My First Realization

In high school English, we were reading the romantic poets and one line rung a profound chord in me. I suddenly realized, that good, bad, delicious, uncomfortable, painful, joyful, exalted, all moments I experienced went to make up the essence of my being. Of course, some moments stand out more than others. Extrapolating from that, I started to catalogue those moments that sent me down a more focused path. A more complete excerpt from the poem follows;

I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: all times I have
enjoyed
Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
That loved me,
and alone; on shore, and when
Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vexed the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry
heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates,
councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honoured of them all;
And
drunk delight of battle with my peers;
Far on the ringing plains of windy
Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;

Ulysses - Alfred Lord Tennyson