The Road Less Traveled

Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

- eleanor roosevelt

I tend towards the philosophy of act now, think later. It's only been in the past year that I've understood what it means to do that. Granted, no one should ever go crazy and wild with their lives, making a mockery of all that they have built up in their years. The whole point of acting now and thinking later is that, at some point, you have had the discussion in your head about what you would do if you were in a certain situation, so that when the opportunity presents itself, you are able to act promptly and think about it later, as a memory. Nothing can be regretted if you don't try except the lack of effort.

I've been criticized for my life a long time. Most of my life, actually, is a series of "You can do it/No you can't" remarks from people. Gear my up and then shoot me down.

You know what? It's my life. I love encouragement, but the discouragement is something that I have plenty in supply on my own. I can think of a million reasons not to do something, but if one person tells me it's okay and gently coaxes me out of my shell, I can do anything. If someone believes in me and is strong enough to tell me, I will make them part of my life because they help me become who I will be. They are the pavers of the road that I have yet to walk.

The road less traveled is still a road, which means that someone has gone down it before, laid a path, and made sure someone else could see it and know there is exceptions to the main highway in life. The highway is scenic, set up so that you might lack for nothing, but in the end, it leads to cookie cutter houses and PTA meetings. The other road, the smaller path, may have only cottages and woods nearby, but it's in that setting that you can establish yourself without fear of being different. There are no neighborhood committees, just free spirits like yourself that have found the path that leads to true happiness - being who you are, just as you are.

I like to think the road less traveled has even more forks in the road down the way. That way, you can keep on choosing your path, endlessly getting lost and loving it because it is the way your heart lead you. If you are lucky, you'll find people of similar expectations where you end up, a small congregation within the whole of the world. It's those that live among you on your journey that make you who you are, share your experiences and see you as you truly should be seen.

So forget about the highway - endure the brambles and mosquitoes of the half paved path. You're scratchy and itchy, not always comfortable, but when you find a clearing, it will be more worth it than any 8 lane highway that's backed up for hours with the same monotonous people.