Choose Your Own Adventure: A Tale of Nostalgia and What Ifs

"Everybody's been there and I don't mean on vacation..." 

I wonder where I would be today had I done something differently. What if a certain choice, a particular decision or action, resulting in a completely different outcome, ultimately changing the course of my life. Not to say that I rue the road I currently travel on, but rather, ponder those other paths.

What would they have done differently?

We all question it. We all question the "what ifs" and "if only".

As I write this I find myself facing, again, a fork up ahead. Two paths, equally compelling, each with an adventure of its own. Do I wander into the unknown, taking a wild dive towards a distant kingdom; or stay grounded to this fortress of familiarity?

In this instance, I can be logical, weighing up both options; their benefits and possible obstacles. Yet, regardless of the path I choose to take, I can not predict what associated or consequences might ensue further down the line. I can comfortably forsee the direct impact of both paths, but adjacent paths or later detours are unknown until reached.

Looking back at an example, to an event, of which briefly involved, a spontaneous nomination to stand as a member of the representative council of learners. My friend jokingly called out my name and I did not contest it being taken off.

What followed was me, in a moment of confidence and confusion, standing up in front of my grade, and babbling some spiel. The thought of even running for this position had not crossed my mind at all. I would not say that I was not a good candidate, but rather, doubted whether anybody else thought so. And here I stood, in front of all my peers, preaching some propaganda and promises. And the following assembly, to my disbelief, I was called up as the selected student to represent my grade.

The following year, I was elected as prefect, as well as, awarded several other leadership positions in culture and sports.  Was this all a result of not stepping down from a friend's idea of making fun of me. Suppose I had declined the offer to speak, and kept a low profile, would the outcome of my high school achievements have been altered.

Or, remembering a less proud moment of when I kissed a girl that was a good friend's, old love. Where I let the ecstasy and excitement of the event end a good relationship. I regret it, but cannot undo the result. And now we no longer communicate, from what had been previously spending every weekend going out and being boys.

Sure, not a major life-changing example, but it's enough to slightly adjust the course of my journey. It raises the fundamental question of "what if my actions had been different, even just slightly?". Would the difference ripple into an exponentially different position to where I find myself in today.

Maybe I might not even have been writing this, had things taken a different turn.

"Destruction leads to a very rough road

But it also breeds creation..."

Looking cool in Cape Town. These sailors had no idea they were soon to be sunk.

To reflect; I cannot accurately even tell you what tomorrow has install for me, let alone next year. And that has been the same scenario since the start. Sure, there are some givens; if things remain constant. I know I have work. I know I have an online course to attend. But what happens during and in-between? 

It's the climactic scene of our life's play. The big reveal. Plot twist. What will be? 

"The sun may rise in the East

At least it settles in the final location"

And even then; is the sun rising each day a given? Can we, with certainty, say that we'll be blessed with that blazing ball that beams tomorrow? Do we just assume because it's easier to swallow than question what ifs? All in all, life is a miracle and so long as my heart beats and my lungs breathe I'll take each challenge as it comes.

I suppose we'll never know the dénouement of the other outcomes. Perhaps that is the tragedy bottled within the beauty of choosing one's own adventure.