I have been following the show Lost since the beginning, and I like everyone else who is watching it am very confused. One of the most confusing parts for me is the sideways world they are creating. What’s that all about? Maybe it really is an alternate universe. And when I started thinking about that, my mind started to drift to the idea that one little changed decision in each of our lives could lead to our lives totally shifting course and leaving us nowhere close to the people we are today. (did you get that? Kind of hard to wrap your head around huh?) Have you ever wondered what your alternate universe could be?
I went to college wanting to be an on air news anchor. I was going to work for a major network and become famous. As a freshman I jumped into the on campus television world with both feet. I anchored the college news program, as well as did their Entertainment tonight type pieces. I loved it! Then I got involved in my sorority, and socializing became more of a priority. I then realized as I got deeper in my journalism classes that I wasn’t really going to start out in the big time, and that I was just a big fish in a small pond. That realization hurt…so I changed my mind and then changed majors. But I have to wonder sometimes what would’ve happened if I continued on that path. Would I have ever made it? Did I have it in me? I kind of doubt it since I hate being told what to do…and I am sure you have to put up with a lot of that in the business…but I still have to wonder what that alternate universe would look like? Jen the big time network news anchor??? Maybe??
Once I decided to change majors I went into Public Relations. I had a big mouth and I wasn’t afraid to use it. I thought it would be perfect. Through a random connection I got a job as an intern with the Vice President of Public Relations for the GAP. It was a dream internship at the time. I felt so adult taking that train into Manhattan and working with such a large company. I really thought I had it made with that connection. But then, 9/11 happened and the Public Relations world certainly was not hiring. There was nothing my connections could do. I was stuck. I knew I needed a job post graduation, and I knew I might have to settle. And settle I did….I hated my first job. (didn’t we all?) But what would have happened if I really did make it in the PR world? Would I have even liked it? Stop me if I’m wrong but I think the world revolves around working long hours and attending a ton of events. It all sounds very fun and glamorous to me, but is it? Would I have been tired and worn out all week? Or would I have loved getting dressed up and hobnobbing it with celebrities. (I do have a thing for celebrities) Sometimes I think I would fit in in that world…or I should say would have fit into that world because I certainly know now I don’t belong.
Then my mind shifts back to my current life. The life I would not change for the world. Had I taken either of the above routes I know I would have never met my wonderful husband. Lots of things have brought me to where I am today, and I know I am doing what I am meant to do. But I still sometimes wonder what just one change would do to my life. You can’t think of it too much because it’s enough to drive you nuts. Is there anything you did or didn’t do in the past that makes you wonder if you chose differently how different your life would be??
I originally wanted to go to school to major in English. I wanted desperately to be an author. I loved writing and I loved reading and I thought I’d be good at it. But I was never good at plotting out where the story would eventually lead, and I never actually finished a story I had started writing. My parents didn’t want to pay for me to go to college and major in something I wasn’t going to excel at, and they pointed out that they didn’t think an English major would support the kind of lifestyle I wanted. So I instead went to school for Computer Science and am now a Software Engineer. I know that if I had done English, I wouldn’t have met my husband or probably many of the friends I have now and I wonder if I’d even be making any money, haha.
Its wierd right! Its funny how we sometimes have to give up dreams because of money, or how long it will take us to get there. I hope you are happy with your choicse. I am ?
It’s wild to think about what might have been if we had done what we thought we wanted to do ten years ago. I definitely took a different track than I ever imagined, but now I can’t imagine any other life. And, for the record, Jim and I like to think that we would have met anyway. ?
Thats cute that you think you would’ve met anyway. The Captain and I would’ve met, but I have to wonder if we would’ve stayed together…lol But maybe your right, the universe could’ve had the same plan for us!
I wonder the same things too. But I am so glad my life has gone the way it has.
If I had stayed on the path I was on I would be not even half way through my medical examiner training & would probably have another 5-7 years to serve in the Armed Forces. I wouldn’t have Leah & Louis.
I wonder sometimes and what if…but I think I made the right choice.
It’s an interesting concept to think about, what our lives would have been like if we either stayed on the same road or took a different road all together. I think a lot of times when people think on these lines, they look at it with rosey glasses and think, if things were different, they would be better. That’s because easier and more beautiful to think that things would be better. When in actuality, it could be worse. And to bring it back to Lost, I think at it’s heart Lost is about love. That thinking you could change your path, would make your life better. But that wasn’t the case. While their lives continued on as normal it was always missing something. The love that they found through the island. And in the sideways world it shows that these people still find their way into your life, but their love hangs just out of reach. That what they thought would make their lives better, actually left them empty and unfulfilled. For a trippy real life example, with the Lost mentality, imagine if you became a news anchor and who your husband is now ended up being your financial advisor/lawyer/whatever. And I think that’s what Lost is showing us, that it isn’t always better.