Years before I started my humble career at The Spectrum, or even knew that UB existed, my future was planned out. Sort of.
When I was 15, I went to a psychic. I spent $10 on a palm reading that I didn’t expect much from. I knew it would probably be a few sentences of generic b------t that would be just enough to hold me over, but not enough to give me any real answers; that’s usually how it goes. Still, I decided that at the very least, I could have a dumb story to tell my friends – and apparently anyone who reads this newspaper – so I went.
I went in as a confused little sophomore, desperate for answers my guidance counselor couldn’t give and came out enlightened (more or less).
During my palm reading, I learned about my love life, my future family and my career, in more detail than I could have hoped for.
I’m going to meet my soulmate when I’m 26, while my friend was supposed to meet the love of her life within two years. A few days before, I had told my friend that – as cheesy as it is – I thought everyone had a soulmate, whether it be romantically or platonically. That little difference between my “soulmate” and her “love of her life” was enough to make me believe in psychics.
As for my home life, I'm going to marry my alleged soulmate by the time I'm 30 and have two kids shortly after, one of which might be a dog. I grew up with no interest in being a mom and having the option to substitute at least one kid for a dog felt more personalized, even though it was one of the least specific predictions.
The psychic was actually the least specific about my career. She told me I would end up in some field involving writing. She didn’t say much else about it, not even to elaborate what type of writing it would be, but at the time I figured it was cool enough that she knew exactly what I wanted to do. As the years went by, my dreams changed and writing got pushed out of the picture. Until The Spectrum, that is. I had never expected to work at a college newspaper, which made it feel even more like the psychic knew what I was meant to do.
My reading felt too personal for me to write it off, even if it could have been nothing more than a really lucky shot. Before my experience, I wasn't a skeptic, but I was skeptical. I'm still skeptical of individual psychics, but I can honestly say I believe in mine and will until something in my life proves her wrong.
The reading has gotten pushed out of my mind as time goes by, but I still take it into consideration when my future feels too overwhelming and obscure. When I'm stressed, it’s relieving to feel like I have even the slightest idea of where I’ll end up or what I’ll make of myself.
It’s not something I let myself base my decisions on though, even if I want to. Following a pathway planned by someone who was in my life for less than an hour, with set deadlines for when to do what, would almost definitely be easier than trying to make it up as I go. But I know that I can’t do that, for a few different reasons.
The first would be having to see how people – especially my family – would react to finding out I put my future completely into the hands of a stranger.
Then there’s the problem of actually making it happen. How can I guarantee I meet the person I’ll end up with when I’m 26? Stay inside for the next eight years? Let myself miss out on what I want at the time, just because it doesn’t fit with the future I was given? It seems a little too difficult to pull off – even for me.
Arguably the biggest reason is that I’m not the same person now. Surprise, I’ve changed since I was 15. I don’t watch “Doctor Who” or think One Direction will be together forever – even if I still hope there’ll be a reunion. It’s been years since I’ve even talked to the girl who brought me to get my palms read. Some things have stayed the same. But I’m still positive that the person I was then wouldn’t recognize the person I am today. If I’m fundamentally different, I can’t imagine my reading staying the same. What she told me might have been my future, according to the path I was on then. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t changed as I have. If I went back now, I’m 99 percent sure I would get different answers. Whether that’s because I’ve changed or because these readings are actually as fake as skeptics say, I don’t know.
If you’re like me and clueless about most aspects of your life but too impatient to just wait and see what happens, try a psychic! Maybe you won't get your answers, but maybe you'll get to write an article on it.
Lauryn King is a copy editor and can be reached at opinion@ubspectrum.com.
Lauryn King is the assistant managing editor for The Spectrum. She’s a busybee and copy editor at heart.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
