Infinite Paths

There are infinite pathways. There are infinite destinations.  

Here's just two:

Student 1 is a "star" student. She pays attention, works hard and does all that the teacher demands of her. School comes naturally to her. Quite frankly, she doesn't really need the teachers at all. She masters all of the state learning standards and aces all of her standardized tests. She is deemed "College and Career ready." She spends nearly three decades of her life in school so she can get a high paying job and begins to pay off the incredible amount of student loan debt that she accrued to get where she is now. She sets whatever she can aside in a retirement fund and hopes that, one day, she will be able to enjoy the fruits of her labor. She marries the love of her love. Together, they raise a beautiful family and they are blessed with everything they could ever ask for and more. 

Student 2 is on the Autism spectrum. He is placed in a self-contained classroom because he just can't keep up with the rigorous pace of a general education classroom. He tries his hardest to do what his teachers demand of him, but it is overwhelming and overstimulating. He is impulsive, shouts out, has sensory "issues." He is oddly obsessed with the weather. In fact, he can predict what the weather will be like years into the future with freakish accuracy. He not only does this with the local weather, but with weather patterns around the world.

Student 2 goes through the educational system and gets placed in transition program that gets him a job at a local supermarket after high school. Customers find him sweet and charming. They find his obsession with the weather an endearing quality. One day, a wine connoisseur comes in to buy a bottle of wine and strikes up a conversation. The connoisseur is fascinated with Student 2's ability. With the connoisseur's knowledge of wine regions and student 2's ability to predict the weather, they decide to go into business selling wine. Not vintage, aged fine wines. Wines that the grapes haven't even been grown for yet! You see, being able to predict the weather helps know which wine regions will have stellar growing seasons. Knowing this, wine drinkers can get their hands on a fantastic bottle of wine before it's even distilled. The business is highly successful. Student 2 is blessed with all he could ever ask for and more.

Yes, the paths are infinite. The trouble is that when one is on a certain path, it is difficult to see any other way. That doesn't mean that those on alternate routes are headed in the wrong direction. It just means they are going a different way. Things go wrong when we impose our will on others, when we think our way is the best way and we try to choose paths for someone else. The only wrong path is the one that we do not choose for ourselves.