Farewell...

So I found out today that a friend of mine passed away last week.
And really got me thinking about how short life is, and that in a moment's notice it can end.
I haven't really thought much about death since the last time someone in my life has passed away, and I think that, that may be a mistake, because when you forget that your time here will run out, you tend to lose perspective on what's really important in life. Without that perspective it's easy to miss out on all that life has to offer.

now I'm not going to get all philosophical on you and start getting into my thoughts regarding life or purpose or what have you.
I just feel that I should take this moment, and perhaps you should too, to reflect on how short life can be.
The fact is we won't always be here, and while no one likes to contemplate their own mortality and many refuse to come to terms with the fact that they may very well pass away at any time, sooner or later. Life doesn't discriminate, we all will end up dying, the question is inevitably what will we do til then.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

-excerpt from The Fallen by Robert Laurence Binyon

Rest in Peace Jeffrey
1974-2009

The Woes of a Procrastinator Extraordinaire

The internet... what a wonderful place it is, chock full of all kinds of information, and the like. Yet it is also a powerful tool of procrastination that any who have spent countless hours browsing through Wikipedia can attest to (i.e. everyone).

It's intrinsically related to why I am still up at 4:30 am ...well that's not only due to Wikipedia, xkcd plays a large part in it as well (from whence most of the pictures in my blog, and all the ones in this post have come)

Frankly I'm not sure why I'm still procrastinating, seeing how I have a mere 5 hours until my first class and I've little to no work done to show for my lack of sleep throughout this weekend.

On the bright side though I did get some other things done, like learn how to juggle (...well sorta, I have very bad hand-eye coordination) and tango (...kinda), and just hang out w/friends (that I haven't seen in a while (due to my recent bout of reclusiveness) and the like, ...granted none of that has helped my homework problem but that doesn't mean these things are any less important.

In fact in my time here at college I've come to realize that as important homework is, the way you live your life is just as important, sure you can spend all your time studying and get good grades, but what do you miss out on? All those opportunities that you've turned down because you were too busy, lost in your work, losing the chance to even stop and smell the roses or take in the scenery.

The path of life is grand, whether it be long or short, and what you do as you make your way down it defines you, and the world around you.

It's easy to fall into routine, and to forget the importance of impromptu, it's easy to take advantage of what you have and forget that it might not be there tomorrow, it's easy to pass up that opportunity for adventure, excitement or success, because it's risky or if you're not sure you'll succeed.
Sometimes you won't know how things will turn out until after you've taken that step, don't let a lack of knowledge hold you back, but let it drive you.

So you should just take wrong turns, talk to strangers, open unmarked doors, have an adventure, learn something new, take chances, have goals, pursue dreams, explore the world around you, because it and you won't always be there.

Remember that with every step of your life you make up your future, so go out and make it grand.

Lost in the world that is myself

As I get older and more experienced with the world, I find that for everything I come to understand, there are twice that many more things that I don't.
And as I find myself sitting here at my computer desk at 3:30 am, 3/4's of the way through my freshman year of college, I can't help but wonder if there will ever be a time that I will really understand or find for that matter my place in this world.
It's like I find myself at a crossroads in my life, wondering where I'll go, and how I'll end up there.

I find myself compelled to examine my relationships with the others around me, and I wonder... how have I made my mark in this world, and in their lives? If I were to just disappear in the next moment, what would I be remembered for? or would I even be remembered? I like to think that my family and close friends from highschool would be affected in some way or another, but what about the people I've met in my time here? what do they even think of me now?
Now I'm by no means the kind of person who hinges upon the opinion or approval of others, but that doesn't mean that not unlike most humans, I seek some acceptance and acknowledgment from others, in my life. Which might in turn be the problem; I find that I end up going from being too shy to too unreserved when it comes to meeting new people which in turns ends up having the opposite of the intended effect.

And so I wonder if perhaps our reliance upon first impressions is riddled with fallacies, we never truly understand someone when we meet them or even after we've know them for months, because everyone has some reservations, everyone keeps that mask that they hide things behind, and there lies their true character. Even after a few months when a friend turns from very introverted to extroverted, it doesn't mean that, that's who they've always been or all they always will be, but it is how they are at the time. And so I can't help but wonder if we aren't in general too hasty in our attempt to classify and judge others that we miss out on who they truly are, and lose out on the opportunities of ever knowing them.

So reader if you're still with me up until this point, I'd like to ask you to do something:
take a moment out of your day, and try to reach out and connect with someone that you don't really know all that well, now I'm not saying go up to some stranger and try to be their best friend right off the bat, but that you just try to understand someone and let yourself be understood by someone a little better, it may end up being that defining moment in which you make your mark upon someone else's life, or perhaps they make their mark on yours.

Life is short, so let every moment count

"I am the Lorax, and I speak for the Trees!"

So, I'm not entirely certain sure how, but somehow I found myself watching a video on google of one of the old cartoon based on Dr. Seuss's book The Lorax.
And it got me thinking about the message of that book.
That progress has a cost, and sometimes in our haste to make a expand, profit or exploit some new resource we forget that and the environment and ultimately ourselves and our children pay the price.
I hold on to the hope that with our society's increasing focus on the environment and the effects of industry on our world, and the onset of increasingly green technology we'll someday arrive at that balance between development and nature, but at this moment it seems that we're still a long off.

Now I'm sure that I'm telling any of you nothing you don't already know.
And I'm sure you might have read the Lorax, long ago, perhaps when you were a child, but I wonder if you still think about it, and that it seems is where the danger lies, when people don't think of the effects or remember the consequences of their actions.

So take some time out of your day, and maybe pick up that old book, give it a read or even watch the video:



and perhaps you'll think about it every now and again, and remember it's message: your actions no matter how insignificant they may seem at the time have consequences in the grand scheme of life.
And I feel that as long as people keep that in mind, the world may just become a better place for all.