No one embarks on adventures anymore. No one wakes up one day and decides that they want to set out on a journey of any kind, whether it is physical or metaphorical. If you’re not famous, rich, or powerful, then you’re no one. I suppose that makes me no one, because I have set a course for myself; I have chartered a path; I am engaged in an epic quest. This is no quest to slay a beast or conquer my fear. This is a quest of self-discovery; to realize my potential and to manifest my future. Before the hardships of inexplicable, intolerable instances and beautiful, self-verifying and illustrious moments that have molded it, my journey began when I said “good-bye” to my parents, who tried so hard to keep me from maturing and becoming a self-sustaining young man.
One day, I was sitting in Bruno’s and a stranger approached me. He spoke with a nervous undertone, “Hey there.”
I finished chewing a bite of my chicken strip, “Hello.”
“I’m
“Nice to meet you Roy. My name’s Evan.”
“Hey Evan. Why you eatin’ by yourself?”
“I’m just finishing up, actually. A buddy of mine was here earlier.”
“Oh. Well, I like meetin’ new people, so I said ‘hi’ to you. What’s yer major?”
I took a deep breath as I always do when asked this question, “I’m pulling a double major in Creative Writing and either Public Relations or Journalism. Yea, I’m a freshman. What about you?”
“Wow, seems like you know what you want in life. I’m a sophomore. I still haven’t decided what I want to do yet. Sucks, cuz I gotta decide by next semester.”
“You should probably get on that.”
“Ya,” he laughed nervously, as though he was uncomfortable being around someone who was so in charge of his own life, “well, it was nice to meet you, Evan. I gotta get goin’ to class”
“See ya around,
It’s absolutely strange to see so many other college students moseying about on a daily basis. I came from a college town, but the institution was small, and the students were mostly older adults, so it’s strange to never see the exact same faces everyday and I love it. In fact, I know I see at least one new face per day, guaranteeing that I could always be in the company of someone unfamiliar. What are even stranger are the numerous expressions I get with such a variety of faces. Some look stressed and exhausted while others look content and thoughtful. Though the majority of faces have a look of longing and desire and many of their expressions portray them as simply lost. It’s these people I pay most of my attention to. I pity them, because if they truly are lost, I wonder in what way. Then I realize how much better off I am. Where as they seem to know nothing about themselves, I know what I want and where my life is headed. This is what differentiates me from them. I give myself purpose. Granted, some may have their purposes, but this is my assumption.
These people have no stories to tell. They’re books filled with blank pages. It’s a shame, because even my past is a prologue to the grander scheme that is my journey through college and, ultimately, life. It deserves to be its own novel, because moving to college is more than just a page turn; it’s an entirely new chronicle. Unlike those lost faces, I know I will write for myself a legend so great, those who read the tale will swoon at the glory I have carved into the fabric of society. I’m not trying to say I’m better than those with lost expressions, but in some sense I am better because I know I have destined myself for prominence. As mentioned before, I differentiate myself because I have confidence. I take the initiative to get things done, whether it is with work, job and school, or other tasks, no matter how menial. I’m assertive in that I’m open with my opinion, and that no matter the conversation, I make sure that my voice is heard. I may not always need the last word; I just want the people to know I have a thought that deserves to be counted. These qualities are almost leader-like, making it possible for me to take charge of my life and everything about it.
It really is sad that some poor souls wander through college and then through their lives’ accomplishing nothing. Thousands of dollars will be spent by state, by parents and by themselves so that they may waste their time doing nothing. I believe it’s ridiculous to know that you want to go to college right out of high school but not know what you’re going to do with that time spent. These are the people who did not put the time and thought into their futures. They’re the ones who enroll into college as soon as possible just to say they went, regardless of their lack of purpose and desires. They think that it means something to go to college, which is only true when it means something to them as well. These are the people who are lost and do not assert themselves. These are the people who become nothing.
One day, I will look back at the account of my saga and, hopefully, I’ll remember every moment— every second —of it. I want to be able to look back and revel in the fact that I knew then that now, in my future, I would be reminiscing and feeling proud of who I was and where I came from. Some people don’t do this. There are people in this world that are ashamed of who they are and who they were. There’s no point in looking toward the future if you can’t even look into your past and feel proud of any accomplishment, no matter how miniscule. I suppose I can live with this though; it’s not my life anyway. They can do whatever the hell they feel like.
Different people in this world are meant for different things. Some are destined to be followers; ever-careful to make sure they complete and obey the every command they are burdened with. Others are meant to burden them and bark orders. These are the terrible leaders who abuse the power bestowed upon them through their life’s initiative. I will lead. This I have already ascertained and I will use my skills to better society. I’m confident enough to say that I now know that anything will benefit from my leadership. I am not one of those tyrants who feel that bellowing beneath them to those below them somehow makes them a leader. This is ridiculous and anyone who believes that leadership is synonymous with “treat your inferiors like trash” clearly has a god complex. I will lead this is certain because I am already a leader; and, like every leader, I began first by following with the natural instinct, the intent that I was going to lead as soon as I proved my worth.
This worth is measured on a scale carved from marble and weighed down, like my desires, by nothing; it’s weight worth more in gold than gold itself. I know I can organize that which needs institution. I can bring together the cooperation of a hunter-gatherer tribe and I can bring forth the productivity of a Chinese toy factory. My command and my oration will subdue the masses to willingly follow my direction into a new world; a new order where the assertion of glory will be obtainable by the entirety of civilization. I will lead and one day I will look back at my history and re-read my tale and bask in the knowledge that I saw this coming. For myself, I set the aspiration to become the epitome of all things strived for by those who long to achieve greatness.
I almost can’t bear to witness the rest of my peers, of the future society to whither away under the weight of its own incompetence. There is no worth for these people, only my pity which outweighs anything they can muster. I can even bring myself to say that I feel disgusted that it is I alone who show daily, in my stride and with my head held high, that I am stepping forward to take hold of my destiny. I am wrestling it with my bare hands until I tame the ferocity it comes at me with. Others can’t handle this intensity.
Someday, there will be those who recount the epic saga of my life. I may not rule the world and I may not lead an army with an iron fist, but I will change the environment around me. I will impinge my will and on my peers and my surroundings. Someday, there will be an aura about me that no other has. I have taken charge of my path and I will walk the road with grace.

