Just taking life one step at a time

From The Editor, Cristian Vasquez

Sitting in the school library this week, working on my final project for the semester and prepping to begin writing my thesis, my friend and I chatted away in between the reviewing of notes, rewriting sentences and small breaks. The conversation ranged from recapping our Thanksgiving weekend, to what we would have been into if we grew up in the 70s and ended with a discussion of our respective exes. The boring and unnecessary details of why we both are single at the age of 33 and 32 will be left out. However, the subtle lesson taken from our exchange makes me very excited about the future.

I won’t lie to you or myself and say that I don’t want to get married and have kids. It is certainly a huge element of what I envision my life to include. Yet, being 32, single and without children is truly a blessing that allows for all of my other unfulfilled dreams to be realized. For instance, three years ago I was in a Brooklyn bar wearing my Dodgers’ hat watching a Yankees’ game (only team playing at the time due to a rain delay), after having spent two days in Washington D.C. Two years ago I backpacked through central Mexico: for two weeks my laptop, iPhone and I roamed Mexico City, as well as Morelia, Michoacán and Guadalajara, Jalisco, not to mention countless small towns. Last year the Bay Area became the go-to destination with about six or seven visits, totaling an estimated three to four weeks of staying time.

In these travels I was fortunate enough to meet a countless amount of individuals, all with interesting stories and the same desire to share them as I had to listen. Homeless people, business men, social activists, stay-athome moms shopping for groceries or senior citizens at a bus stop, the stories are as random as the individuals that lived them. While I am eager to meet the woman I will one day marry and have kids with, at only age 32, I am fortunate my last girlfriend dumped me. It has given me the chance roam around and time will only tell where I will go next.