When teachers ask me to tell them an interesting fact about myself, I always fall back on the same one I've been using my entire school career: "I was born in Seattle." When you’ve lived in the same town since you were five, living anywhere else seems like the coolest thing since sliced bread (because I totally remember the invention of that.) Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been blessed to live in such a safe and family-friendly town, and it was my personal decision to attend a college that is down the street from my high school, but sometimes my itch to travel is overpowering.
My high school classmates always want to know what it’s like to stay home instead of starting a new life away at college. Luckily, I can honestly say that I love college and all of the opportunities that a small school can offer me. There are times when it can feel like high school, mostly because everyone knows each other’s business, but that intimacy is the same reason that our school is like a big family. Everyone is connected somehow, and getting involved is as easy as sending an email to a friend.
All of that aside, living in the same house for 15 years really gives a person the desire to travel. I am constantly dreaming of taking weekend vacations or road trips simply to discover the world. I detest being trapped in one town and not having the accessibility and capability of having new experiences. I often satisfy my travel craving by taking the train to the city, just to remind myself that billions of people exist, and to remember that their lives are completely different from mine. It’s so easy to get trapped in a routine and forget to experience everything that life has to offer. Sometimes it’s OK to blow off your homework and get lost in the city. People aren’t meant to be in one place for our entire lives; we’re meant to explore and create and better ourselves. By living on the same schedule every day for years, how will you ever know what you’re missing out on? If you love the city, move to the city. If you love the ocean, move to the ocean. It seems impossible and unheard of, but a career is not what we’re meant to live our lives for. To me, life means living in a tiny apartment without anything holding me down and endless options of what to do every day. As a species, we change our minds and evolve—we should not be expected to choose our life-long careers at age 20 and stick to them until we retire. So move, break the rules, and do what makes you happy. Don’t forget to live before life is over.
