The Train Ride

He steps onto the carriage.

The promise of new friendships sends a jolt of life through him
The anticipation and hope
The group of four
Small enough for connection
Large enough for stimulation

The ups and downs of being with others
A loss of autonomy
The gaining of company and friendship
The question of patience
The line between selfishness and selflessness
The realisation that friendships require walking that line
A foot on either side

A state of negotation
The period in which the choice needs to be made
Does one go with the years that one has accumulated thus far?
With the identity one has had for so long?
Or does one shake it up?

To answer the question is difficult
For he has tried countless identities
As a dancer and as a student
As a footballer and as an entrepreneur
As an editor and as an investor

And his ancestry spans far and wide
From the coasts of India to the heat of Texas
And his interests, identity, birth, friendships scattered across many dimensions
Scattered far and wide

But with finite time
He struggles to commit to certain identities
He struggles to double down
He gains breadth but longs for depth

He longs for that one identity he can call on in times of need
Not fragments here and there
Accumulating into the difficulty of formulating a picture

A picture and an idea of who he is

He gets off the train