"When are we going to get off this boat?" screamed the precocious four-year-old girl.
Shocked, the tour guide, who sounded much like "Charlie Brown's" teacher, stood speechless. She had not expected this question, yet everyone on the boat was relieved, and laughter escaped them. It was the summer of 2004. A church youth group from a small town in Kentucky had driven six hours to attend a camp in North Carolina. Although her participation in the trip was not voluntary (her parents were the youth directors), the little girl with pigtails was excited about the lake boat tour scheduled for later that day.
It would be an adventure.. so she thought.
To her disappointment, the boat was not the cruise line she had envisioned; rather, it more closely resembled a raft. The group boarded the boat in 100-degree weather, donning obligatory, orange life preservers and after everyone settled in, the little girl found herself sandwiched in the middle. After hearing about the history of the lake and many other uninteresting facts for a child, the tour came to an end.
The guide asked for questions, the little girl stood up on her seat, and, well, you know what happened next. I was that little girl, fourteen years ago. Since that day, I have thought about the boat trip many times (perhaps because my family loves retelling the story or perhaps because I have always been one to say what everyone else was thinking, even if that means stepping out of my comfort zone). I have come to realize that the boat is a metaphor for reality.
Expectations can turn into disappointments. Everything is not what it seems, which becomes more prevalent as we get older. The orange life jacket symbolizes the heavy, but necessary, burdens we must carry. Sometimes, we are stuck in the middle of it all. However, unlike the four-year-old me, I have learned that perspective is important.
Although life experiences do not always meet my expectations, it is those experiences that shape me and forge my character.
If everything always went as planned, I would never really know what I could do or handle. While the life jacket was uncomfortable, I am glad that I had one. It could have saved me if a disaster had struck our boat. Likewise, I am grateful for life's unavoidable burdens and challenges. They help prepare me for what the future may hold. Finally, the middle is not always such a bad place to be. At home, I have an older sister with special needs and a younger brother, both of whom need me and look up to me.
Unlike that boat ride, life goes by quickly. The younger me just wanted to get off that boat, but my hope is to not live like that. Instead, I want to live life to the fullest and be thankful in all circumstances. Maybe, instead, my comment should have been, "I'm just sitting back and enjoying the ride."
