Rubber Duck (Float 'n' Sink)

As a kid who took many baths, I often wondered why the rubber ducks gathered together in the corner. They would bob in one place, but that place always seemed to be the corner. And to top it all off, they would do it with the water moving up and down repetitively. They would even remain in the corner while the water tried pushing them away. Up and down, up and down, up and down they would go. Then, worse yet, as the toddler I was, I would push the decorated ducks toward the middle of the tub, only to see them float back to the corner of the raging tank. It was actually quite vexing.

But, After a good talk on this night with a dear friend of mine, I made an analogy between the ducks and life that is fitting in the circumstances of being a senior in college.

It simply goes like this:
While we have an entire "bathtub" before us, we choose often the corner of the tub. We float in synch with the other "ducks" around us for fear that if we were to part ways, we would sink in the nefarious waves. We propound that life is better lived in safety; while the rest of the world is out there waiting to see your face in it. That is all they know; the corner of the bathtub is all they know.

And while the corner might be much more safe than the rushing waves in the middle, we only go as far as the chatter we experience with the other ducks. We only talk; we don't experience.

My advice is that you look at the waves and quack, "Bring it on." Don't let the nasty bite of the waves swallow you whole, but accept your place and let them teach you. Go for it. Don't be the duck in the corner, but go out and face the waves. Your best lessons learned are when you take risks, even if you fall flat on your face. Don't miss out. For the joy is in discovering what could not be found if you never went out and tried to find it.

So go, young duck, and explore the waves before you.