Meet Uma, the newest member of our soon to be Segal family (no, we don’t have a wedding date yet).
It was a sunny Saturday in September, and after a few weeks of deliberation, research, and extensive phone calls, we packed up the car and drove down to Louisville, KY, to meet our girl. We were nervous. Are we really doing this? Adopting a rescue? As two post grad twenty something year olds with no major responsibilities outside of keeping ourselves alive and happy, we knew this would be a big change to our routine. But it was one we were ready for.
Since graduating college, Zach and I have both, in our own ways, experienced ruts- weeks on auto-pilot, mental health challenges, the day-to-day routines that leave us wondering what is this all for? We go through the motions: wake up, work, try to shut off work, dinner, gym, bed. If you’re a parent reading this, you might be rolling your eyes thinking: I don’t even have time to go to the gym, must be nice. It is and I understand how easy we have it right now. I know that life will only become more demanding.
But that doesn’t take away the fact that navigating post grad life is challenging. For 23 years, we were told what to do, when, and how. There was a clear set of rules, goals to achieve, and a grading system that made it easy to see how we stood up to others. Some of us won’t admit it, but we loveeed this structure. And when we graduated college, there suddenly was none.
We’re left wondering- so what now?
Some of us will travel. Some of us will work too much. Some of us will get married, buy a house, or get a dog.
Some of us will love our jobs. Some of us won’t. Some of us will struggle with mental health. Some of us will finally thrive. Some of us will change paths, start businesses, become influencers, read more books, dive into hobbies, chase money, chase purpose, scroll too much, get bangs and a nose piercing (🙋🏼♀️). The list of possibilities is endless.
But there’s one thing that pretty much all of us will do, and that’s compare ourselves to others. Social media makes this really easy. We see a highlight reel of people’s best moments, and wonder if we’re behind, on track, or doing any of this right. What a toll this takes on our mental health! We want the grass to be greener, yet we don’t see the years of watering, or the weeds growing under the surface.
Zach and I have both been overly cautious about our social media use and consumption. I’m not “active” on any platforms (meaning I don’t post, have the apps on my phone, or ever scroll consistently), but I’d be lying if I said I never get sucked back in. *Me at 11pm deeeeeep in Instagram reels trying to find out why Uma is so leash reactive.*
How did we get here? I’m just rambling now, yet all of this feels connected in some way. We’re in our 20s and we have time and independence, yet we’re sad, confused, searching for purpose, and everything is so expensive.
So we got a dog.
We don’t expect little Uma to solve these problems for us. She’s figuring out the world, too. Yet she does give us a deeper sense of meaning, responsibility, and purpose outside of our daily routine. She forces us to slow down and let go of perfection, even though we yearn for the day where she sees a squirrel and doesn’t choke herself on the end of the leash. They climb up the trees and snicker at us. I don’t blame them.
As I’m writing this, she’s slumped on our couch in a deep sleep. Breathing slowly, no thoughts beyond chasing squirrels, not a worry in the world. Safe, cared for, loved. I take a deep breath, too. Maybe that’s the point. Maybe all of this is this point.
We love you, Uma.