"Sometimes you realize the journey you've been taking has reached its final stop. And so the question becomes: where do you go next?" — Ted Mosby

This is something that I have struggled with. Where do I go next? Where is life going to take me? If you know anything about me, I like to plan. I like to know what I’m doing throughout the day and what I have going on in my week. But life isn’t like that. Life likes to throw us curve balls. I also like to jump forward to where I think my life should be. If it were up to me, I would have my degree already. I would be married, and we would be thinking about kids. But sometimes you have to slow down because the journey is the best part. All of my great memories have come because of the journey — not the destination. That’s not to say the destination isn’t great, but the journey is where the bonding happens, where you meet your true friends.

My favorite show demonstrates this almost perfectly. "How I Met Your Mother" showed how five friends journey to find happiness and how life isn’t just about finding the right job or finding the right person to be with for the rest of your life. Instead, it is about forming bonds with friends and the memories that were made. A lot of my friends say I’m a combination of two of the main characters, Ted Mosby and Marshall Eriksen. Ted, trying to find true love and waiting to jump to the very end, and Marshall, who has found true love and is trying to figure out how to deal with the ups and downs of marriage. I’ve kind of embraced their view. No matter if you’re getting toward the end of your journey, or just starting it, enjoy it while it lasts. I keep reminding myself this. Remember the good, but also remember the bad. Bad things happen to all of us. It may be a family member passing away, or a bad break up, or anything. Anything at all can stitched into our minds. We as people need to start enjoying the little moments.

I remember this past semester I had just a horrible month. So many things happened. I was second guessing myself and wondering what I was doing wrong. Then, out of the blue, I made a friend. We started hanging out, and she gave me my confidence back. She kept reassuring me and believing in me. I got back to doing what I love to do. I started to believe I was doing something right. I ended the semester on a high note. And now, she’s one of my best friends. It’s funny how things happen like that. You just have to keep believing that some good will come out of every situation. I guess we just can’t lose hope. We have to always believe and just keep enjoying the journey.

“Kids, you can’t cling to the past. Because no matter how hard you hold on, it’s already gone.” — Ted Mosby