The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost
I received a phone call from a dear college friend of mine. We hadn't spoken on the phone in a long while but I often think of her and our other college friends. As old friends often do, we started reminiscing about our days in college: the dorms, the cafeteria, staying up late talking about classes, classmates and, of course, college boys. While we both agreed that those years were some of the best years of our lives, she felt that we had sheltered ourselves too much at the expense of fully experiencing "life."
I agree that we were quite naive, extremely so compared to other people in their early 20s now and at that time. We knew very little about the opposite sex, relationships, or how evil people could be. We lived our lives sheltered but we lived it through eyes of innocence and the ability to see only the good in everyone. We were far more childlike than our peers in our perceptions of the world around us. I often wish I still had that kind of naivete and innocence.
I cannot deny, however, that she was right about not taking enough risks, especially at a time in our lives when risk-taking should have been part and parcel of our newfound independence. I agree that we should have come out of our shells and met more people, gone out on more dates and declared our affections to our secret crushes. At the same time, if I had taken those risks, my life would be very different today. I probably would have lost my naivete and become jaded earlier than I did. Worst of all, I would not have met my dear husband and I would never have known my precious Makayla. In that sense, I do not regret taking certain risks or not going down certain paths. I know that what I have now is far better than anything I could have had if I had not taken the road less traveled.
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost
I received a phone call from a dear college friend of mine. We hadn't spoken on the phone in a long while but I often think of her and our other college friends. As old friends often do, we started reminiscing about our days in college: the dorms, the cafeteria, staying up late talking about classes, classmates and, of course, college boys. While we both agreed that those years were some of the best years of our lives, she felt that we had sheltered ourselves too much at the expense of fully experiencing "life."
I agree that we were quite naive, extremely so compared to other people in their early 20s now and at that time. We knew very little about the opposite sex, relationships, or how evil people could be. We lived our lives sheltered but we lived it through eyes of innocence and the ability to see only the good in everyone. We were far more childlike than our peers in our perceptions of the world around us. I often wish I still had that kind of naivete and innocence.
I cannot deny, however, that she was right about not taking enough risks, especially at a time in our lives when risk-taking should have been part and parcel of our newfound independence. I agree that we should have come out of our shells and met more people, gone out on more dates and declared our affections to our secret crushes. At the same time, if I had taken those risks, my life would be very different today. I probably would have lost my naivete and become jaded earlier than I did. Worst of all, I would not have met my dear husband and I would never have known my precious Makayla. In that sense, I do not regret taking certain risks or not going down certain paths. I know that what I have now is far better than anything I could have had if I had not taken the road less traveled.
posted by Margie at 7:00 PM
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