For our second Light Novel Club selection, we’re reading Walking My Second Path in Life!, a charming little story about a neglected princess who is married off, along with her sister, to a neighboring king who them virtually imprisons her. However, Fie, the titular princess, decides to take this opportunity to start life anew as a squire for the kingdom’s knights.
It’s a fun story—I recommend you all read it before joining us a week from tomorrow for discussion—and it’s mostly meant to be fun and exciting and funny rather than to cause us to think real deeply about the situation or ourselves. But the whole setup does bring up an interesting question: is there a point in your life where you would have changed course, where you would have done something completely different than what you ended up doing? I know the common answer is “No, because all the choices I made led me to where I am today,” and that’s a fair answer but it’s not what I’m looking for! Let’s go anime-style and forget about reality—I’d rather you think about a time when you could have gone off the road and walked your own “second path in life,” perhaps in schooling decisions, a relationship, or some other important choice.
So let us know: What’s a point in your life where, looking back, you might have decided to change course and walk a different path?
Comment below, and then head over to J-Novel Club and get this volume so that you can join us to discuss on May 17th!