Being that I am a college student, boredom comes faster than excitement can keep up. "Let's go to the mall" my friend texts. There it is, my hint of excitement for the day. It's a sunny Saturday and the mall is packed. My friend and I grab a table at the food court where we love to spill our souls. Our "gossip table", I usually call it. "I feel like my life is going nowhere" my friend starts. Ah, something we have in common. The anxiety of living life with no Destination.
"Hello" a male voice echoes. That doesn’t sound like my friend. My eyes come upon a elderly white man. I am nervous at first. In a mall full of people, he wandered to us. "Would you guys like to hear a joke?" The man asks. Ah, once again, excitement. "Yes, that's fine," I smile. He takes a seat and pulls out a paper full of writing. "Sorry, I sometimes forget my jokes," he laughs. Patiently, we wait until he begins to recite his jokes. The jokes are music to my ears. They are fun, whimsical, and full of humor that only an older person or an old soul (like myself) could understand. My friend obviously fakes his laugh but mine are true. I crave more jokes but the end eventually comes.
"Tell me about you," the old man asks. My friend goes first and I follow. Soon enough, the topic that we started at the table comes up. "I feel like my life is going nowhere" my friend admits as do I. "You'll get there" the old man says, simply, followed with a goodbye and disappears into the crowded mall.
Every so often, I catch him wandering that crowded, dusty mall. He has no destination, but he’ll get there anyway. We were his destination that day. I am thankful for our brief meeting because I am taking his advice and wandering. Eventually, I will get to the place that feels right. Wherever the world takes me. Ah, now this is true excitement. Boredom, catch up.