We all once had plans.
Plans carefully arranged in our minds, sometimes even written down. Plans about careers, love, stability, and the age by which life was supposed to feel settled.
We believed that if we worked hard enough, life would follow the path we created.
But life does not always work that way.
Some roads suddenly close. Some doors never open no matter how many times we knock. Some opportunities disappear before we fully understand why.
In those moments, doubt begins to grow.
Did I not try hard enough? Did I choose the wrong path? Am I falling too far behind?
The questions repeat themselves, often without answers.
Not every failure is born from a mistake. Some failures exist because life is quietly guiding us toward lessons we are not ready to understand yet.
Understanding that takes time. And during that time, life does not pause. We still wake up every morning. We still work. We still move forward, even when our hearts have not caught up.
This is where we learn a painful truth: plans may fall apart, but life does not stop.
And perhaps, behind every failed plan, a deeper version of ourselves is being shaped—stronger, wiser, though undeniably more tired.