Trailblazing

I'm confronted with thoughts of the future as I think back to the past year. It's come to my attention that I have not lived at home for an extended period of time for over a year, and two summers ago may have been the last time I will have ever lived at home for longer than a few weeks at a time. I imagine this is part of the senior year experience, but I'm becoming uncomfortable with the idea of "real life." It may come as a surprise, but I'm not nearly as afraid of not getting a job as I should be. It's not my career that I'm concerned with starting; it's rather what it will be like to leave all that I know. I have a community of friendship and comfort at home. Here at school I can contact this community often, not to mention the friendships and mentors that I've gained while at Dickinson. I'm thrilled to start my own path and to be working with what I love, but I fear abandoning the community who has helped to raise me. I think I must come to terms with the idea that life is difficult in this way. It is about expanding and creating your own path. This is a journey through life; I am a traveler and sometimes I must blaze my own trail. Though I may be caught in the jungle and vines and foliage are thick and frightening, it may be the best way to find the river, to find my source of life and what I live for.