The Roads We Take

I've realized life is a roadmap. It's about streets, corners, stop signs and stop lights. Life's about sitting at a stop light and deciding that you're going the wrong way and doing a u-turn while frantically trying to look out your window at anything remotely familiar. It's why I can drive to my old high school with my eyes shut and why I instantly lose my self-esteem when I become lost or am driving in an unfamiliar place. Your life starts out as a roadmap created probably by your parents, then we pull out the markers. We make stops in unexpected places that make our parents upset and others that make them happy. We start to erase destinations and make new ones. Maybe we even meet someone that causes us to throw out the entire roadmap. Sometimes this works out, sometimes, it doesn't. It's sad when the road ends sooner than it should with someone like this, but you have to keep going. You meet more people along your travels and you may even decicde to take a road that hurt you. It has potholes along one side and is half gravel down the other. The paint on this road is worn and can only faintly be seen on the sunniest of days. But these roads are good. They let you understand how nice it is when you're back with something comfortable and safe- a nice paved road with readable signs that communicate their message well. Yes, life is a roadmap, but sometimes I like getting lost.