If you were to ask yourself "where do I see myself within the next 10 years", what would be your response? Some might say they want to be an engineer, astronaut, a cop, and several other professions. For myself, I wasn't sure what I really wanted to do and to this day, I'm still not sure. In high school, we were always taught that things would be straightforward in life, go to college, get a degree, find a good job, start a family, and live happily ever after in suburbia. In reality, we all know that isn't the case for many of us. Life is unpredictable and sometimes you never know what's gonna be thrown at you. I know that was true for me, at least not at first. I know that I was following that same straightforward path that so many others travel. I was on my way to graduating with my Bachelor's in mechanical engineering, I had several jobs lined up for me once I moved back home, and I had someone special in my life, a woman that was watching and waiting for me to succeed and come home to her. You could say I had it great or I had it all.
Well, at the time, I thought I had everything. I thought there was nothing that could stop me or get in my way of what was to be mine. I loved everything I had going for me, I was valedictorian in high school, I became one of the top sprinters on the track team, and I earned myself a scholarship to the university I'm attending. Even the gifts given to me by my mother meant more than anything else given to me, especially the pendant with the black stone. The black stone pendant was special, not because it was my mother and not because it was my birthstone, black onyx, it was because of how rare I saw her after my father died while she served overseas. I cherished every moment that we had together, even if it was short lived. That stone though… that stone was more than anything I would have or could have asked for.
A stone, that's what started all of this. Well, not so much a stone as it was a gem. Okay, not just any old gem, some emerald that had an odd vibe to it. The kind of odd vibe that led me on an adventure of a lifetime and… honestly, after all this time, I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of it. I went from being a college student to being… something else… supposedly something much greater, but… there are times where I didn't want this. I didn't want to become this way, I didn't want to go down this path, I just wanted… I wanted what I already had and nothing else mattered to me. It sounds selfish, but it's the truth. Is that selfish of me? Maybe it is, maybe I wanted that stability and that comfort. I know nothing lasts forever, but I would have done anything to keep it.
On the other hand, I somewhat enjoy what I have now. If it weren't for that gem, I wouldn't have come to meet the people that I have, I wouldn't have seen so much in a short amount of time. I would've never met that girl with the dreads, not to mention her advice is probably what kept me alive after all this time. I was able to do things that most people would dream of doing, saw things that no other man could ever see, and the power… it was amazing. If I wanted to, I could end the world's problems without a second thought and for once, there might actually be world peace. The way I wielded it, the way it became a part of me, and honestly, I still don't know how to explain how exhilarating and euphoric it felt sometimes. Granted, it did come with some drawbacks, sometimes resulting in utter, well… chaos. Most notably an entire planet was… significantly affected.
Would I do it all over again? Maybe. If it were you, would you do it all over again? I'll let you be the judge of that.