Sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in a baby carriage. Society says: You are born. You go to school. You fall in love. You get a job. You get married. You work hard. You have kids. You retire. You die. This is the most commonly traveled path, and nothing is wrong with it–if that is what you want to do.

No path, however, is perfectly straight. No one has the luxury of knowing what is ahead. Life is complicated. And while someone who’s ahead may offer reassurance, it’s uniquely different for everyone.

Life is a maze. You’ve got to chose if you are going to take the path many others have or if you are going to go your own way.

On the commonly traveled path, I feel like I am trudging on. Like I can barely breathe, yet I am frighteningly comfortable. Not knowing where else to go yet, I carry on.

I don’t want to live the life that is expected of me. It’s my life. So what do I want from here? Well, that is something I am still figuring out. What I do know: I want to do everything I’ve always imagined and things I’ve never imagined. If that means going against the grain, so be it.