Fall 2010
Newark, Delaware
Life sucks. I finished getting my Masters degree, but somehow, I’m back in my tiny, undergrad college town with two of my old, high school friends. I’m working the same job, driving the same car, and just doing the same stuff. It feels like nothing has changed. I’m yearning for some novelty and a way out of my easy, well-paying, but boring job.
In a tradition dating as far back as the existence of bars, the three of us are catching up on each others’ lives. Stefan and I joke with Kevin about when he’s going to propose to his girl friend. After a certain age, it just becomes the norm to expect any couple lasting beyond a year to get engaged. It makes me feel terribly old. While I just finished graduate school, Stefan’s applying to go back to school. On the other hand, I’m fantasizing about all the success and changes I’ll have in the next year: I’ll make passive income from websites, find a beautiful, smart girl, and most of all, live cross country in a RV.
It’s the millionth time, I’ve talked about buying a used RV. But, I’m also expressing my doubts. Is it really a smart idea? Do I really want to spend my life savings on a 15 year old motorhome? Stefan says in a factual tone, “Peter, you’re getting a RV.” At that moment, the doubts evaporated from me. The certainty with which he uttered that simple sentence transformed my RV dream into a near future, reality. There were certainty more pivotal moments leading up to acquiring the RV, but I still remember that night. The simple, little things we say and do to others might seem inconsequential, but you never know what impact they may have on others. Therefore, please tread softly because you may be trending on someone’s hopes and dreams.