MOVING YOUR CHEESE
BY: GILAINNE SYTINGCO

Five weeks ago one of my best friends moved out of Auckland to pursue her studies. It’s not that I won’t ever see her again…I mean, she’s scheduled to come up here every six weeks or so. But as that event transpired, a thought struck my mind – CHANGE.

Interestingly enough, if you answer.com the word change, you’ll find that one of the listed definitions is “to go from one phase to another, as the moon or the seasons”. That definition, I think, best reflects the change I’m talking about here. I look around me and see change unfolding throughout all aspects of life. For example: in my final year of university studies, I see friends who are or have already moved on. Friends graduate, friends move, friends immigrate overseas. To use the words of the definition above, it’s like everyone is moving from one phase of life to the next…and it’s inevitable, unstoppable. It’s something bound to happen. Change is simply part of life’s journey.

The first article I ever wrote for this column was called ‘Reflections and Resolutions’. A piece about things that I learnt in life so far, I ended the article with: “Life is a journey. Make every step of the way count”. Now, I must have been an idealistic youth, but looking at that statement made me stop and I think to myself – have I made every step of the way count?

In my twenty-one years, I have seen and most certainly experienced many events. I have been through changes and gone from one phase of life to another, as the moon or the seasons change. And yet, regrettably, in my journey so far, I forgot one of the very lessons I learnt when I was younger. Certain experiences and changes I have undergone have made me drift through life. I have failed to make every step of the way count.

And so, my goal for this year is to re-apply that lesson in my life. I aim to take one step forward at a time, making each of those steps count…and I invite you to undertake this challenge with me.

Now this may seem like a daunting and so very ambiguous challenge. What exactly does it mean to make each step of life count? I am no guru and I am most certainly not here to tell you exactly what to do. Life, after all, does not consist of living by a set formula for everyone to follow. We’re not sheep. We’re people. People who all live very different lives, whose day-ins and day-outs are constituted by a myriad of experiences and changes. I am not here to give you a rosy view of life from a bouncy castle – some pop-y, feel good advice on how to live your life. No, I am merely here to express and share my thoughts and the things I have come across.

So let’s make this a little more personal. I guess applying that lesson in my life would mean the demise of the days of daydreaming, and the commencement of the days of action. I have my dreams and I have my goals, and at this stage in life, I should really start working harder to achieve them. In this sense, I guess the word ‘focus’ should really become my mantra for the next year. In an article “Dreams are not Enough”, Elizabeth Berg writes: “What happens to our dreams? They die of lack of nourishment, that’s what. ‘Later’, we say and when we turn around, they’re gone”. I don’t want to live my life aimlessly and without focus…to the point where my dreams have just gone and passed me by.

With this in mind, I close this piece in the same manner I ended the first article I wrote: “Aim for the heavens because even if you fail, you’ll land among the stars”. To make every step of life’s journey count may seem like a huge overwhelming life-long challenge. But to aim to achieve it would be reaching to grab one of those stars. Will you step up to the plate too?