Where do we go from here?
I feel like that’s a saying that enchants a lot of people’s minds when they start thinking about the next step in their lives. It completely captivates them into a whirlwind of exhaustion by hunting for the perfect answer to a perfect future. This is because of the endless possibilities that are out there. I mean, when we were kids, we were told that we had to find out what we wanted to do as soon as possible. But then we got older, and the advocacy for changing career paths at any time became much more popular. People encouraged you to look into all the skills you had and to think that any of them could be used to create a career you enjoy.
But because that question is still on my mind, it only makes sense for me to reflect. However, reflection is hard; it takes a lot of awareness of who you are as a person and to openly think about the experiences you’ve faced. To make it cheesy, you have to be able to understand the mountains you’ve been able to climb and the sites you’ve been able to see. So to do that and find the answer to the big question “where do we go from here?”, I’d start with gratitude.
So, a little thank you to all the people I’ve met. Thank you for being such memorable experiences in my life. To those I’ve had few conversations with, thanks for taking the time to talk to me even if it was just to pass the time. I appreciate your subtle kindness; it helped me discover so many nice tidbits. To those who’ve become my platonic soulmates, few words fully grasp the weight you had in my life. But thank you for entertaining me and my stupid questions; your patience is admirable, to say the least. Thank you for spending time with me, from hours of studying to pointless city explorations to random experiences. And to the people whose friendship I’ve lost on the way due to conflicts, time, and distance, thanks for being someone I’ve met. It was nice to meet you and hold our quick memories dear, even if it was for just a little while. I’m hopeful that I won’t forget any of you.
And a little thank you to the strengths and weaknesses that have decided to come out of the woodwork over the years. You’ve helped me manage stress, in a mountain of ways. I’ve learned so much through my strengths in all areas that have been critical in curating the person I am today. And to my weakness, not all of you are vulnerable. Some of you are simply things that make me unable to communicate the way I would like to and I appreciate you for existing to helping me grow to connect with a larger world.
A little thank you to my fears, for making me resilient to take on new worlds. I don’t think I would have come this far if you guys hadn’t terrorized me into thinking that I’d never have experienced it. Unfortunately, you have been placed between a rock and a hard place: you only live once and you should save for the future. Either way, I’m planning to continue using you as an example to step out of my comfort zone and do new things.
And a little big thank you to the younger me. For living life one step at a time, so that you’d get a chance to answer this question. So, where do we go? We should go into today thinking that we should smile at least once. And we should go into tomorrow thinking that we deserve a second chance.
But for now, we will go into the future because it doesn’t wait. And neither should we.
That is where we go.