I’ve thought a lot about my past four years at Union: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Which I guess is a right of passage for any senior in their last semester: to spend time reflecting on your favorite memories and what you have loved, but also what you would do over again if you had the chance.
To some degree, you can spend your whole life questioning “what if?” and wondering what your life would look like if you had chosen a different path. It is easy to fall into that mindset. However, when I do find myself thinking that way, I’m reminded of a song called “This” by Darius Rucker.
It was not and still is not a huge hit. I can honestly say I had never heard of the song until this past year. Yet, it could not have hit me at a better time.
One aspect I love about music is the feeling you get when you hear a really great song. It’s almost like you feel at peace and everything makes sense — even if it is only for three minutes.
“This” happened to be one of those songs for me. It caught me in a bad season. I wished I could just move on to the next phase of my life, while simultaneously wishing I could have a reset button.
I remember the first time I heard it, on a random afternoon on my way home from class. I vividly remember hearing this one line:
“It is crazy to think that one little thing could have changed all of it.”
At that moment I immediately stopped and imagined how different my life would have looked if I would have made a few different choices — like going with my second option and not Union or not transferring schools in the middle of high school.
Looking back now, I realize that I would have missed out on so many relationships and opportunities. Yet, at the moment you don’t think about those decisions changing the course of your life.
The song goes on to say “Maybe it didn’t turn out like I planned. Maybe that’s why I’m such a lucky man.”
I can sit on the other side and tell you that without a doubt, my life did not turn out as I planned. I could also sit here and think of the “what ifs?” and live the rest of my life wondering what could have been.
Or I can be thankful that “it led me here to this.”