Rushing

Ever feel like life is going by too fast?

I hate it when days go by too fast. It feels like they're wasted. I don't get a chance to take in the day, and appreciate the fact that I am alive then and there. I'm going to try the pace I'm going at in life. I need to stop everyonce in a while and realize where I am. I don't know how I'm going to do it. Thankfully New Testament helps me with that. The class just seems to help me slow down from the day/week.

I wish I could be thankful for more.

A quick story...I caught something today, and it was interesting. I caught myself being lazy. That's interesting considering how lazy I am all the time. I'm sitting here at my desk, playing my guitar, and I notice it's out of tune. I look to my left and see my guitar tuner with the plug-in cable sitting on the floor about two and a half feet away from me. I think to myself, 'Okay, maybe I can reach it without getting up.' Hang on a second! This is my next thought- 'What am I doing? Is it really going to kill me to get up and move a couple of feet to get a cable?' I caught myself being lazy...and I've never done that before. I did end up getting up and getting the cable. I'm going to make more of an effort to seize every opportunity that's presented to me. A bit of a twist on the 'Carpe Diem' mood everyone tries to live by.

It's happening...

So I have found a way that I can make a difference in this world...and people will remember it. I bought a journal last Friday, and I'm having people write in it. They can write whatever they want really. There's no limit. It's not my journal. It's for everyone else. It's a journal for you. I'm trying to muster up the courage though to go up to people I don't know well and ask them to write in it. I've done that twice- first guy didn't want to because he's 'not much of a writer' (Which is bullcrap because EVERYBODY is a writer.) and the second guy worked at Parkside, so of course he would. I dunno, it's a lot to ask of someone you don't know. People you do know are going to obviously be receptive, but if you don't know someone, their caught off guard. I mean, how scary is it to leave a piece of yourself with a total stranger? I think it could also be freeing if you let it. I just hope some people can find some little form of healing with it. Sometimes just writing something down can make a big difference to them.

I'm no longer afraid of death...this is what I've been waiting to find- a way to help the world one person at a time.

Remember.

We are not here for ourselves.
We are here for each other.

Teachers

Love them, hate them, but they'll leave a mark on your life forever. It's one of the two occupations I admire incredibly. I mean think about it- people sacrificing a comfortable lifestyle to teach kids who won't appreciate them, and they don't receive the salary they deserve. You must be someone who genuinely cares if you do all of that as a day-to-day job. And not only are they teaching you, they're basically helping your parents raise you into an accomplished person. How can they not do that? You see teachers 5 out of 7 days of the week, and you develop some form of a relationship with them. They're teaching you book smarts, and the street smarts they have gained from their own personal experience. Teachers have definitely had a huge impact on my life. Several have been people that I've gone to when I've needed help, and they gave it to me in whatever way they could. I wish I could sit down with every teacher I've ever had and just hear why they decided to become a teacher. It's a lot of sacrifice, and they made it.

Every teacher you have had has sacrificed for your well being. What did you give back?

Nostalgia

It's one of my biggest downfalls. I live in the past too much, which causes me to hold onto things I really shouldn't, and makes it difficult to let go or move on. On top of that, it also makes me a pack rat. I collect everything. Rubber ducks, barcodes, guitar picks, socks, etc. I'm surprised I haven't turned into a hoarder. I dunno, it's just a memory that can be held in a small piece of plastic that would be thrown away without second thought by another person. The gum wrapper your best friend stuck down your shirt when you two spent the whole day together, or the box that your brother gave to you with a necklace in it. Sure, it's trash, but it has a little meaning behind it. Don't worry, I do throw away my trash. I don't keep everything, but I might keep it for a while before I pitch it.

I have also decided I am going to do everything I possibly can to help out every person I can possibly reach. Starting with holding doors, donating blood, and volunteering. Be a do-gooder; it makes you happier.

The Simplicities

Don't you just love small things that make you happy? Like guilty pleasures.

Only they don't have to be guilty. What does that mean anyway? You should feel like a dork because you like something, despite the fact that everyone has their own likes and dislikes? And since when are there 'accepted' interests? So if you like an old TV show, is that a guilty pleasure? And does liking it make you 'weird'?

Anyway, I have several things that I enjoy thoroughly.

• Soft, strawberry licorice
• Socks
• Brand new journals
• Mirror's Edge
• Pearls Before Swine
• Rubber ducks
• Cryptograms
• Watchmen
• Sticky notes
• Pilot Precise V5 Pens
• Sharpies

We need to enjoy the finer things in life! And when I say finer, I mean smaller, less noticable, or the taken-for-granted.

Currently, I'm on a mission. To know people. To dive into their minds. To hear their story. Everybody has a story. And I'm searching for yours.