I always wanted to be extraordinary at something. Not just as in, “Great job, Jimbo!” No, I wanted to be best-in-class, awe-inspiring, tiptop; a world-famous genius, like Michael Phelps or Mark Zuckerberg.

Unfortunately, my version of reality did not quite line up with thisdelusionalvision. I was a good swimmer, but I peaked at the collegiate State Championships level. My academic record was pretty solid, but I never would have made it into one of those ivy-league schools.

Though I rose to above-average status in a couple of areas, the disappointing truth was that I would never amount to anything more than a mid-sized fish in a small pond. God apparently had other plans.

What drove me crazy, though, was the superstar talent thrown in my face at every turn. Some folks just seemed to get an unfair intensive dose (剂量) of it. Why couldn’t I be like Bernie William, the famed New Yorkees player who also happens to be a world-class jazz guitar virtuoso (艺术大师)?

Some say greatness is simply a function of putting in the practice time. Around ten thousand hours, to be precise, according to author Malcolm Gladwell. I don’t question the theory of devoting extraordinary efforts to developing one’s expertise, but it seems that raw talent is equally important. You either have it or you don’t.

I’ve heard that as people approach middle age, their life satisfaction increases because they begin to accept the gap between the expectations for themselves and the reality. After a few decades of frustration without the desired results, we eventually come to terms with how our lives turned out, even if it falls far short of our idealized youthful expectation.

Hope bends, it seems.

It was the summer of my 16th year. I was 2,000 miles away from home and my heart was aching. I had travelled from the mountains of West Virginia to the great plains of Iowa. I was with a group of boys touring a college.

When the trip first started, I was filled with excitement. It was going to be a week of adventure, a week of travel, and the change of starting on a new path in my life. Now five days later I was filled with sadness. I missed my Mom. I missed my Dad. I missed my old, Italian grandmother. I missed the mountains, the green trees, and the smell of the wild flowers in the summertime.

I walked outside and sat down on a chair. I knew that I was at a crossroads and that the decision I was about to make would affect the rest of my life. This college had sounded so good to me a few weeks before. Now, however, I knew that I could never go to college here.

Since that day I have been at many crossroads in my life. Sometimes I have made the wrong choice and have to give up to make things right. More often than not, though, I have felt greatly encouraged and made the choices that took me where I needed to go and helped me to become who I needed to be. Through all this, I have felt my confidence grow deeper and the love in my heart grow stronger. And that, more than anything, has kept me on the right road.

Life is a long and difficult journey but we all can take comfort in knowing that we are loved and watched over every step of the way. Let Love guide your steps and you will always be on your own path.

Amazing and utterly beautiful, The Midnight Library is everything you’d expect from the genius storyteller, Matt Haig. I picked it up on our readers’ recommendation (we asked our readers to send in some of their favorite books) and I could see why it won the Best Fiction of 2020 in the Goodreads Choice Awards.

The story follows Nora Seed, a woman who is struggling and feels that nothing in her life has gone according to plan. While the initial chapters of the book are quite sad, Nora finds herself given a chance to start over in the Midnight Library, a magical place full of books of all the different paths in life she could have taken. Nora has a chance to stay in the library and try out different versions of her life until she finds the life she most wants to live.

I love the idea that no dreams or forks in your road are insignificant and that they all lead us to different versions of ourselves. In one version, Nora is an Olympic swimmer. In another, she is a glaciologist. The novel reveals in a beautiful way that the potential we all have within us is impossible to measure, and that we have the possibility to be happy in many different versions of life.

It also discusses how dangerous it can be to live your life with regrets. The Midnight Library reveals to Nora that even if you make very different choices, you may realize you have appreciation for your current home and the people in your life. It is your perspective that matters.

I really love the blend (融合) of fantasy and magical realism in this novel, and I would love for this to be turned into a series where we get to explore other characters’ lives in The Midnight Library as well.