Things I never got in school:
- Student of the month
- Perfect attendance
- Most likely to succeed
- Honor roll
Things I did get in school:
- Detentions
- Suspended for fighting
- In-school suspension for being disrespectful
- Academic probation
- Failed conduct
- Track MVP
- Science awards
- Art awards
Looking back to grade school and high school, what did these things predict? Nothing. That was so early in my journey that they hardly mattered. But they did.
Reflecting on my younger years from today’s point of view, one thing is clear. I had my own ideas, and they didn’t always fit into what was deemed good and proper.
I still have my own ideas, but I am a lot more chill and calm than my “take no sh!t from anyone” youth. That last part hung around a little bit too long, if you ask me. Yet, having your own ideas and standing up and fighting for what you believe in and what you believe is right should have been celebrated in school. But the system didn’t do that. However, I wouldn’t be who I am today unless I rebelled against what others insisted I do and think, and how they wanted me to look and act.
I remember writing in a notebook while taking SEPTA as a kid, most likely, with a Dead Kennedys cassette playing in my yellow Walkman, that everyone seemed to be mindlessly going through their days. Getting on the trolley at the same time, dressing like one another, eating the same crap for lunch, and not having anything to talk about. Then, after work, they went home and watched TV until bedtime. Only to get up the next day and do that same thing all over again.
That felt wrong and looked horrible to me. I yearned to do different stuff. To explore the unknown, and as a kid growing up in Philly, we knew a lot from the streets, but there was so much more in the world that was unknown. And that was exciting, and that is what I wanted to do more than anything. See it, taste it, hear it, learn it, read it, talk about it, do it, experience it, whatever “it” may be.
And all of that has led me to today. Those yearnings to learn more about the infinite numbers of “it’s” in the universe captivate me today just as much as they did when I was a cocky, young, social nomadic punk.
And the story goes on. As does your story.
Life is a countless series of crossroads. That moment on the trolley was a big one, and I believe I chose wisely, because I didn’t end up like those people I was writing about.
Every crossroad we encounter gives us an option, and our choices come with a cost. Sometimes, I willfully take the path my gut warns me not to (hey, I do what I want!), but more often I take the right path.
Make your own path, no matter what your situation is today. Start recognizing when you happen upon an important crossroads, and make the decisions that are going to lead you down the road of fulfillment, excitement, and positivity.
And while out there, be the optimist others need on their own journey, because adventures are so much better with good company.
