Be Prepared To Stop

Todays Tunes: “Black Beauty” – Lana Del Rey

There may honestly be nothing more annoying than driving down the road, wayfarer shades on sipping on a Bojangles sweet tea blasting Jimi Hendrix when you get hit with a big ol orange sign and a middle aged man sweating his butt off in the hot summer sun. Yeah, I’m talking about road construction. Summer time around Chapel Hill is notorious for driving and parking, I’m talking every road has some sort of damn block or detour. Life is so breezy and then you get hit with that “Slow” or “Stop sign and it just throws off your whole flow of things. It’s literally more annoying than sand in your sandals or that emotionally drunk friend who always cries about their problems. Just annoying.

Taking the time to look back on all this made me realize how life’s path often has construction going on. We’re constantly looking ahead to see what is laid out before us; but every once in awhile we come across a fat man holding a SLOW or STOP sign. Most of us don’t know how to handle a roadblock in our path; we get confused, upset or automatically start looking for an alternate path. When in reality the path is not broken, it’s still very much present; it’s just not accessible at this moment. For example my immediate goal now is an acceptance into UNC-CH Dental School (i.e. my destination), but my path is constantly being worked on. This past semester I ran into an orange roadblock sign read Be Prepared To Stop and I did before the summer began. It was such a complete stand still that I even tried to hit reverse till I remembered that there’s no going back in life. As I went through the summer however that “STOP” sign turned into a “SLOW” and that fat man holding the sign turned out to be life (Look’s like life’s not a b*tch after all).  In retrospect I believe that although certain goals and dreams may come to a standstill, they are still within sight and grasp. However it may not be the time for us to reach them at that specific moment. So what does life do? Tell us to stop or slow it down because we know that nothing good will come from reaching a goal without working towards it. “Insert cool hipster quote about goals and journeys and Robert Frost” Also remember have patience and wait for the sign to change. In the 21^st century I believe that patience is about as rare as an Iota, virtually NONEXISTENT. We have to develop that patience in order to be successful in life, because we have to wait. Our problem is that we feel like we are owed something just for being alive. News Flash! The world owes us nothing! Regardless, there are doors that patience is the only key for. So wait it out sometimes, when it’s time for the sign to change it will.

Another reason why life-blocks (coined term) are important is that sometimes we get so focused on the one lane highway stretched out ahead of us that we tend to forget we’re actually on I-40 around 5:00. Sometimes it’s important to check your surrounding like they “taught” is in Driving School, see if you’re the only car on the road or if others are next to you. Life isn’t a single player; it’s a damn MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) so prepare to share the road with others. Don’t be that Asian driver and throw others off their track either. Other times we just need to check our rearview. There is a reason we are supposed to look back in life; it’s not to put it in reverse but to look how far we have come. Take a moment to think back to how you’re last days of semester ended, how the first date went with an individual, or even how intoxicado you may have been last night. All these mile-markers are here to tell us how far from the beginning we have come, and once we’re done looking back shifting forward feels so good. By the time we take to reconnect and evaluate our surroundings, Jim-bo has already gotten the clearance on the walkie to let you pass. In life don’t forget where you are and where you have come from.

So prepare for a chance of a lifetimeBe prepared for sensational news~ Scar

Whatever goals you have set for yourself, keep them for yourself. Always remember your goals because that hope you have of accomplishing them shall be the 2000 tan Honda Civic with 258,471 miles that will take you to them. When you hit your next detour or construction site on the path of life, always remember there is a reason that this road is under construction. While you’re preparing to stop take the time to change CD’s or clean your glasses.

The road to success is always under construction.

- Lil Tomlin

~White Rabbit