The Road Not Taken...

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not have traveled both
And be one travler long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other one just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Beacuse it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads onto way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The first time I ever heard this poem, I was sitting in my room, watching the amazing and terribly missed 90's tv show Boy Meets World. It was the opening scene, and as usual all of the main characters were in Mr. Feeny's never changing classroom. Topanga was standing in front of the class, and all she recited was the tail end of the poem, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Immediatly something sparked off in my thirteen year old mind and I had to figure out where this poem came from and what the rest of the story preceeding that satement was. I have always been a sucker for good writing, so whether I am watching television, talking to a friend, or sitting in the middle of a lecture, if something said ignites my heart, I cling to it for a time.
It wasn't hard to find that the poem was written by Robert Frost and was indeed his most famous work. I immediatly hit the print button and ran to the printer. Once the ink had dried I snatched it from the tray, and ran back to my room, where I placed in on my bulletin board with a red thumb tack. My fit of insanity was over, and i could now relax and watch the rest of Boy Meets World in peace, knowing I had discovered something wonderful.
I have never been one to keep things, but for years that poem has stayed in the same place with the same thumb tack through it on my bulletin board right at my door. As I have grown older, I have been faced with many different challenges and choices, many of which no teenager or young twenty something should ever have to face. The choices I have made, especially in this past year have been radical ones. I chose to leave the most prestigious Theatre program in the country, on the grounds that I simply wasn't happy. A little further on my road I have had to choose between dangerous treatments, some of which could kill me, and some of them with no hope of helping me. These were all choices that I made alone. While I could turn to others for their opinion, they could no sooner make my choices than use the bathroom for me. I have become a strong person because of my life, and I wouldn't change me for the world. I know that some people may not agree with anything I do, but honestly I'm not living my life seeking approval, I'm living it in search of peace, happiness, and ultimalty the joy that only the Lord can bring me.
Through my life's journey's in the past seven years this poem has greeted me at my door, showing me in clear black and white that I have done the right thing. I took the road less traveld by, and it most certainly has made all the difference in the world.