How A Teen Finds Purpose

This is a tribute to every teen who is wishing, hoping, praying to find their path. This is for the ones who don’t have it all figured out. The ones who feel invisible but search the quiet for possibilities of what could be. The ones who keep searching. Searching for more.

This is the story of how one girl found her more. We hope it’ll inspire you to find yours.

In the beginning was… confusion? We see our protagonist, a teen girl, sitting on her bed. She’s staring into space, surrounded by silence. Her body looks still though her mind is anything but. She’s aching, wondering to herself if her monotonous routine is all there is; if it is all there will ever be. She has no sense of identity. She is uncertain of her gifts, if she has any. She loves nothing; feels like nothing. She sits and wonders why she is so ordinary. Soon, she’ll start comparing herself to others. 

What’s the one thing that seems to be everywhere? The answer is not oxygen. It’s pressure, and we don’t mean the physics kind. Everyone around her has a dream; everyone knows their passions and skills; everyone is using their gifts to create value. But she? She’s the sore thumb. The odd one out. She feels like a loner when she’s with her friends. But that’s not the worst part. Everyone has so much advice to give. “Why don’t you do this?” and “A girl on Tiktok said…”, but it’s all noise. She decides to go to her happy place. 

It's quiet, it’s lonely, but most importantly, it’s where she feels safe. With books. In a corner of the local library, with her mobile on DND, she loses herself in others’ imaginary worlds, not unlike the worlds she spins in her mind. Today, a riveting mystery. Tomorrow, a scintillating thriller. This time, she explores something different. A book on career guidance, by a licensed psychologist. She figures she could skim through and see what the author’s about. Three hours pass, but she hasn’t noticed. Something else occupies her mind, even as she leaves the library.  

Writing. It is the only thing that makes her feel alive when she’s not reading a book. She enjoys it so much that she does it even when it is not necessary. It is very basic, almost unnoticeable. But it’s as natural as breathing for her. Just the simple act of holding pen to paper and letting the ink dance on the page. There’s just one small problem. She does not know what to write. But that won’t stop her. She’s been designing entire worlds in her mind. Maybe it is time she put them to paper. This could be the start of something great. 

The thing about great things however, is that they are not always great at the start. 

No one can say she didn’t try. Several days of writing later, all the ink-stained pages are squeezed on her desk. She hated every part of it. “Who am I kidding,” she thinks to herself. She bemoans her lack of talent. It makes her feel even worse. So, she ignores it…for a while. But she has nothing. That also means nothing to lose. Again, she writes. This time, she takes it a step further. Posts an excerpt on her class group chat and immediately goes offline. Worst case scenario, nobody responds to it. But the worst doesn’t happen.

How did she end up sitting with an English Lit teacher at a café? Her classmates loved the piece, if the reactions are anything to go by. But that was only a start. Somebody reshared it to a larger group chat and her English teacher asked to speak with her. For the first time, she heard somebody praise her talent. Even more, somebody wanted to help her hone that talent and make the most of it. The teacher offers mentorship to help her improve her writing abilities. The smile on her face is not just because of the offer. It is because she can picture her future, after a long time of seeing only darkness. It’s time for her to try. 

Trying is a six-letter word. It’s also messy, and not smooth. Some days, inspiration flows like water. Other days, she leans on her Spotify playlist for support. Music makes her feel, and emotions help her write. There are days when she still doubts that she can write. There are days that end with crumpled torn-out pages. But she keeps trying. She signs up for competitions she doesn’t win. She shares blog posts no one reads. In spite of the lack of results, she feels something growing within her. It keeps her moving. She doesn’t know it yet, but it’s resilience, that fighter spirit, that is growing within her. Then one day, something happens.

She receives a call. The voice on the other end extends her a hearty congratulations before informing her that she will be featured in a print publication, along with some well-known writers. It’s almost cruel, the feeling that she will soon wake up from a dream. Her face remains stoic, afraid to laugh in case it turns out to be an actual joke. She mutters an uncertain “thank you” and wonders if it is really happening. The email from the editor clears all doubt. There’s a place for her in the world. And when she finally screams out of excitement, her sense of direction is fully formed. 

She’s no longer moving through the world, wondering and waiting. She’s heading somewhere, to a destination she is not afraid to picture. She stands, at the very beginning, no doubt, on a path towards her purpose. She’s walking towards success, represented by the sun in this image. Her path is clear, and each step takes her further along her journey. She can’t see the whole road, but she knows where she is going. And that is enough to change her life.

She’s still herself, just a more confident, more competent, and more driven version. One thing that’s different is that she swapped her paper pages for Google Docs on her MacBook. It was time for an upgrade. Her personal brand amplifies her voice, and she provides value for clients in different time zones. When she’s not writing, she uses her story to help others who were in her previous state find their more. 

In conclusion, your gifts are there with you, even when you can’t see them. You just need your eyes to be opened, and this can happen in different ways. You may or may not be expecting it. The key is, when you identify something that comes naturally, don’t ignore it. Take action, do something audacious, like our protagonist posting her piece even though she was scared. When you start trying, don’t be put off by failure. A big lesson you’ll come to understand is that failure is not the opposite of success. It’s simply a part of the journey to success. Put in the work and build. Your path will get clearer. What’s more, when that big opportunity comes, jump on it and give your best. Finally, don’t forget to pay it forward and give back. 

We hope this article inspired you. If it did, share it with one friend who needs to hear this message today. 

Thank you for reading.