"The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created--created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination." ~John Schaar

I love that quote. I've been thinking about my future a lot and about the changes that are about to take place in my life. I have been afraid of what lies in store for me, the unknown and untrodden. But what this quote has helped me realize, I am not headed for something, I am creating something. I am embarking on a journey where I am deciding what the destination is, the destination is not chosen for me. So it makes me wonder then, why am I still scared? If I am choosing what my destination is going to be, then I won't be choosing something that is worth fearing. I will be choosing something that is completely for me. This decision, this future, will be one of the first journeys I will go on where my decisions are completely my own. I get to choose for myself, where I want to go, who I want to be. It's the most terrifyingly amazing feeling in the world. For the first time in my life, my future is my own. I get to choose where I go, who I meet, what I do, and I don't have to report back to anyone. It's a scary and exciting idea. I am reassured by the fact that I have had wonderful parents and leaders in my life who have helped me learn to recognize what kind of path I want to create, the kind of path that will make me happy. But what I like is that from here on out, my paths will be chosen completely by me, without someone breathing down my neck. I'm standing at the edge of a cliff, preparing to fly. I'm afraid of the fall, but I can't wait to get a good look at the view. It will undoubtedly, be unforgettable.