The importance of one is never quite known until they meet their destiny. Despite what destiny may imply, however, many fail to meet it, or circumstance shunts them out of the way. Though I am not here today to speak of those who lost their way, no of course not. They’re unimportant. Instead, I must tell the tale of Tobias Stride meeting his destiny.

   Tobias Stride is what many might call a “standard joe,” an entirely generic, blank slate. There’s quite a chance that any hasty generalization you would make about the 7th-grade student body would apply to his life with little error. He plays video games with less than average skill, has average grades, and is absolutely not physically active. One could say that the foremost is the catalyst for these other two. Additionally, he is a complete and utter buffoon when it comes to making what many would consider a wise decision. However, despite these obvious failures, Tobias takes it in stride. He copes with being incompetent, that is.

   Today, like many other days, Tobias starts it by stumbling out of bed. He never was the most graceful of people, so one could consider it a cruel joke to put him in the upstairs bedroom. Life tends to find a way to have its fun, however, even if it involves a poor 7th grader tripping down the stairs most mornings. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet after all. Speaking of omelets, let’s add that to the repertoire of things that Tobias cannot do. Simply put, he prefers his eggs a bit crunchy with a mix of both yolk and eggshell. As his parents are rarely around, he has had to try to learn how to fare on his own, with “try” being quite the keyword there.

   This morning was another one of those mornings without parents, but at least he had a crunchy omelet. Tobias pulled out his chair and began to get to work with his fork. “Hey Dad, could you pass the orange juice?” Tobias yelled out to no one. There is no one in the chair across to him, nor will that chair be filled until much later today. In fact, there is not even orange juice on the table. Despite this, he drinks out of his cup, the only that is very clearly empty despite his actions that would imply otherwise. There truly is no end to the insanity. Realizing that he’s nearly late for his bus due to these silly shenanigans, he dashes out of the door, one of the few times that he’s moved quickly within the recent month. “Don’t trip!” his father exclaims to him. However, his father was not there.

   Luckily for Tobias, the only thing standing between him and his bus stop was a simple street, a street that he has crossed so many times in his life, becoming a tradition almost. From one corner to another corner, it was an odd home to him. So he began his journey. Slowly, very slowly, Tobias crossed the street. Wanting to minimize his potential to fall like a klutz, he’s always been a slow walker. He continues, once again at his incredibly slow pace. His walking speed certainly is getting no faster from here. For someone named Tobias Stride, Tobias isn’t one to stride from place to place.

   Almost there, but only halfway. A friend calls. In Tobias’s wise judgment, he has his ringtone set as car horns. The ringtone always manages to add charm to his day that he appreciates, such as the sound of car horns as Tobias slowly crosses the street. Tobias gives it little care, continuing on his path. Three-fourths of the way there, the car horns get a bit more frantic, but his feet seem to be almost slowing down with such slow motion. Perhaps his second friend is calling, adding a ringtone of clashing metal. A rock could have a fair chance against Tobias at this point. Finally, he steps his first foot onto the sidewalk. His journey is over, yet the excitement is not over. Suddenly, a swarm of cars swerved around the corner, crashing to form a pile of metal. Inconveniently, this heap of metal stood right in front of the bus stop, preventing his bus from reaching it. It appears that Tobias might need to become a fitness enthusiast for today, and with this, circumstance has interrupted his destiny.