Shoulders throbbing, eyes aching, I held on. I kept on telling myself let go, but I couldn’t. Was it time already? My muscles were crying for relief. I finally did it. I finally let go: of both air and the vessel at my fingertips. I had done it at last… I had thrown life on a wheel.
The first step, as is the case in anything, was to prepare. Analogous to the piece of clay needed to throw, life needed to be well rounded. Little did I know that the multitude of classes, and lessons taken and track practices attended, would prepare me for life.
Eventually, the time to center came. In order to center, with as much force as possible, I had to throw a well-rounded sphere of clay as close to the center as possible. Similar to clay being centered on the wheel, it was essential that at one point in my life I threw myself with full force towards something I knew my passion wouldn’t die for: Pharmacy. Akin to the piece of clay, sometimes the target is hit, sometimes it misses. However, just like the piece of clay that can be guided back to the center, if need be, these passions can be redirected as well.
The third step in throwing is “opening” the clay. With the wheel on full speed, I used my fingers to “open” the sphere of clay. Once the clay is opened, the ability to create is held solely in my hands. Opening myself up to options in life is similar to opening a piece of clay on the wheel, since decisions like choosing a career and the college I am to attend are solely my responsibility. Actions like these “force” me to be “open” to options that were once never viable. I believe a career in pharmacy offers me a master key that “opens” the doors to many unexpected opportunities.
Always after opening, comes the time to pull. With a wheel on slow speed, I must work to sculpt the clay into a desired shape and size. Pulling is usually the hardest part. It involves making imagination a reality. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Similarly, pursuing a career involves bringing an idea to existence. What happens is determined at that very moment. When life is pulled open, a great risk is indeed taken.
Grabbing a modeling tool, I trimmed away any excess clay that could take away from the aesthetic beauty of the vessel. Likewise, life needs to be trimmed as well. The past four years of my high school career was spent trimming the excess, which took time away from the activities that mattered the most. Trimming helped me concentrate on activities, such as volunteering at the local library, and participating in clubs, such as Interact, and the Asian Cultural Society. I realized even more so that quality matters more than quantity.
My final step was using a wire cutter to release the newly formed vessel. As I prepare to graduate, and free myself from high school, I realize that “throwing” life is a cycle. I may be almost done for now; however, my college career is another chapter of my life that deserves another vessel to be thrown…