Are You In Control?

"Life is what you make it." This was what my cousin told his younger sister many years ago when she got pregnant and was not married. I knew it was quoted from a song, but I was too young then to contemplate song lyrics.

That younger sister is now married and living a life better than most, if not all, of her siblings.

Yesterday, a friend and I chatted over Yahoo Messenger. He told me that he was going to take control of his life starting this year. This decision came after he visited his family during the Christmas vacation. He saw the need to help his family and felt that he was the only one who could. He was tired of drifting through life, letting it lead him wherever it pleased. This time, he wanted to take charge.

Last week, a friend invited me to her shop. She planned to involve me in the business she was currently running. I asked what time her shop opened and told her that I would probably go there two hours after opening to make sure she would already be there when I arrived.

When I got to her shop, it was still closed. I wondered why but didn’t make an effort to call and ask.

I couldn’t think of any place to go since she was the only reason I had gone out.

I stood beside the road, watching jeepneys pass by. I read each jeepney’s route and destination signboard, thinking about where those directions might lead. Still, I couldn’t decide, and the weather was getting hotter.

The heat pushed me to hop on a jeepney, hoping I would find a good place to get off along the way.

As I sat inside, watching the places we passed, nothing caught my interest. It reminded me of this song:

Do you know where you're going to?

Do you like the things that life's been showing you?

Where are you going to?

Do you know?

Do you get what you're hoping for?

When you look behind you, there's no open door

What are you hoping for?

Do you know?

As the jeepney neared its final destination, I got off—not because I had found a place to hang out, but because I didn’t want people to think I was crazy for staying on until the end of the route. The jeepney would have simply turned around and gone back to where I had boarded.

A life without direction is crazy. And so is the person living it. Take control.