Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.
The Road Not Taken
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.
After reading this, I realized that I had the same choice in my work. I had the choice of building a career in business (the path with the “better claim”) or studying art and literature. I chose business. But now, I feel like I have the opportunity to go back and take the other road. Unlike the speaker in the poem, I will not have to sigh when I tell my story. For me, two roads diverged in a wood and I had the unique opportunity to travel both, and that has made all the difference.
Always look at obstacles as opportunity and life’s downs will be doors to new adventures.
