Disclaimer: I do not believe in psychics, though I believe it is fun to know about myself through someone who claims they are spiritual (real or not) and to categorize me through my superficial looks and character. We as humans always seek confirmation and validation and “groupings” and labels which was why I was interested in the psychic reading.

Walking home from Koreatown, my friends and I passed by a local psychic and decided to hop in and take a test run if it wasn’t expensive. The psychic offers palm readings for $25 discussing love and career and $50 for a face reading discussing your past, present, and future.

It was late at night when she told me to hold out my right palm, upwards facing, as she read my hand. She began with the obvious, “Your lifeline is very long.” My lifeline, the prominent line closest to the thumb, makes a deep concave curve towards the thumb. She continued saying that I was lazy and stubborn however also contradicted by my productivity. I believe this to be true- not because the psychic said so but because I am generally lazy and stubborn and productive all at once. Like horoscopes and zodiacs, the psychic stated general facts that could apply to anyone, but since it does apply to me, I won’t deny that it’s wrong.

The psychic continued to talk about my future love life. I would meet a lesbian who would confuse me sexually. I would be conflicted about my sexuality, should I give into my lover. The psychic told me to reassure myself and to stay away from her because I am into men. Another man with the initial “L” will also come into my life. He will try to sweep me away. She asked concerningly, “Are you ready for a relationship?” Because I am currently in a relationship, I answered that I was not. She therefore told me to avoid him at all costs. By this point, I had noticed that she and I were trying to make my future palpable. We were trying to ascertain that these individual events were going to happen, regardless of coincidence or random chance. If I believed in psychics, then I would see to it that I would meet a lesbian and someone named “L” who would not be good for me. Falling into the trap of believing your life to be exactly like how it is predicted would only divert you from the reality of your life.

I am to be married once, with two kids (gender unspecified). I seemed like a Californian person, so she recommended I go back to California. Funny thing is, I am a Californian but I planned on staying in New York. She remarked that I would make a great psychologist who should start writing books today. I am currently writing for Odyssey on the analytics of my thoughts, which is coincidentally funny. I won’t look to go back to California, nor will I pursue a career in psychology. I’ll do what I want to do, whenever time and place permit, that’ll make me happy.

Going to a psychic doesn’t mean I fully believe in what they say. I acknowledge that some traits of me are true, general statements or not, but most of them are only to attract me to the appeal of having my future determined for me. I find interest in what they have to say, but refuse to let myself fall into that rigid destiny. Should you believe in the words of a psychic, that’s great for you. However, always remember to take it with a grain of salt because you might try to pigeonhole your life into the one that your psychic created for you.