When I first read this quote during sophomore year of high school, I immediately knew that I was a leaf. An individual, floating, free-to-the-powers-of-the-wind leaf. While I have always considered myself unique and independent, not a mindless sheep following the crowd, I also knew that I did not have a defined path in front of me: no clear direction, no inner "guide and path." I've never made plans too far in advance and have essentially just let life carry me as it will. I identify with the leaf. Not a mindless, lifeless, leaf, but an exploratory, curious, determined leaf that makes what it can out of a situation, always seeking to find the best wind that will carry it furthest. I don't plan on sitting through life, waiting for the next opportunity, but rather floating around, taking advantage of the opportunities I find. (And while this may not be what Hesse had in mind when he wrote the quote, I am taking the advice of every English teacher ever and interpreting it how I see it.) I am an adventurous leaf.
And thus I find myself here. A recent graduate from college. An unemployed, wannabe professional, seeking out my next opportunity, waiting for a gust to blow me in any certain direction. And thus I will write about it. My living life as a leaf.
