The Path to College

When you finish high school, you are faced with a choice. You have been walking on a well-paved track for 12 years–it felt safe and certain.

As you walk towards the end you see a fork in the road. One direction is clear and well paved. It is the path to college where all your friends are headed. There are street-lights, people having fun, and the appearance of security.

The other direction looks dark and dangerous. You can see the start of a trail heading into a forest, but you can’t see very far down the path. This is the path to adulthood.

We pretend that the path to college will make the path to adulthood less scary. We imagine that the well-paved path to college makes a smooth transition into the adulthood expressway. But the path to college is a loop that leads right back to this moment. It offers the illusion of security at the expense of progress.

You will return to this moment again 4 years older and significantly poorer. That well-paved track will now be to grad school and the path to adulthood will look no clearer.

You will never escape until you accept your fear and step out on the uncertain path to adulthood.

———-

Feature Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash