Can't Decide

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. -Robert Frost

I don’t remember when I first read this poem, an outstanding piece of literature if you ask me. And the impact, needless to say was profound. I am always reminded of it whenever life brings me to a crossroad, and that does happen quite often.

I’m a Libran. In other words, I am literally in hell whenever I have to decide anything, even choosing between pasta and pizza at the neighbourhood Pizza Hut. Yup, that bad. You can imagine what I must have gone through when I had to decide the subjects I had to take up in grade 11 (in India, we have to choose a stream after grade ten- commerce, science and art). And being true to my stars, I first thought of commerce and the day of submission, convinced by my father, chose science. And my poor mother then had to bear the brunt of my indecisiveness and my father’s quick input and deal with the school bureaucracies and shift me from science to commerce. Then, in university, I was first in the Mathematics program as I have always believed it to be my first love ( Don’t raise your eyebrows, I’m an Indian!). But then as my restless brain’s bickering with me lead me to check the job market in the field; I decided it was time to make a switch. And so, my undergraduate degree now is Business Administration or in the U of T jargon, Management. But can I ever rest in peace, No!!!!! I had to choose a specialist field within Management. Damn! At the crossroads I was beckoned again. The journey from here on is pretty interesting as well. I was first in Accounting as my father thought it was one recession-proof field and companies always needed nerdy accountants or puppets with no life. (No offence intended, it is my personal opinion as it made me absolutely miserable). But then unable to handle the blood-sucking balance sheets and cash flow statements, I decided it was time to choose another stream. Enter Human Resources. I absolutely loved intro HR class, Organizational Behaviour, loved everything about it. And so, not knowing how much difference the teaching style of a professor can make, I made my pick. Then as I took some more courses in it, I decided I could not live a life of boredom. And switched again- this time to Marketing. And what brought on this? Advertising. I took a course on advertising and the relaxed atmosphere of this class, the funny videos we watched and the cool teaching style of my professor lead me to my umpteenth switch. Wait! It’s not over yet. I am now in Finance and have taken enough courses in it so technically, it’s too late to switch if I want to graduate on time. So, I have decided to stay. Finally! Phew. Not that I never get tempted by International Business and Strategic Management. I do, as being indecisive is what I am unfortunately best at.

Right now as I am currently immersed in Financial Economics and Money and banking, I do smell the irresistible smell of Interior Decorating (I think it’s my dream job, but I really can’t trust myself for obvious reasons). Oh yeah that’s a whole other topic, which I’ll tell you about later.

Back to my books now,

Harleen A.