Who created this life timetable, anyway? It seems as if there’s an unspoken rulebook: you should be married by this age, have children by that age, own a house by this age, and have a certain amount in your investments by that age. The list could go on forever. And honestly, it can be overwhelming, especially if you’re nowhere near meeting these milestones. Society’s expectations often weigh us down, leaving us questioning our worth or purpose if we don’t measure up.

In a few years, I’ll be 50. Looking back, I remember how old that age once sounded to me. But now, as I approach it, I feel as if my life is just beginning. I’m becoming the person I’ve always aspired to be, even if, for a while, I thought that version of me was out of reach. Some people may laugh at the idea of “a better me” when I don’t have much tangible to show for it—I don’t own a home, I don’t have a car, and I’m not working in the profession I studied for in school. Instead, I’m blogging, writing a book, and, for the first time, I feel fulfilled. I’m happy because I’m finally doing what I believe I was created to do. I want to “die empty,” to pour everything I was born to do into this life, and I know I’m on the right path to do just that.

Society might say I should have more things in place by the time I reach 50—a career, a home, investments. But I have time. If or when those things happen, it’ll be the right time for me.