Lauren Blanchard, 3/23/21, PD 2, Day A

Lauren Blanchard

3/23/2021

Period 2

Day A

    Although it seems boring, and repetitive, my family's favorite vacation together are the trips we take to Walt Disney World.  For the duration of our stay, we are transported to an alternate place. There is a disconnect from the usual chaos of our daily life that allows us to grow closer together; however, this escape is also the source of one of my longest standing worldly goals. From the first time I stared at the moving mechanisms on Cinderella's carousel, I wanted to become an engineer. 

    In the years following, I set smaller goals to help me achieve my larger one. I would get good grades. I would attend Staten Island Technical High School, and later attend college. Before reaching double digits in age, I planned my life out. Each time I returned to Disney, and the carousel, I vowed to continue with my plan. 

    Thus far, I have. I worked to get the marks I wanted, neglecting time that could have been spent with family and friends. Homework became my constant companion. In high school, I joined sports and clubs to expand my resume, and when I applied to college, my efforts were rewarded.  

    Then, reality arrived. The delusions of college I created, using information from movies and television, proved to be false. Under the pressure of a global pandemic and personal change, my plans shattered. The university I planned to attend, since I before I could understand the concept of a university, no longer appeared to be the right fit. While my ultimate goal, becoming an engineer, remained the same, the steps to achieve it changed. I betrayed my younger self.

    In school, we are told to set goals for the future. Our life becomes governed by these goals, yet we are never taught what to do when they are achieved. What happens to your sense of purpose? What do you do when your goal takes the form of something else? In the past few weeks I have learned to accept my changing goals, and change within myself. If I remained the same child spinning in circles on Cinderella's carousel, I would never achieve anything. I did not betray my childhood plans. Change (for the better) should be the main goal of our lives.