Going into college, I believed that I could do anything and be anyone, it was a time of infinite potential and possibilities. However, as I have begun to glimpse the end of my college experience on the horizon, the limitless potential now seems finite and rigid.
One regret of my first two and a three-quarters years at UP is how little of Portland I’ve actually seen and experienced.
When college first started, I, being the only one with a car, would drive my newfound friends to all the hot Portland spots. However, as the novelty of our friendships have faded and we have grown complacent, I have started prioritizing expediency and comfort over new experiences.
I order the same thing from the Starbucks on Lombard (Americano, black), I rotate between the same three restaurants, never changing my order, and I buy just about everything else from one of two Fred Meyers.
I often recommend Screen Door, Pip's Original Doughnuts & Chai and Stumptown to my friends who ask what are the quintessential parts of Portland, even though I have never actually been to them myself.
Maybe this is part of a larger issue in my life. I want to explore the world, meet lots of interesting people, lead a fulfilling life. What I don’t want is to live and die at a dead-end desk job, stuck doing the same thing day-after-day, a creature trapped in and defined by habit.
I’ve always had grand dreams of traveling the world. But reflecting on how little I’ve branched out of my comfort zone while at UP, I have to ask myself — do I only have these desires to brag about or post on my Instagram? Or do I truly want to immerse myself in a foreign culture and expand my bubble.
How can I reasonably expect myself to fulfill these dreams in the future if I can’t break out of my comfort zone now, when I am not tied down with a job, kids or significant other?
As I move forward, I don’t want to miss out on the wonders of Portland anymore. I recently went to Pine Street Biscuits for the first time after living in the Portland metropolitan area for 21+ years. It was delicious.
William Seekamp is the Sports Editor for The Beacon. He can be reached at seekamp22@up.edu.
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