Finding Your Bearings

One of the most important things I learned throughout my years of college didn't come from books or lectures. During that time, I learned that life isn't driven by one momentous turning point where you experience a drastic change after which your life is never quite the same again. It is not about one diverging road where you make a pivotal decision and your life is set. That is often what is presented in fiction, but life never actually works out that way. Life is a series of pathways and decisions, each one presenting a new change in your life and each one equally important as the last. Most of us are told at one point or another that life is about the journey, not the destination. Well, that is what this story is about. This is my journey. It is the collection of each of my diverging roads that led me to become the person I am today. As I navigated through those crucial years, I tripped many times. I became caught up in drugs and alcohol. I pulled away from family and friends. I fell in love but failed to grasp it when I had the chance. But at every juncture, I made a decision that would help shape me throughout the years to come. This story is not about the person I am today. It contains the details of every success, every tragedy, every friend, and every love, be it fleeting or enduring, that when compiled, created me. Each one is as relevant as the last, and each one made a lasting impression on me for the rest of my life. These are the turning points of my life.