Learning to Let Go and Move On

A week ago I finished my fourth year of college. In that year, I experienced a break-up, and then later found a new love. These two experiences resulted in not only the formation of new friends, but also the leaving behind of those that were associated with my ex. Through this, I’ve learned to let go and move on from those who I need to move on from.

One of the hardest things in life can be watching those closest to you leave. Regardless as to if it’s a loved one passing on, moving away, or simply a falling out, it’s important to remember how they made you feel at certain times in your life, when they brought you joy. The amount of time spent together should be considered irrelevant.

For me, my “list” of friends changed drastically this year. Although my closest few friends remained intact, most everyone else seemed to change. However, why should this be seen as a negative? Afterall, meeting new people can be fun, exciting, and serve as a potential for making life-long friendships.

Friends come and go. That’s just life. And although we shouldn’t be concerned with how long they last, most of us are. We want to know that when we make a connection, it will remain intact for the long run.

For me, I had a different view at the end of this year than from years before when saying good-bye. For instance, I was fortunate to have a great roommate and two great suite mates this year. When the school year ended, however, I knew that would be the end of us hanging out again as a close group. One of the suite mates was graduating, another was moving off campus, and the other joined a fraternity. We were all living in different places, and for that reason, I knew we wouldn’t hang out again as a group next year, or any other year.

The time had come for us to move on. However, it would no longer be hard to bare as with similar instances of the past, for we had a reason to celebrate. Nine months together had been a blast. The experience became a blessing, and now served as time to experience the next blessing of our lives. On that note, and for that reason, I can honestly claim I'm excited for the road ahead.

Ridin'

I set out for a bike ride in preparation for my first Ironman triathlon race. The race was scheduled next month, and I needed to spend a lot of time pedaling away on the road. I planned to ride fifty miles this day. I wouldn’t finish one.

I had downloaded some new songs onto my iPod, hoping it would make the long ride bearable. Fifty miles would take me around three hours to complete, so having new songs to listen to was a must. Half of these new songs I’d never fully heard before, so I decided to download them and try them out through the ride. One of the songs was “Ridin’,” by Chamillionaire.

“Ridin’” was the first song on the playlist. I’d heard the first part of the song the day before, and loving rap music, I decided it would be first on my new playlist. Turning the volume on high, I started to ride. I was unaware, however, how the song ended.

As I was riding, I heard the horn of what sounded to be an eighteen-wheeler blast loud. The sound was coming from behind me. I panicked. I needed to dodge this truck.

Hugging the side of the road, I ran off into a ditch in a last second effort to escape the truck. Landing in a ditch, my bike hit hard. I had cuts and bruises all over. As I looked up to see the truck, I found that the truck was nowhere, nor was there any other car. I was alone. Suddenly I realized where the blasting horn had come from – the song.

As I lay in the ditch, frustrated to no end, one of the guys in the song says: “Damn! I done spilled my drink.”

I was both frustrated and hurt. However, I couldn't help but laugh.

It had been a horrible ride. Painful, nerve racking, and embarrassing. With my bike and I in a complete mess, I walked back to my house and called it a day.

A Letter to Lopez

During a time in which I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I received some guidance that helped to put my life in perspective and back on track to help shape These Newfound Perspectives that I have today.

I asked Lopez Lomong the following:

“What would you say was the single most difficult aspect of pursuing your dream that most people might not know about? And if any, what lesson might you have learned from that experience that has helped shape you into the person you are today?”

Brian,

Thank you so much for your message.  Congratulations on achieving your degree of success already and on your athletic achievements as well.  I think running as a professional is an incredible career although there are real challenges involved as well.  It is not a very stable career as each year's performances determine the support you get from your sponsors.  Additionally it can be challenging on your personal life as it requires extensive time out of country or at training camps.  Most professionals struggle to balance the career and personal life although it certainly can be done. 

If you have the opportunity to run professionally to start your career I highly recommend it.  Chasing after the Olympic dream has been one of the most fulfilling journeys I have ever taken in my lifetime. Even if I had never made the Olympic team the journey forever changed me as a person.

Best wishes and keep running hard!!

Lopez Lomong