Have you ever felt like you were standing still and everyone on earth was rushing past you? Heading to some goal that's completely invisible to you? I feel like that a lot of the time. Or. . .I used to. I did. I felt like the loser who didn't get the joke. Or even worse- sometimes I felt like I was the joke. But then finally I got it! I saw what they were going for and I wanted it. I wanted it bad. Just like the rest of them, I wanted to be liked. So I headed for it, one foot in front of the other. Soon I was moving like the rest of them. The wind in my hair, my body set on cruise control. Man I was HOT! I was getting what I wanted. Not only that, it was handed to me on a silver platter. My life was great. That's when the bad stuff happens. You know, when life is great. When you're not expecting it. When you're not looking. When you're so blinded by happiness you can't see it coming. And then -WHAM!- it hits you. You're walking along with the rest of them, heading toward your ultimate goal and then it happens. . . KAPOW! You step in gum. BAM! You stub your toe. KABLOOWEE! You trip and fall flat on your face. Or in the worst case, when life hits the toughest, roughest roads. . .you step in the biggest, smelliest pile of dog sh- anyway, it's bad. You freeze up. You don't know what to do. And everyone's zooming past you, seemingly dodging the crap life throws their way. Sure. They're dodging it, while you get a double whammy on the bottom of your new beloved Nikes. And you're back where you started. Or so you thought. You see, I've learned that you enjoy life much more if you just roll with the punches. Take what life gives you, and deal with it. Wipe off the bottom of your shoe, and keep on cruising. Because if you're standing still, everyone's going to zoom right past you. Set your own ultimate goal in life and go for it, because if you don't, you're left in the dust.
Stephenie Griggs
Originally Published Scenes For High School Drama Students
1998