"...I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

by Christine Petrozza
(McDonald, PA)

This quote is from Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken". In my life, this has been a quote I seem to live by, although at times, not by choice but by chance.

As a younger person, I seemed to take the more difficult path of learning from my mistakes. The key here is that I did learn from them.

As an adult, I made some choices in my life that seemed difficult and were perhaps, "the road less traveled", but in the end, those choices were the right ones and ones that have helped to make my life better. For example, choosing to leave a marriage of 14.5 years, was difficult. It would have been easier to stay with him and live unhappily. But, because I was not happy and fulfilled in my marriage, I took the road less traveled, made the choice to leave, and chose happiness.

It did cause pain and un-settlement with my kids, which was difficult to endure. But, now, looking back and with those issues on the upswing, I know in my heart it was the right thing to do.

Therefore, sometimes we look at "two roads diverging in the woods" - we have to decide at that moment, shall I take the road that is worn and "easy" for the road that is less traveled?

In most cases, I would say that while the less traveled road may have challenges to get to the end, it is usually the road that at the end where we will discover fulfillment and satisfaction.