Opinion by AlenaKehm
It’s a rainy April evening during your senior year of high school. You’re sitting at your kitchen counter with your parents. You’re tired, you have homework and there are about six different emails in your inbox reminding you about the May 1 college decision deadline. 

As you pore over your financial aid offers and click through university websites, you start to cry. Between tears you manage to croak out the fateful words: “I’m just not ready yet.” 

Your mom or dad sitting next to you might jump into a pro-con strategy to help you make this next big decision. Or, they might start saying things like, “It’s only 6 hours away. You can come back home whenever!” 

Despite their best efforts, they’ll most likely forget to say the words that, in my opinion, are the most needed. 

It’s OK to not be ready.

Right now I’m standing on the border of the familiarities of high school and the vast unknowns of college. And while it seems like the last four years (and probably longer than that) have led to this moment, I still don’t feel ready. 

Whether you have similar fears or you’re worried about something entirely different, I’m sure there will be a time when you just don’t feel ready. There’s one thing you need to understand. 

It’s OK to not be ready. 

Because what does “being ready” really mean anyway? 

According to Merriam-Webster, to “be ready” is to be “prepared mentally or physically for some experience or action.”

The weird thing is, I feel like I’m prepared. I took the hard classes, so I’m ready for the academics of college. And, my dad has given me more safety tips than I can count, so I’m all set for living on my own. 

But I’m still not ready — I’m scared to leave what I know. I’m scared of the change. 

Leaving home, making new friends and learning a new city is scary. Regardless of my fears, change is going to come whether I like it or not. Whether I’m ready or not. 

What I’ve realized is that being ready isn’t a feeling. It’s a decision. You have to choose to have confidence in the fact that it will all be OK. Life finds a way of sorting itself out.

You might not be scared about college. Maybe you’re scared about trying a harder class. Maybe you don’t think you’re ready for your new job. It’s OK though. Your fear of change is just a reminder that you love the life you have. 

So the next time you’re sitting at your kitchen table with tears in your eyes, be the one to tell yourself that it’s OK to not be ready.