Hell yes I feel you. I've finished school 6 years ago but I've accomplished nothing so far. Still in my studies that I don't excel at, even though I'm a natural when it comes to languages. Still not a tattoo artist either. Can't get myself motivated at all.

I'm not sure if this qualifies as advice, but that doesn't sound like a wasted opportunity to me.
.
It sounds to me that you impressed people and they made assumptions about who you are and your situation, and now you feel dissatisfied because the image they had of you is where you feel you should be. And I understand that.
.
But it also sounds to me like you've been dealing with things on other fronts. Life tends to be a give and take, and sometimes the things we do behind closed doors can have a very real impact on our lives and goals.
.
If, for instance, someone is having a lot of arguments with their family. Maybe there's financial stress. Theyre not getting enough sleep. As a result they spend a lot of whatever time they have just trying to cope and get through that. Years later they may look back and think "I have nothing to show for all this time I had..."

But chances are what they have is not material. By that I mean, it's not going to be credits from school, or a great paying job, or a condo by the beach, or whatever else. It's simply their mental well-being. It's getting out of a toxic relationship, or finding some kind of common ground with family. It's recovery from loss, or a battle against depression.
.
These are REAL struggles many people go through. But because they're so internal I think people often tend to think of what they went through as being a waste. "If only I hadn't been such a wuss," or "I should have done better." Sometimes that's true. But usually what I've seen is people going through very trying issues in their personal life and then blaming themselves for not pushing that aside and somehow focusing on the "important things."

You mention trauma so I imagine this is at least somewhat the case for you. And the thing about trauma... it tends to be by it's very nature long-lasting. You don't just "get over it." If you did, then it would simply be an unpleasant experience. Trauma sets your entire system on edge and often tends to make the brain hyperfocus on whatever induced the trauma, because "this was terrible and what if we need to survive this in the future??"
 .
Blaming yourself for not being able to move on is a misunderstanding of how trauma effects you. You can WORK at overcoming it. But it's unlikely to just fade away. That's part of why things like PTSD can be so crippling. I can't imagine you look down on people suffering from that for not just "sucking it up," so surely you don't deserve that level of cruelty directed at yourself either. You're no less human than anyone else.

There's been users on here that have gone through various kinds of trauma, from extreme violence/abuse, to arrests, to car crashes, to whatever else. Everyone learns to cope with it as best they can. And I know even the ones who have made the biggest strides still have days when it's all they can do to pick themselves up off the floor because being alive is the very last thing they feel like doing right now.
.
All that said, I do understand what you mean when you say you feel stuck. All I can say is, if you look at where you are and it's not where you want to be, ask yourself what you have to do to GET where you want to be. And then ask yourself what steps you can reasonably do to get there. Start with something small to begin with and then work your way up. Don't overwhelm yourself - that's just setting yourself up for failure, and that's bound to make you feel worse.

And just as a final note - all those people who think you aren't where they thought you'd be? Chances are they aren't where they thought they'd be either. We're all just out here doing the best we can and doing our very best to convince everyone around us that our spastic flailing is a form of SWIMMING and not just "keeping our heads" above everytime life throws us another curve.
.
End long comment chain.
I can't make a text potato.

@catfluff and @mialinay It's comforting to see I'm not the only one!
@xvarnah yes, what I'm feeling is exactly what you're saying with the image thing.
Thank you, reading what you said and particularly the part about having something not material helps, and yes, I tend to be nicer to other people. I'll try to remember that I'm just human and should treat myself accordingly. Seing this put in words helped.
I've also just called my mom and she pointed out that as a child I loved constant stimulation and the reason I may be feeling stuck now is because I'm too focused on my studies and this very feeling of being stuck, only obsessing over what happens to me and numbing myself instead of realizing I'm in control and allowing my brain to get what it craves, aka a good, deep breath of stimulating new things.

Uh... Now that I'm reading the last part, she did tell that in a more positive way.

I read the first bit of your title to the tune of firework and was very confused for a second lol.
Now to be serious, I do understand what you're going through, but I dont think I feel it as bad bc I feel like I'm still working towards the me I want to be. Without getting too into your personal life, how old are you?

I'm 22

I am 29 and so far i don't feel like i have reached anything close to my potential mainly due to rl fucking me straight in the ass

Well I don’t really know what you mean by wasted opertunity but I definitely feel like I’m a waste of a life sometimes.

I'm going to say something to everyone in this chat whose expressing feeling this way. Your life moves at it's own pace, no one else's, dont feel bad or compare yourself to people who externally look like they've accomplished more than you because the goal isn't the accomplishment it's you associating happiness with the accomplishment. Some of my happiest memories are when I could barely afford to pay the electric bill. You're going to go through all of that, you're going to move through the muck, and there are times you're going to have to grind, or feel lost, or bleed, or sweat. You're young to get bruisee and you're going to feel broken or lost. The dirty little secret about life is that the pain IS the point. You use the pain as a road map to get where you need to go. You use the loss to appreciate what you gain. You keep going and push harder and you take the wins with the losses but really remember the losses because that's what makes the wins special.

You're going to fail a hundred times, you'll have people telling you you're nothing, not worth it, that you're stupid, that you shouldn't bother or try. That failure and those people are there to motivate you--to tell them and to tell the world, "To hell with you, I'm going to make this work and find my happiness in my own way." Maybe you dont become a millionaire, maybe you dont make enough money to buy a Ferrari. But maybe you create art that helps you and others feel. Maybe you help a homeless guy and his dog get some food. Maybe you help yourself to understand that life is finding the happiness with the pain, and that it's okay to feel both.

Absolutely I feel that way. Not necessarily for academic or professional reasons though. For reasons that I can't change that define who and what I am.

@purplepumpkin I know someone who requires a lot of stimulation and social interaction. Without it they fall really easily into anxiety and depression, so it sounds like your mom might be onto something there. It definitely helps to take some time to just do the things you actually ENJOY. Actually, more than helps, it's necessary. Otherwise I believe you start doing what's referred to as "pouring from an empty cup." What's the point of arriving at your destination if you lose the person you were trying to get there along the way?
.
Remember: Even bears stop to just stare at the scenery once in awhile :)

Every single day of my life I feel like a waste. I fall into all the traps like comparing myself to others letting other people's standards take me down. I've got legitimate conditions holding me back but I still feel bad compared to all the people that succeeded in the face of adversity and all that shit. Been in therapy for years. And no matter how much other people say "That's ok, you're doing fine," It never changes anything. So I guess, if saying it out loud helps you at all, then that's one thing you've got going for you.

Why don’t you talk to someone irl about it like someone super close that knows you for real not saying we ain’t here for you too but maybe a closer person can help you out a little more than we could.

Yep.

Sometimes.