Ponderings

I found this picture online in connection to the poem.

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

My mind has been drifting to this poem all week. I had heard it before but never really paid much attention to it. Last Monday I was in a creative writing class at the middle school I volunteer at. They start every class by reciting a quote or a poem they are memorizing. Monday was the start of this poem. The teacher spoke about his interpretation of the poem and was very careful to point out that the poem is not saying the way he took was bad or wrong, but that simply there were two choices.

Graduation is getting nearer and I have been thinking a lot about my time at BYU and what it has meant to me. One of the continuing struggles I have had is what I should major in.

I love psychology, I really do. I am also passionate about history. Teaching has always been in the back of my mind as a career for as long as I can remember. Some of you might remember that a while back I changed my major from psychology to history and I wanted to be a history teacher. I ended up changing back to psychology because I missed it. Immediately I missed my history classes though too. It has been an ongoing conflict. Volunteering at Dixon has only increased in my mind how much I love education and I believe I would have enjoyed being a teacher.

All week I have been thinking about this poem and how true it is for my life. I have prayed about which major to choose so many times. Psychology never felt wrong and history or history teaching never felt wrong. I chose to major in psychology. That was the path I walked down. But what if I had chosen history? Would my life be that different? I do not think it would be. It was just one of those choices that you come across in life.

I believe we all have times in our life where we are staring down two equally good paths.

So, that was my deep thought. I do not really analyze poetry all that often, I am more of a novel or play kind of girl. But every now and then I hear or read a poem that really reflects what I am feeling and from then on it is a favorite. I would have to say that this poem is nearly as much of a favorite as My Native Land by Sir Walter Scott.

Has any one else wondered about the road not taken?