After a sleepless night of procrastinated packing and a frantic morning of mother-induced stress, I finally made it in line to board a long and well-anticipated flight to Paris. As I waited to board, I began chatting with a kind, old Chinese woman who told me, "there's a saying in my country: 'it is better to travel 10,000 miles than to read 10,000 books.' Travel 10,000 miles and you'll learn 10,000 things."

At some point, the airline came over the intercom and announced a delay due to San Francisco fog (surprise surprise). The sweet, old woman and I sauntered over to some chairs together and spiraled into a long conversation about life, travel, purpose and success. Her husband sat beside us quietly with a book – partially eavesdropping and occasionally providing a rare word or two of insight and agreement. Though we chatted for a solid hour or two, the interaction felt fleeting.

Our conversation abruptly came to a halt when the airline announced they were finally ready to board. The result of the announcement was nothing short of a stampede.

In the midst of the chaos, I was unexpectedly grabbed by the arm and pulled to the front of the line by the little, old woman who semi-aggressively positioned me between her and her husband. Not knowing how to react, I awkwardly glanced back at the grumpy queue of impatient travelers I had unintentionally cut in front of and thought to myself, am I really third-wheeling a retired couple right now?
"Are you sure?" I asked guiltily.
"What? You're my daughter," she said with a wink.

Several hours later, as I was sprinting through SFO trying not to miss my connecting flight, it hit me: I never caught the name of my figurative, little Chinese mama.

Whoever and wherever you are, it is to you I dedicate the 10,000 things I learn in my next 10,000 miles.

Lesson #1: Learn people's names.

Fresh out of college and swept into the seeming chaos known as the "real world," I find myself constantly dodging the bullet of that one, fearful question graduates seem to unavoidably attract: now what?

There are two routes that emerge from this question.

The first is what society likes to call the "right" way. American dream-like in nature; you get your degree, a good paying job with some decent benefits, a money making hunk (or a lovey dovey wifey), a respectable home, a kid or two, a continuous push for bigger and better things, a climactic retirement and the joy of watching your children continue your hard earned legacy.

The problem with this (at least for me) is the deliberate blandness of it all. Where's the excitement? The spontaneity? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to find the scruffy, tattooed, man of my dreams and get a job that can fund my bank breaking impulsion, but there is so much more to life than following an established road map to success. It baffles me to hear the extent some people go to mold themselves into the ideal, entry-level employee when the last thing they want to do is sit in a cubicle from 9 to 5. Why go through years of higher education to settle for a job you deign to work in order to pay the bills?

Cue option two, or what I like to call the "scenic" route.

A few years ago, I stumbled upon a quote that said "drugs may be the road to nowhere, but at least they're the scenic route." Okay, perhaps it's a little eccentric to compare post-grad life to drugs, but hear me out.

In the grand scheme of things, we have years and years to bide our time. No matter who you are or where you're from, we all find ourselves journeying up and down the transcendental road of life. That being said, are you going to opt for the bumpy, windy road less traveled or the straight, paved highway to death (or the beyond, or heaven, or what have you)? I don't know about you, but if I'm going to live this so called life, I want to experience as much of it as I possibly can.

There is no way to know what's going to happen next. You can try your best to control the future, but the future is never guaranteed (see bittersweet reality of Murphy's Law; see also The Law of Attraction for personal enlightenment). Instead of wallowing in uncertainty or focusing on maintaining the status quo, take a plunge and do what makes you happy. Happiness is pursuing passion and that's what life is all about. It's not about money, fame, or social validation; it's about learning, growing and evolving into the best version of yourself that you can possibly be.

So when people say ooh Carlenn, congratulations on graduating! What are you going to do next? I say everything. The world is my oyster.