The Granite City Taught Me Life Isn’t About Chasing Success

I don’t want to measure my life by what I accomplish, but the choices I make each day.

The Aberdeen sign next to Marischal College in the city center. It’s famous for its Gothic architecture, and is also one of the largest granite structures in the world. Photo taken by the author.

I probably should’ve checked the weather forecast. Not that it would’ve made a difference. The wind still would’ve smacked me in the face the second I stepped out of the train station. And I still would’ve come anyway.

The people of Aberdeen say granite lasts forever. It’s why the buildings look the same as when Queen Victoria called it the Granite City. There’s something eerie about that. These walls have watched wars, fires, celebrations. They’ve stood through it all while generations of people hurried beneath them, too distracted to look up. How many of them had a clear sense of where they were going? How many of them, like me, rushed through life without ever really pausing to consider their direction?

The wind cuts through the streets. It’s sharp, biting, and relentless. Like it’s pushing me back, making me fight against it every step of the way. So, I just keep walking. My girlfriend’s with me, right beside me. Hands shoved deep in our pockets, both of us leaning into the gusts that seem to come from every direction.

A woman in a long coat walks past us, her hair flying all over the place. She turns the corner, and for…