To Be Continued

Looking back to when I was a teen and in my 20's, I was always imagining how my life would turn out. Like many young people, I was focused on the destination. The destination looked like a movie with a happy ending. A good Hollywood ending includes character wrap up, conflict resolution and the main character getting what he or she wanted. Our society promotes the happy ending. Just ask and college aged student who feels pressure to get that "real" job after college and to make something of their lives. If you ask me, the college aged interns I have at camp are the most happy and fun people to be around. "Real life" hasn't caught up with them yet, so most of them are open, flexible, fun and a breath of fresh air. There are some who take themselves too seriously already and unless the camp can give them prestige or accolades, they want no part of it. The rest are refreshing, so much so in fact, I think they are far happier than many of those adults I've met who have supposedly arrived. I delayed seriousness personally and stayed lost in my 20's, which worked out to my advantage. While others went straight into serious jobs after college, I was waitressing in New York City and then a nanny for a well to-do family. Those experiences laid the fabric for me starting a camp one day and for helping others. If I had arrived at my happy ending in my 20's, I would wage $100 that I would have not felt free enough to take the risks I have taken. Maybe being in a never ending series like Star Wars is the answer. Instead of an ending, there are back stories and new stories and side stories all making up the bigger picture. I sure hope that all of those refreshing college interns I have had the pleasure to work with over the past several years stay excited about life. Somehow those serious jobs and life's pressures have a way of zapping the joy out of people. Happiness and success are not a destination, they are a process. On any given day, I may have many happy moments, some laughter, occasional tears, a plot twist, a cliff hanger, and symbolism. Then, as I lay in bed at night, I imagine the words "To be continued"....appear mysteriously above my head as I drift off to sleep. Then I wake up and my story continues. I imagine that even when our story ends here, we continue to grow and reflect on the other side. The beauty of it as that even on the other side, we can watch the legacy we left behind in a front row seat, as we cheer and help guide our loved ones on. I'm glad that we never really arrive, it makes life so much more interesting.