Some Other Me

The other day I saw two old friends. One of them is a computer scientist who is headed off to work in the fall. He’s really smart, he works hard, he likes to run marathons, and he’s ready to see a new part of the country. He has a plan. The other is more of a drifter. She loves to have fun and be outside. She works at jobs she enjoys even when they don’t pay as well. She climbs and skis. She also likes to run marathons. She dreams big, and then tries to make these dreams reality. Who else would say “I want to go for a long trip, hey, maybe I should bike across the country?” and then take off and do it. Alone.

Some other me would be biking with her. And some other me would be stopping by his desk to ask if he wants to get lunch.

It’s disconcerting to hear about their lives and realize that I could see myself in either of their shoes. Two very different paths. And I’m not on either one. Instead, I have a one way ticket to Scotland and a handful of email addresses of people I would like to meet over the next 12 months.

Did I make the right choice?

Some other me will come back to the USA in 12 months. Maybe she’ll be fluent in Spanish. Maybe she’ll know how to set up a backstrap loom. Maybe she’ll have seen the northern lights. Maybe she’ll be smarter and wiser and ready to start down any of the paths she previously envisioned. Or maybe she’ll have new dreams that I can’t even imagine yet.

I hope it’s the last one.