There's no better feeling than driving down the open road with the stereo blasting and the sunroof open. It's a time when I find myself reflecting on where I've been and where I'm going.
A few days ago, it finally hit me.
As I scanned the radio airwaves driving down the 290, I came across a Kenny Chesney song called 'Young.' As a country music fan, I had heard the song hundreds of times. But this time, Chesney's lyrics made me realize something.
The days of my youth are coming to an end.
I look at life as if it were a book. The childhood and teenage chapters of my novel have been signed, sealed and delivered. And in just a few short months, my college years will be completed for publication.
Come April, everything I have been accustomed to will be history. The daily agenda I have based my life on will be thrown out the window. No more classrooms, homework or quizzes. No more house parties, bar crawls and all-nighters. No more waking up not knowing what happened the night before.
It's time to grow up.
I can remember the start of freshman year like it was yesterday. Three inches shorter and hair longer, I was still riding the high of my senior year of high school. I had little idea who I was or who I wanted to be. I had no career goals or aspirations. The only thing I was concerned about was the friends I'd make, the girls I'd meet, and what party would be next.
But that's what college is all about, right?
It's a time to dig deep and let loose. It's a time to explore outside the box and escape your comfort zone. It's a time to discover the person you are destined to be. It's a time to live life without regret.
I can happily say that I will leave UB with nothing left behind.
I have experienced everything college has to offer. I've made lifelong friends and learned more about myself then I could ever have imagined. I know who I am and what I want to be. When the pen hits the paper for life's next chapter, I know I'm prepared to start writing.
And yet, I'm somewhat terrified.
For the first time in my life, I have no idea what will happen next. As an aspiring journalist in a depleting profession, there's no guarantee I will find a job out of college. With competition in the job market at an all-time high, it's going to take dedication, hard work and a bit of luck to get to where I want to be.
As scary as it is, the thought of not knowing where I'll be a year from now is also kind of exciting. Call me crazy, but for a guy that hasn't left his hometown in 21 years, the opportunity to go wherever I want is something I'm looking forward to.
There are no boundaries. Who says I can't pack my bags, hop in the car and take off for the West Coast? Who says I can't drop everything and go south? The options are endless.
I live my life day by day. I have no idea what the future has in store and, quite frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Life has a funny way of working itself out and I know I'll make it to where I'm destined to be.
Forty years from now, with my grandchildren on my lap, I will re-read the novel I had written. I will tell them of the stresses from exams and the time spent at Capen. I will relive the parties on Main Street and the spring break in Cancun. I will relive the uncertainty of what lay ahead. And at the end, I will know one thing was certain.
I did it my way.
E-mail: joe.paterno@ubspectrum.com
