Happy Case

What am I doing? Where do I go from here? I seem to have lost the instructions to life, the path to happiness and success. What does one do to achieve the so-called 'American dream'? Everyone seems to do the same thing--go to college, get a job, work for a long time, then die. What if I don't want to do this? I don't want to sit at a desk for hours on end, for years on end. What's the point? I'm going to die anyway, why waste my time doing something I don't want to?

As I walked into the room, it seemed as if every pair of eyes drifted towards me. You could feel the tension in the air. Everyone in the room wanted the same thing--no amount of small talk or mindless babble would change that. Everyone was on their own, that's what it all boiled down to.

Why the competitiveness? It seems like everyone is out to get you these days. Instead of helping out others, we are throwing them under the bus to gain a few steps on the rest of society. The worst part of it all is that we are all fighting to gain an edge in the same thing. We all fight for the same schools, the same jobs, the same promotions. It never stops. I am not saying that success shouldn't be earned, Hard workers are the backbone of human society. The issue in this is that everyone is trying to be the same person. Success is being forced, not driven.

Walking over to the start of the event, I was confident, and yet my confidence was overtaken with doubt. No amount of practice or preparation could have erased my doubt--practice is not like the real thing. I looked around me. Everyone was blank--cold--determined to come away with a victory. I tried to focus as I stepped up to the starting line. Gathering my thoughts, I systematically climbed onto my bike.

In fifth grade my teacher told me I could be anything I wanted, do anything I wanted. I have since learned that this isn't true. The world isn't perfect and it isn't changing. Not everyone can be good at everything. I can safely say that I'm not going to get the chance to participate in the Olympics, or compete in the NFL. This, however, doesn't mean that I, or anyone else, cannot be happy. Happiness doesn't have to mean growing up to do what you dreamed to do as a kid. Happiness can be molded to mean whatever an individual desires. The point is that no one can define what happiness is for you. No one can tell you what you want, what you desire to accomplish.

The cold slab of aluminum and rubber was my ticket to success. The rugged, technical rock and dirt was all that stood between me and my goal. Everything would come together now, it has to, it always has. Then we were released, like animals, set off into the hills. I pushed forward, passing a majority of the riders early on. Turn after turn, obstacle after obstacle, I enforced my dominance over the mountains as I progressed onward.

Is it worthwhile to live a long life if you spent your days slaving away at a computer, never reaching or even truly realizing what your inner drive is? I say no. Absolutely not. As a society we have progressed to fit into a system that pumps out generation after generation of identical people. Almost everyone does the same thing, and those that go against the flow are shunned. If you want to get out and enjoy the world, go do it. Don't worry about the effects. Do what you want to do with your life, because if you don't, you will have wasted your life.

The twenty-six miles of mountainous terrain proved to be an inconsequential challenge when compared to the emotional toll that the race had. I knew I was in the lead, but by how much? Were they catching