A desire path is an urban planner’s worst nightmare, a gardener’s recurring inconvenience and an unpunctual Tech student’s dream — a somewhat eroded shortcut due to countless travelers who bypass the intended pathway. Some are treacherous, such as the rooted steps near Maulding’s volleyball courts, while others are safer and simply more opportune, like passing through the diagonal of Tech Green and dodging the countless frisbees in the air.
One of the founding principles of a desire path is efficiency; these routes are more natural, intuitive and quicker than their cement-constructed counterparts. Desire paths also offer connectedness. While an unknown wanderer must have been the first to pass through, an untold number of individuals have inadvertently taken the same steps as their precursor.
As the youngest child of three, I have been walking on a desire path my entire life. My teachers in the small town of Greenville, N.Y., recognized my last name, often mistakenly calling me my brother’s name, Jacob, mentioning that I smile like my sister Olivia or even relating my academic drive and achievements to both of them. Of course, I never minded — being compared to my role models was the highest compliment I could receive.
A part of me always yearned for someone to acknowledge my distinctiveness, though, whether it was regarding my skills in tennis or my interests elsewhere. Yet, I always found myself in my siblings’ footprints: I was a captain setter of varsity volleyball like Jacob and enrolled as a Jacket after Olivia.
Everything I had accomplished, my siblings had done before. Even if someone mentioned a success of mine, like speaking at my high school graduation, I dismissed it because Jacob or Olivia had taken those steps before me. Even as Olivia, my future brother-in-law, Tian, and I stepped down that rooted Maulding pathway, someone had chosen this path before.
Don’t get me wrong, the incessant self-comparison to those I love dearly does not reflect how I feel about their triumphs. I would be first in line to tell everyone I care about how proud I am of them and to offer congratulations at even the smallest of their endeavors. When it was my turn to take these steps, I found myself belittling the successes purely because I was the person to congratulate.
This realization struck me in the middle of a therapy session. I began to understand the chains that held me back from an inner sense of fulfillment were of my own creation, and Brittany cheered for me, having finally listened to her preachings. It didn’t matter if someone had taken this path before, if I was optimizing my energy, or even if my steps were taking me in some preconceived “right” direction. It matters that I am taking these steps, that I do what I want and that I am proud of the traces of myself left behind in the thoughts of those I care about. Maybe my constant presence in the Office of Student Media will be expected by the next era of Technique staff, or the Dunkin’ employees will be prepared for the next blend of refreshers and iced tea I request.
All of the interactions and situations I’ve happened upon in the last four years I’ve spent at Tech may not be novel, but they were mine. As I walk through Tech Green for one of the last times as an undergraduate Jacket, I’m proud to take my own desire path.
Who knows — maybe I’ll take a different route next time, but I quite like the path I’m on now.