Opposite of Loneliness

osite of loneliInterpretive essay – opposite of loneliness

For every teenager, stepping into the world of adulthood somewhat gives them a different vibe and ambiance whereby they go through different stages and levels to finally be where they are today. They can never be aware of what the future holds for them but to only be prepared for every impact that might hit them along the way. Its like a test, being graded based on your performance and to distinguish whether or not you’ve achieved your success. In the article “Opposite of loneliness” by Marina Keegan, it explains about the life of a young adult who started her adulthood in Yale University. A place she had found happiness and most certainly the opposite of loneliness. Moreover, she finds herself completely attached to it as she had said in the first paragraph “What I’m grateful and thankful to have found at Yale and what I’m scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place”. This phrase shows us that Yale brought out the best in her, something she fears losing and that she is actually very reluctant to have to leave. She is afraid that all her memories and experiences she has gone through would be gone once she steps out of Yale.

This article shows the basic development of a young adult’s social life beginning with a simple circle of friends or a clique and the attachment that became stronger as one grow fonder of the people around her which is exactly what she faces in her experience in Yale where it was mentioned in paragraph three, “Yale is full of tiny circle we pull around ourselves”. She found that even though not everyone knows everyone, there is still unity and a sense of togetherness among the students in Yale. She also added that the experienced they shared among themselves were priceless and unforgettable and that she felt safe and loved whenever in the company of her peers during her time in Yale.

This article allows us to see that the writer begins to discover herself and learns to comprehend about life as she faces challenges along the way while being in Yale. The fear of knowing the truth or fear of not knowing at all is something every individual learns to adapt to however the word “fear” should never conquer a person as it would only demotivate ourselves instead of seeing the positive side of life just as she had mentioned in paragraph 4 “But let us get one thing straight: the best years of our lives are not behind us. They’re apart of us”

The writer starts comparing the her past and the possible future where she wished that she could wind back time and correct her past mistakes and regrets if given the chance to. It makes us realize that in life there will be scenes playing in our minds like a 1980’s classical film in which the “What if” takes place. There are times that every individual wished they could go back in time and do something good for themselves or be a the chairperson of a certain society, things they never knew they had it in them or things they went through and it never crossed their mind that they actually did it which is exactly what she felt in herself, “I’ve looked back on my high school and thought: how did I do that? How did I work so hard?” Everybody would have their standards of living and expectations of succeeding however the article also makes us realize that no matter how perfectly we plan, we may not have the ending that we wished for. We can never be certain of what the future holds for us, however as life goes on, we understand that a human being tends to regret her decisions and change their minds ample of times which explains what she had mentioned in paragraph nine “If only I had majored in biology, if only I’d gotten involved in journalism as a freshman”

The writer also shared uncertainties for what the future would hold for her. She starts comparing herself to others who have accomplished more than she has. Life is all about choices and it is these choices that she is most afraid of. The writer also stated that during her time in Yale, she never had to make any life changing choices and knows she has to start doing it once she graduated and is afraid to make the wrong choices. However, she added that however our lives turned out to be, the future is uncertain and that it can be altered at any point of our life. This can be seen when she said “What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over”.

At a young age especially an undergraduate student would always feel that there’s always something missing in their lives to what they’ve accomplished. However also at a young age the opportunity that lies ahead in the future is even bigger. For each expect the young adult faces in Yale University, she comes across one conclusion of her college life, loneliness was never involved however happiness, laughter and memories are definitely words to describe it. Stages by stages this article makes us understand that we as human beings should cherish each and every moment that we have and make the best out of it. Sustain it as a memory that becomes apart of you until the very end. Yes life is not a bed of roses however there’s no harm in trying to make it an enjoyable experience and ride.