I’ve always liked to diverge.
Rebecca, Abby, and Sam ski on ahead. I plop down in the snow, waiting for them to disappear. I want space to get lost in the snow and the trees. I want to find my own way down the mountain, far from their tracks and voices. I lay back, looking up at evergreen branches and the space in between of snowy sky. I let just enough time pass so I can’t hear my friends – but not enough that they will worry for me. Up again, my skis glide through snowflakes, narrowly missing stumps and rocks. I can’t see anyone. I’m alone, free to follow my own path.
This moment feels like a very tiny piece of me. That winter, I lagged behind to find my own path. I felt a satisfaction, a content completeness in skiing on my own. I sometimes have an innate discomfort in following others.
My eight months with Global Citizen Year is in part a way to take my own path. I am going to college, as are most of the masses my age – but first, I am choosing the path to Ecuador, a new language, a new family, and a new adventure.
photo credit: Rebecca Schantz
