What’s next?
That is the question I find myself asking as my junior hockey career has come to an end.
Four years came and went like a flash, filling my mind and photo gallery with memories that will last a lifetime.
What’s next?
I think about it every day as a decision is still at hand as to where I will be for my next chapter in life. A new adventure lures me in every second that ticks by. The next stage of life at university begins in just a few months as I sit here wondering what’s next.
Classes and responsibilities will overwhelm me, and I also look forward to meeting new people and making new friends along the way.
The decision I make will set the trajectory for college along with the real world after I will surely be thrusted into.
What’s next?
Rings and rattles between my ears as my foot taps profusely. Will I chase the dream or am I content with the next phase in my life? Priorities float throughout my head shifting and weaving. Hockey first. No, school first. This one’s cheaper, but this one’s better. I close my eyes blinded by the stress, searching in the darkness of my eyelids for a guide, an answer.
What’s next?
We all have eras end, and with that comes a hurricane of questions spinning before us. Forced change is never enjoyable in the beginning however, the beauty of change is it is constant. We are always evolving and molding whether we request it or not.
Change is not a choice in most cases rather a need that we are forced into despite our feelings towards it. Whether new job opportunities present themselves or cutbacks force positions lost. A change is always to be had. Injuries and incidents are inescapable creeping around every corner. Unexpected deaths or in some cases, life, are dramatic shifts but a reality we cannot deny.
As you sit here reading, whether it is Wednesday morning fresh off the press or a few days later underneath the Michigan moon, I’m sure you have questions of your own. I am here to tell you not to worry and don’t you dare stress.
You and I are in the same exact place.
Exactly where we are supposed to be.
— Jack Mueller