Which way do I go?

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

---

This Robert Frost poem is definitely one of my favorites. I remember having to analyze and dissect this poem in high school, but it didn't make an impact on my life until years later. In essence, this is about making choices. Not only are we required to make some hard decisions in life, but these same decisions seem to be what define us. 

My father still defines me by the decisions I made when I was 18 years old. 

Have you ever done something and while you're doing it you ask yourself --"What am I doing?" and then do it anyway! After all is said and done, you proceed to ask "What did I do?" I am completely guilty of doing this on way too many occasions. Frost's poem teaches me not to delve into self-deception, self-doubt, oversimplification or overrationalization.   

I was pregnant at 18 during my second year of college. One day  I sat with my college counselor and shared my heart with her. I was faced with the responsibilities of motherhood at a young age and had completely no idea what I was doing. I looked on Facebook as friends continued to live their freely in their college years while I cared for a baby. My counselor told me that years from now my peers and I will be in similar positions-- facing parenthood, families, work, and other facets of life. The only difference is that we will have experienced life events in a different order. 

My oldest son is now 10 years old, and as I check out social media I see friends getting married, becoming parents, getting job promotions, traveling, and living life, I remember what my counselor told me, and she was right. I got married days after my 23rd birthday, and now I see friends getting married now. I've learned how to manage three kids and friends are experiencing their first child. Our lives took different paths, but essentially we will get to the same destination -- our own rendition of a fulfilled life, but the paths we traveled made all the difference.

And then there's this great interpretation from Piper on "Orange is the New Black."