"The nearest exit might be behind you"

During the graduation ceremonies this year many people said interesting things in hopes that their words would motivate us to lead successful lives. Many of the messages included “don’t give up, keep going,” “stay strong during difficult times,” and of course the famous “always follow your dreams” line. One of these messages however, really stuck to me and has remained on my mind the entire summer. The speaker at Baccalaureate said to remember what the stewardess tells us on an airplane, “Your nearest exit might be behind you.” This completely challenged the idea of ‘always look forward, never look behind’ when in fact the way out might be behind us. Many immigrants who leave their countries in search for a better life in America (or any “developed/ing" country for that matter) see going back as a damaging set back (understandably so, considering the terrible economical and political state of their respective countries). I consider returning back to this country, my country (?), as the nearest exit that happens to be behind me. Ever since that speech, my plane rides have been very philosophically entertaining, as I now pay a lot more attention to all of the wise things that the stewardess has to say.