When pondering about how life can be more appreciated, one of the most popular pieces of advice is to “count your blessings.” My personal list consists of those I love (of course); my dogs, some things in between, and last, but most definitely not least, navigation. I’m not kidding when I say that without GPS, I would probably be completely lost in another state right now. I’m speaking from experience here. Yes, it has happened before, and no, I’m not proud of it. My friends have referred to me as “directionally challenged” on many occasions due to my extremely high track record for getting lost or making wrong turns. Considering the fact that I’m a commuter student, I’m well aware that this isn’t the best trait to have.
I drive to Stevens from Staten Island, New York, so to say I was nervous for my commute upon starting my freshman year is an understatement. Over the summer, I made my mom drive with me into Hoboken about once a week to “practice” my commute. As it turns out, practice does make progress (I’m not quite perfect just yet). I am now able to drive to Stevens with limited navigation. Even though I have been quite proud of myself, I must be honest in saying that this is most likely due to muscle memory, rather than an actual ability to know where I’m going.
Recently, my route back to Staten Island from Hoboken was blocked off due to an accident. Since this is the only route I know, I had a few fleeting moments of panic before I scrambled to enter my address into the navigation. After several wrong turns here and there, which lead to an unintended visit to a dark, eerie shipyard, I made it home entirely in one piece. It was midnight.
My lack of a good sense of direction doesn’t only hinder my ability to drive efficiently; it has also proved to make my experience on campus much more difficult. Truthfully, I only know where four buildings are, and it initially took me quite a while to find them, longer than I’d care to say. To make matters worse, only yesterday I found out that there was an elevator in Babbio Garage, meaning I didn’t have to walk 10 minutes out of the garage and up 5th Street every day, as I had been doing since the beginning of the semester.
I could sit here all day and write about my endless experiences with getting lost, but every story has the same ending. No matter what, I always find my way.
Life offers an infinite number of opportunities and experiences. Although this is one of the best aspects of life, it’s also really difficult to know exactly which path to take. It’s sometimes too easy to feel lost, like you’re never really sure where to go, especially as a freshman. There’s too many options to choose from, too many different roads to go down, but I’m confident that with the proper guidance and the right navigation I will find my way. And if all else fails, I’ll find it in myself.
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