I didn’t think a trip to France would make me question what I will do with the short years that will make up my life, but here we are.
I always thought I’d go through the traditional route. I’d finish high school, take as many college-level classes as possible, go to a pretty good college, and then hopefully medical school. If things don’t work out, maybe become a teacher. Have a couple of kids and find a partner I can spend the rest of my life with while I’m young. Live a life that is characterized as the “American Dream.”
Except for the time during those years, how will I remember my life?
It’ll be full of studying, late nights, and probably too much Coca-Cola, which isn’t healthy for one person.
It’ll be learning about the body, but not having any time for other things.
It’ll be full of debt that will follow me for most of my life if I cannot pay it off.
When I arrived on a plane in another country, it opened my eyes.
I can meet different people with different etiquette, and a world ahead of me to explore. I can see the humanity that so many people are forced to ignore when they’re thrown into the “typical life.”
I’ve never lived in one location; it’s how I grew up. I’ve moved too many times to count on one hand, so if I use all the knowledge I’ve gained from that, could I constantly be in vast locations?
Could I see all the continents, all of the 50 states? What would the people I meet show me? How much would I be able to change about the life that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise?
I dream of learning about other cultures, to see how people truly live. I yearn to get out of boring old Michigan and escape to something greater. I want to turn 18 and get away from the politics and terrible society I currently live in. What would that be like?
But for now, I’m trapped in following the typical student program. I am forced to live in the same old town with no time for trips because of school.
In the end, do I want to live on this rock in the middle of the universe, stuck in a tireless job, or see, meet, and discover new universes I never knew existed?
The answer seems all too obvious.
