The Journey

When I was a senior in high school, we had the opportunity to choose a quote to go under our picture in the yearbook. I really didn't have anything or any quote that resonated with me at the time. I considered saying something like, "You're right, I do hate you." (I wasn't all that happy back then) I'm glad I didn't choose something like that, because I think sometimes the things we say can be prophetic.

And I'm not getting all metaphysical on you, but you can take it there if you want to. All I'm saying is that the tone of our voices, our words, our inner and outer projections and feelings, all impact our outcomes.

At the time when I was a senior, I didn't really know what to do with my life (do I now?), but my only real goal was to do something easy that made a lot of money. I ended up choosing something for my senior quote that spoke about destinations and journeys, and how its the journey that matters. I didn't care much about the sentiment behind it, and even afterward, I kind of thought it was a dumb thing for me to say because I didn't really feel that way at the time.

I think, though, I'm slowly changing my mind. I've grown up a bit (in some ways), been through some hard stuff, and achieved some things I'm proud of. I've had a lot of fun at times. Through it all, I've started to realize that it sure isn't the end result that matters most. After all, the end result comes at the end of something. Wouldn't it be better to just feel good all throughout?

Of course there are things we do that we prefer not to, things we can't control, and obligations we have that aren't always fun. But sometimes we do have control, and even when we don't, we have control over how we feel and how we react in the moment.

Here at RIT, there are many many nice and outwardly friendly people. There are also people who are probably friendly, but it's just not as easy to tell. I like going to certain places on campus where I know when I walk in, someone will be saying hello with a smile (even if they're busy and telling me it's not a good time to talk). I'll always return the smile. I promise. I like it when my daily journey is easy---and I don't mean workload, I mean the floaty comfortable kind of easy, where people are friendly and happy. And if they're not happy, that's ok, but figuring it out and trying to see the best in things and feel better is important. When we stop trying, that's when we've started missing the point.

What makes your journey more enjoyable?