Perspective is everything. As I write this, I’m the oldest I’ve ever been.

Perspective is everything.  As I write this, I’m the oldest I’ve ever been.  

I’ve lived on this planet for 25 years, through which time every interaction, every mistake – every random experience has led me to this moment.  What have I done with my life?  

Reflection.  It’s an ordinary and natural human tendency, yet it also has great power.  It has the potential to sink someone into a depression or lift one’s spirits high and inspire more.  In my second year removed from school, I find the former to be an easy place to inadvertently find myself.  After a very busy college life (we’re talking major burnout status, but in the best way possible), where I developed my closest and strongest bonds through a variety of social avenues with incredible people, it’s easy to feel like something is “missing” when routine sets in and the dredges of real-world monotony fill your life.  Suddenly the world seems to be the size of your commute to and from work, or the gym, or the grocery store. In these moments, choice becomes a powerful tool. I regularly remind myself that I chose everything about my current life.  I chose where I live, what I do for work, what hobbies I have.  It’s comforting knowing that I have control over these things.  Moreover, it’s liberating to realize I have the ability to change even more.

This leads me to the Appalachian Trail—a 2,200 mile choice that most people will never attempt, let alone finish.  If for no other reason, just the sheer magnitude of the challenge is enough of an incentive for me to try to conquer it.  On a more personal level, though, it’s an opportunity to find myself in a new way, to experience the world in a more raw form, and to build new memories upon which to reflect down the road. 

After all, perspective is everything.  I’m the youngest I’ll ever be again.  What will I do with my life?