On the Nature of Life

I've been thinking; there's a shocker. I've been thinking about the people who read this, and if I don't know them, what drives them. Even if I do know them, I'd love to know more. I think in these days, people have so little time to be introspective. They're not forced to sit in the dark at night rather than watch television and browse the internet. I'm a creature of consumption, and I'm consuming media constantly.

But what about you? I have some questions, and if you'd be kind enough to answer them, I'd be delighted. Anonymous or not, go ahead.

What's the biggest risk you've taken thus far in your life? Mine happened very, very recently. I packed up and moved to a place I did not know. A place that did not know me. I began full time employment when I had never been employed full time for more than a three month period. I left something I had never been without for so long; school, family, friends. I knocked down the majority of the castle, and am picking it up again piece by piece. I couldn't be happier with myself, with my adventure.

What do you consider to be your biggest failure? That is, a decision you made that led to a dead end. And, most importantly, how was it good for you? I've had a few. In the past few months I've let people know how I feel rather bluntly. I had a spectacular failure; what was an attempt to take a big step forward took me back to the starting line. I had a wonderful success; that success still remains with me today, and I'm thankful for it. Did I make the wrong choice in either case? I don't think so. I made a choice; every binary choice is half chance. What did it help me with? That's a little harder to pin down, but the events of the past few months have taught me a truth that you never realize as a kid. When you're young, you think that it only goes up from here, that you will be older with more money, more things, more excitement. But there's got to be a climax, a point where you hit your stride, and have attained all you need to be happy. In other words, you can't always get what you want.

How has choice and risk shaped who you are today? I used to be very conservative with choices. I was a kid who would have a crush and never really act on it for fear of taking such a risk. Recently, after rekindling old friendships and creating new ones, I've grown accustomed to taking a diving leap. Of course, it's good to look before such a leap, but you still can't always predict the outcome. I've recently realized that I have to separate things into what I can live without and what I can't. I have to be very picky about what drops into that second bucket; before I would have played it safe and dumped all my thoughts, dreams, and feelings into that category. Now I feel more discerning.

I hope to hear from you soon, readers, however few or many of you are out there. Thanks for reading this.

"Taking a risk, doing things where you actually have a chance to fail... that's what being young is."

- Ira Glass