We start to shape the direction of our existence at some point and then we get to choose what others we go to for guideposts and for meaning. And so at some point that maternal instinct that carries us through infancy wears off and we become aware of ourselves and the wider world and then we choose how to navigate it. And who to encounter, we may not know where the adventure will lead, but we start shaping it just as a ship steers its rudder.