A Reason to Celebrate

            It had been way too long since I had seen Hannah. I have missed her and was so excited to be meeting with her again! I got to Union Grounds a few minutes early because I was so excited! Hannah strolled in and looked excited to see me too. We went to Chick-fil-la to get her French fries and lemonade.

            We first discussed her big test she took a few weeks ago. She explained that she did indeed find her passport (finally!) and got to take the test. She got a 5.5. She says the highest score is an eleven but that she was thrilled with a 5.5. She told me later that she felt bad that she did so well and others didn’t. Hannah is a very kind and thoughtful girl. I appreciate her genuine personality!

            Hannah went on to tell me that she gets to go home!!! Her eyes sparkled and told me that she had just spent all of her allowance on gifts for her family! She will be traveling home on December 12^th, hours after she gets out of school. She has not been home for nearly a year and a half. My heart broke a little when she told me this. She continued about her silly little sisters and her mother, but then she told me that the only reason she gets to go home is because her father is so ill. I did not want to pry but she mentioned that he had been in the hospital for months.  

            Hannah continued on about her amazing, large family. She pulled out her phone and showed me pictures of her aunt’s wedding. This conversation quickly took a quick turn to weddings due to my complete and utter obsession with weddings. To my surprise, aunt would wear what I would call a “typical” wedding dress: strapless, elaborate etc. She continued to show me the pictures of henna tattoos that are designed onto the bride’s hands and up her arms. She was very clear that nobody can see the bride’s face on the wedding day. I loved that aspect of it! The bride’s mother covers the bride’s face in the morning and she continues her day with her head covered. The women that tattoo her arms only see her arms. After, there is a wedding with only female attendants. After that is when the bride and groom meet up for a huge celebration of dancing and eating. I was in awe. Her pictures were beautiful of not only her aunt but of her entire family, the event, and even the location.

            We continued to chat as I leaned closer and closer in dying for more information. She ended the conversation with showing me her dream wedding dress. She then looked up to me and said, “I hope you can come to my wedding one day.” It took all that I could to not tear up.

            The pair of us walked back through campus together as Hannah discussed how important praying for other people is. She said she would pray for me and that I should pray for myself because if I did not pray for myself than it is as if I lost hope. I will have to pray an extra bit for Hannah’s family this week!

            I love that even though we may come from different backgrounds, we are still young adults with similar hopes and dreams. We both dream about our wedding day and marrying our prince charming that simply sweeps us off of our feet. We dream of happiness and family. We dream of celebration!

“Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves.”

This quote really stood out to me as I read the passages from Walden. It is interesting to think that as humans grow from children to adults, we go through so many stages of life. We may even be able to call such time periods different lives that we live. The person one is at the age of four is (good thing) not the person that one is at the age of 14 and the same for 20.

As I entered college, this was a thought that rushed through my head time and time again. Every few years it was a different school: elementary, middle, high school, and now college—different adventures. But what’s next? After four years I will graduate (hopefully) and start my career. Four years after I’ll still be chugging along with my career. Four years after that, what will be new?

For these reasons, this quote really stood out to me. I have known my path and where I was going since I was a toddler: preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, college. And then? We go through all of this constant change to seek consistency. We strive for a steady job, a steady income, a steady life. Don’t we? Or is that just what we are told?

If we all accomplished such a life, wouldn’t we all be bored out of minds? Robots that go through the motions of the same thing everyday.

When I grow up, I want to be…? For years I have answered this question with, “A teacher,” but I think I would like to change my answer. When I grow up, I would like to be a teacher among many other things. I don’t know what the next few decades will bring as far as professions, but I do know that I would also like to live different lives. I would like to remember not to be scared to live different lives. I think what I want to be when I “grow up” is happy. If being a teacher makes me happy then I want to be a teacher. If one day it stops making me happy, I hope that I have the courage to start a new life.

If my life becomes one of a beaten track, I am ok with that. Consistency is ok with me in moderation. I want to explore this world, but I also want to have a base, a calling, I need to know who I am, and if I spend my life living too many lives, couldn’t I lose that?

This quote makes me think and reevaluate my dreams for my future. It gives me hope and courage, but it also gives me a realization of what I want with my future. And that is to be happy! Thanks, Walden.