Life Is Like Going To The Bookstore

     I recently had a Starbucks date with my cousin, Thomasina.  Thomasina and I have a lot in common, even though she's the first "cousin" and I'm the baby (of our generation of cousins, anyway).  She's introduced me to so many wonderful things and has such a positive impact on my life: she took me to the Celtic Fling to see and meet Enter the Haggis, a band I heard because of Thomasina; she gave me my boxset of Narnia books; she introduced me to Xena the Warrior Princess and sushi and how to use technology and out-of-the-box thinking.
     When I would get gift cards to Barnes & Noble's, we would go together.  First, we'd canvas the store and put any book we even THOUGHT about getting or that looked interesting in a basket.  Then, we'd go to the cafè, get a snack, and sort through our books until we had a pile that met our budget (we tried to, anyway, haha).  We had SO MANY choices in the store, from different genres and styles of writing to music to activity-type things that really weren't much of a book to cool things like an iPod-playing tape deck for the car etc., etc.  Once we narrowed down those choices and began the nitty-gritty sorting, we still had SO MANY choices when it came to what we wanted, what we thought we'd actually read/use and enjoy, and what fit in our budget.  What was overpriced and probably available online and what was a splurge and what story we HAD to have.  And we'd have serious discussions of budgets and giggles over silly things whilst we sipped our Starbcks and made memories.
     During this most recent Starbucks date, we yet again got on the subject of college and the future.  Ugh; it seems that as soon as you hit junior year, no matter WHO is talking to you or WHERE you are or WHAT you are doing, you'll end up talking about college.  I was voicing my dread of student loans; how I need a car but want to make a good investment, not just hastily buy a car; and how I want to be able to afford a nice wedding after college but I'll have all these bills and whatnot..  Where was I going with this?... Oh yeah--  So, I was saying how I don't really even know what I want to do yet.  I have been exposed to so many things over the past four years, so many different areas where I've had to do well if I wanted to earn a good class rank and all, that it's hard to choose what I want to do.  Then, Thomasina said "It's like going to the bookstore!"
     It clicked.  There are so many options available to us, so many careers and schools and dreams within our reach that we can almost taste them all.  However, we don't have to make our major decision right there in front of the vast bookshelf between that hipster to your right and the smelly guy to your left.  We're allowed to grab a hot chocolate and brownie, sit down, talk it out, weigh our options, and breathe while we make decisions.  Heck, we might even go home with two totally different books, neither of which were what we came into Barnes & Noble for, but those two stories may impact us more than we ever thought they could.
     In case I'm getting a little too blurry between my point and the metaphor I'm using to describe it, I'll spell it out.  Life is like going to the bookstore: you get to sample everything at your leisure, you don't have to make any hasty decisions, and it's that half hour of calm decision-making that allows us to make the right decision and follow the right path.  Also, doing your budget over hot chocolate and a brownie is so much better than just wallowing in self-pity.  College is so overwhelming, and so is adulthood, but if we just remember to breathe we can get through it.
     Also, to comply with the requirements of this blog assignment, stories are so important that the stores that house them are comparable with life.   I said comparable with LIFE.


     It's amazing how fun outings with your cousin can be so profound haha!  Also, I love this quote: "Today is the first blank page in a 365 page book, write a good one!"
    Thanks for the insight, Thomasina; I love you!