Life is so hard. There's just so much of it. There's complicated relationships, credit cards, gas stations, public restrooms, mortgages, clothes that don't fit, cats that cry all night, hateful bosses, insurance (Is it a scam? It feels like a scam), torrential rain, house spiders (that a wild animal has the audacity to simply move into my home astounds me), chest infections, water inexplicably dripping through the ceiling, smashed mugs, missing library cards, neighbours who talk to their hands, the ocean, unaffordable dental surgery, university interviews - the list is endless. It's easy to feel overwhelmed. Because on top of all these niggling worries, dreads, fears and confusions we've got this necessity foisted upon us to appear as if we've got out shit together. I want to tell you all a little secret - it's okay. It's all okay.

It's okay if you have a solid career, you own your own home and have substantial savings by the age of 25. But, it's also okay if you still want to spend everyday in your owl pyjamas, if you are working a minimum wage job because you have yet to choose a career, if you want to eat pizza and ice cream and watch every Harry Potter movie all over again. It's okay if you don't go to wine parties and you don't own a pair of high heels. It's okay if you put comfort first and fashion last. It's okay if you don't feel like going any further than the living room today. And it's also okay if you feel like roaming around. Not doing anything. It's all okay.

I hate how much time people seem to spend on comparing themselves to others. "I should have a promotion by now!" they cry. "I should be in a solid, steady relationship!" or "I should have "cultured" interests!"

I would ask right back attcha: Why?!!

Why do you have to be hitting a certain "milestone" (who came up with these fucking milestones anyway?!! Damn them!! Damn them all to hell!!) at a certain age? Why do you have to have a husband or a house or a career by the time you're 30? Who came up with this idea that we all have to follow some uniform life plan?

I say screw your fucking life plan. Screw that sucker up and toss it right in the trash alongside "You must have a baby because you have a womb" and "Why haven't you learned to drive?! You're 24 years old!!" and "Oh. You still haven't made it to university yet huh?"

Everyone is unique. Everyone has their own perspective on life, their own expectations, their own dreams. No-one should ever be made to feel like they're a failure because they refuse to adhere to the tradition of school-job-husband-kids step-by-step guide for a successful life that would get your grandmother to stop rolling her eyes and sighing if you'd only just stick to the plan.

I digress and I rant. What I'm trying to say is how much I adore Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell for letting us know "Hey, it's okay to be different" in a gentle, beautifully ordinary and relatable way.

Cath, our adorable heroine sets off to college with her twin sister full to bursting with social anxiety, dread and discomfort. She has no confidence in new situations, worries constantly and seems to have no plans beyond taking it one wobbly day at a time. But she does have her fan fiction. Cath is border-line obsessed with fictional character, Simon Snow and his magical adventures in a world of mages, wands, spells and friendship. She finds enormous comfort and peace in getting lost in her epically popular writing as her merry band of loyal internet followers cheer her on. However, real life looms large over Cath and as her sister Wren throws herself headlong into the fray, Cath struggles to come to terms with growing up and branching out.