa. But, hey, maybe this realization is just a way of me taking a step in the right direction, for starting my “grown-up” life after all.