Many times I’ve thought about how life is like riding the subway.

Your ambitious, [maybe] cautious and adventure-seeking self sets out with your plans, uniqueness, and baggage (though small or large varying on the day and person). You have your destination. You have your game plan. And if you're lucky, you've got good company.

Depending on the day and the destination you'll plot the fastest route or the scenic route.

You'll hustle or float.

You'll get lost in lyrics, shoot a stranger your smile, give someone change or a banana, curse others out in your head...one or all of the above.

Life is like riding the subway.

We take our plans, our time, our selves, and our moods to the platform.

And what happens?

The MTA. The sick passenger. The snow. The packed train. The express train making local stops. The local train running express. The "swipe again" as the doors are closing. The rare moment that everything somehow goes according to plan.

Just as in life, there are people who will be with you the whole way. They'll sit next to you through the anxiety-producing delays and the traffic flow of people. They'll make the ride better (or worse). They'll be sitting there when the train empties out.

Others will join you for only a couple of stops and then set out on their own route, never to cross your path again.

There are those you'll meet serendipitously at 14th street because you took the local and they took the express. Who knew you were taking parallel trips. Who knew you had something in common. Who could have known that they'll end up being with you for the rest of the trip.

You see, life is like riding the subway.

We stand on the platform, waiting for our trains to come.

For many, the train is an opportunity or a vehicle to a goal. For others, it's an escape. For some, it's a new connection or relationship.

The challenge is what we're doing while we're standing on the platform.

And, the even greater question is…

What are we making of the ride?