rotary
I remember it was a wonderful Sunday afternoon. I, then fourteen, was feeling depressed and helpless. Standing in the middle of the crowd in front of the rotary, I did not know where to go, and as I was hit by shoulders of the pedestrians passing by, I felt that people were laughing at me because I was not resolute and could not make a decision independently. Time passed by like fury as the second hand on the watch clicked. I knew that I should not waste more time since in a competitive society, decisiveness and determination were important to achieve personal goals and success. The only option I had was to be brave and make a choice that I believe to be the correct one.
To explain more of what that experience meant to me, I should tell the whole story. Earlier that day, I left my apartment and was planning to go to a nearby library to study. However, as I was wandering on the street, born and raised in Canton, I realized that I had not really explored this city carefully. Instead of heading straight to the library, I decided to begin a city tour. The sunshine was very warm and the city was crowded as usual. The pedestrians were busy walking to different places; cars sped in an endless stream along the boulevard; trees showed an exceptionally comfortable green color under the sunshine, with leaves flickering in the wind; even birds were whispering happily.
On my way, I entered a Starbucks to get a cup of drink. While I was looking at the menu, I had no idea of what I should buy. A cup of Café Americano smelled refreshing but tasted bitter; a cup of Caramel Frappuccino tasted sweat and creamy, but could make you stuffed if consumed to much; a cup of Café Latte balanced the bitterness and creaminess, keeping you awake yet leaving a taste of happiness. Anyway, I ordered an iced Café Americano, although Café Latte seemed like to be a better option. I believed that I needed to take on the bitterness to grow stronger. As a grown little man, not everything was sweet and comfortable, so sometimes I would need independence and a clear mind to face hardship and confusion.
As left the Starbucks, I reached a rotary with a huge crowd of poeple, that joined five roads leading to different directions. The first one lead to the library; the next one lead to the East Lake Park; the next one was the way to a shopping mall where the game center was located; the last one was the way to the train station. My last choice was that I could turn around and go back home.
Going back home was not in my consideration given that I needed to step out of my comfort zone to always look forward and take challenges. Of course, the train station would not be an ideal choice since escaping was not what I should do, and instead I should face the reality. In addition, spending money to shop and play games would lead me into a world of lavishness which was not the proper thing to do for a teenager, and so it went off my list. My choices were now narrowed down to the library and the park. Although I was supposed to study for a test on the next day, I insisted that taking a break in a park would be a better choice in such a wonderful weather.
As I was sitting on the bench by the lake, I thought, the rotary was exactly the symbol of billions of intersections that I would face in my future life where I would need to make decisions. Life would be full of challenges and temptations, and it would be up to me whether I wanted to challenge and improve myself to a higher level and to a success. Just as what I had done in the Starbucks, the Café Americano meant that I would take the challenge and be a better self. Thinking of this point, I realized that I needed to return to the rotary, and go to the library to study. However, when I looked up, the sky was already dark, and I ended up studying until very late that night. I could have done studying first and went to the park to avoid saying up late. Although what I did was not a very good choice, I did not regret for what I chose to do.
I would not say that going to the park in the first place was a wrong decision as I did not chose to do worse things, but I realized that sometimes it was never too late to change my mind to go back onto the correct track. Nevertheless, the timing could of doing that thing can be different, just like I needed to study until late night instead of having done that during the afternoon. Whatever choice I made and would made, I would be responsible for what I chose to do and what I did.
To explain more of what that experience meant to me, I should tell the whole story. Earlier that day, I left my apartment and was planning to go to a nearby library to study. However, as I was wandering on the street, born and raised in Canton, I realized that I had not really explored this city carefully. Instead of heading straight to the library, I decided to begin a city tour. The sunshine was very warm and the city was crowded as usual. The pedestrians were busy walking to different places; cars sped in an endless stream along the boulevard; trees showed an exceptionally comfortable green color under the sunshine, with leaves flickering in the wind; even birds were whispering happily.
On my way, I entered a Starbucks to get a cup of drink. While I was looking at the menu, I had no idea of what I should buy. A cup of Café Americano smelled refreshing but tasted bitter; a cup of Caramel Frappuccino tasted sweat and creamy, but could make you stuffed if consumed to much; a cup of Café Latte balanced the bitterness and creaminess, keeping you awake yet leaving a taste of happiness. Anyway, I ordered an iced Café Americano, although Café Latte seemed like to be a better option. I believed that I needed to take on the bitterness to grow stronger. As a grown little man, not everything was sweet and comfortable, so sometimes I would need independence and a clear mind to face hardship and confusion.
As left the Starbucks, I reached a rotary with a huge crowd of poeple, that joined five roads leading to different directions. The first one lead to the library; the next one lead to the East Lake Park; the next one was the way to a shopping mall where the game center was located; the last one was the way to the train station. My last choice was that I could turn around and go back home.
Going back home was not in my consideration given that I needed to step out of my comfort zone to always look forward and take challenges. Of course, the train station would not be an ideal choice since escaping was not what I should do, and instead I should face the reality. In addition, spending money to shop and play games would lead me into a world of lavishness which was not the proper thing to do for a teenager, and so it went off my list. My choices were now narrowed down to the library and the park. Although I was supposed to study for a test on the next day, I insisted that taking a break in a park would be a better choice in such a wonderful weather.
As I was sitting on the bench by the lake, I thought, the rotary was exactly the symbol of billions of intersections that I would face in my future life where I would need to make decisions. Life would be full of challenges and temptations, and it would be up to me whether I wanted to challenge and improve myself to a higher level and to a success. Just as what I had done in the Starbucks, the Café Americano meant that I would take the challenge and be a better self. Thinking of this point, I realized that I needed to return to the rotary, and go to the library to study. However, when I looked up, the sky was already dark, and I ended up studying until very late that night. I could have done studying first and went to the park to avoid saying up late. Although what I did was not a very good choice, I did not regret for what I chose to do.
I would not say that going to the park in the first place was a wrong decision as I did not chose to do worse things, but I realized that sometimes it was never too late to change my mind to go back onto the correct track. Nevertheless, the timing could of doing that thing can be different, just like I needed to study until late night instead of having done that during the afternoon. Whatever choice I made and would made, I would be responsible for what I chose to do and what I did.