The Path You Take

Chapter 1

I'm currently sitting in the plane and just in a few hours, I'm gonna be starting a new chapter in my life. Hi! My name is Alex and I just turned 18 this year. I finsished my highschool and according to the plan, I was supposed to join the Air Force but eventually couldn't get selected. They said that I had flat feet or something. It doesn't even make sense. I mean what could've my feet done while flying the jet duh. This really broke my heart because I really had my heart set for the Air Force. But what can you say when things don't go according to your desire. This was something me and my whole family was looking forward to, especially my mom. It was her wish that later on became my dream. She was okay even though I wasn't a part of it anymore. She said to me," No need to worry kiddo. Its a part of life. Sometimes there's up and sometimes there's down. But that doesn't mean that we don't look forward to it". Seeing her saying these things to me really made me feel better. So what if my dream didn't come true. That doesn't mean I have to stop dreaming you know. I may find a different dream. This world is filled with soo many things that seeing your one dream doesn't come true might look small infront of the endless possibilities of acheiving something greater in life. So now is the time that I stop crying over this and look for something beyond for me. But for that I really need to study, otherwise its all just talk and no work. But to choose what I want to study ahead is really a big decision. I mean not only will I just study that, but also I may only work in places where what I studied is needed. But still its not like I have to decide right now on the spot. I still have few months before I make any decision for myself. Till then, I might just enjoy my time for after this, things might get different. I get up from the bed to go out for a walk. I check my phone and see that Joey has called many times and I haven't noticed. Just when I was thinking of giving him a call, my phone starts ringing again. Its still him. I pick up the phone and just when I placed it near my ear, "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU NOT PICKING UP THE CALL FOR THE LAST HOUR!", a huge rush of anger with all this shouting came rushing into my ear that I had to pull away the phone from me for a minute just to calm my ringing ear. "I'm sorry dude, my phone was on silent so I didn't noticed anyone calling me", I said. "Well it should not be on silent you know. What if I was dying or something?", "Oh stop being soo dramatic dude, anyways what's up?", "I was just free so I thought you wanna hang out?", "Yeah sure. I'll meet you at the store", I said and left the room. I was just about to head out when my annoying little brother had to put the ketchup all over my shirt. "What do you think you're doing!", I said looking at my shirt. "You're welcome. Now you shirt looks better than it was before", he said with a big grin on his face. Just when I was about to catch him, he ran straight to mom and started telling the mixed up stories. " Ma look Alex is hitting me again", he said while making all that innocent face. "No I'm not but I'll surely hit you now for lying", I started walking towards him but mom held him in her arms "You should not hit your brother Alex, he's just a little kid", "But mom look what he did to my shirt!", " Its okay he's a little child. You can just ignore it by thinking of it as a silly mistake". She always save him. If it wasn't for her, he would've gotten a serious beating. "And you Ben. Apologise to your big brother right now", she looked at him who was trying to hide from me in her arms. He made a grumpy face but then looked at me and said, " Sorry..". "Well there you go, not a big deal", she said and went to the kitchen. "Hey mom, I'm going out to meat Joey", I said before going to my room to change the shirt. "Sure. Just be back before dinner", she replied. I took out a clean shirt from the closet and put it on. I closed to the door on my way and started walking towards the store where Joey works. We've been close friends since we were 7. I still remember the time that he was the first ever person who approached me when we first moved to the city. I wasn't talkative much but that never bothered him. He accepted for who I am and was always there for me. So you can say that our friendship is quite unbreakable. I take a look around the neighborhood as I keep my steady pace. I can't beleive that I've lived in this neighborhood for about 10 years or so. So many memories. Its been so long that I even know all the turns, all the hiding spots, all the people that have come and go. A smile appears on my face as I think all about it. I finally arrive to the store and see Joey working behind the counter. He looks at me and, " Ahhh.. You finally made it. But as much as I remember, the walk from your house to the store doesn't takes about one hour", he says with a sarcastic tone. "My stupid little brother put ketchup all over my shirt so I had to change it. Anyways what's up?", I ask. " Well my shift just got over and I was thinking maybe we could go to the lake", " Sure but my mom said I had to be home before dinner", "Sounds good to me", he says as he  changes his shirt and puts on the jacket. We leave the store and start going towards the lake. All the while he's talking, I'm immersed in my own thoughts. What should I do now? What is the best option for me? Where is my life headed? A punch hits me on the shoulder and "Are you even listening to me?", Joey looks at me. "Yeah I am", " Okay so what was I saying?", "Something something this and that", I say and another punch I recieve on my shoulder. "Just relax dude. You didn't get selected for the Air Force so what? It's not like your life is ending here. Just cheer up dude", he says. "You know life is like a canvas, you can paint it anyway you want with any colors you like. If you don't have the color you want, then just make one using the other colors". I can't beleive this is coming from Joey but I can't say that I expect least from him. He has always loved literature. Joey is a kind of person that one wishes to be like. He's athletic with a good body, smart when it comes to studying, charming but down to earth type of person. Even though his father is a business man, he always takes care of his own expenses. One thing he always loves to do in his free time is reading literature. He's like a perfect person. I still can't beleive that we became friends. Ever since we moved to this city, I had always trouble making friends because as you know, I am a very shy person. I don't talk to anyone unless its really necessary. Even when I was in school, I had problem making friends but Joey was there. He was the only one who didn't hesitate to approach me and make a conversation. Since then, we have always been together. We arrive near the lake and went to sit on the bench that was there. This bench was like a part of us. Whenever we used to come here, we always sat on the very same bench. I look across the lake and see the sun shining on top of it making it look like a magical pool of water. "What am I suppose to do now?", I ask Joey still looking at the lake. " I don't know. But whatever you decide, it will be best for you", he says looking in the same direction as me. "But what if its not the best decision I make? What if I screw up?", " Then you make a new decision. You don't have to stop at just one point in life. You can do anything you want". Listening to this assures me to some point. He does have a point. Its my life. I can do whatever I want. A smile appears on my face as I think about it. I may not have been selected for what I always dreamt, but that dosen't mean I stop here. I just need to find a new dream. A better dream.