Youthful Life: X

Truth - We can learn a lot from the past but it can also serve as a hindrance to our futures. Many a person has been attributed to saying that the most dangerous ideology is resistance to change and claiming tradition as if things have always been done a certain way. Life is inherently change. No two days are the same and things never happen the same way twice. We can yearn for the last all we want but at the end of the day a new day comes and we are forced to keep going. Whether we are prepared or not the world around us becomes anew each and everyday. We have the option to either embrace it or stay trapped replaying the past. Nostalgia has it's time and place.  "Our culture's obsession with vintage objects has rendered us unable to separate history from nostalgia. People want heart. They want a chaser of emotion with their aesthetics." Sloane Crosley   It seems like there's a strong population of people, at least those that I interact with, whether in...

Truth - It's almost impossible to know all is there is to know about other people, let alone our selves. The best way to do so however is to allow others to tell us about themselves. What is important to keep in mind however is that what we often receive are bits and pieces, glimpses, and flickers of larger narratives. We get the abridged version of someone's life. We are told the sparknotes run down. We are tasked with surviving off of perfectly cropped, edited, and filtered snapshots. How do you ever know someone then?   "The reason why we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else's highlight reel." Steven Furtick   Social media has revolutionized the ways we communicate in some aspects, and in others not at all or rather set us back. Social media often givens us a false a sense of intimacy. Even right now as you read my deeply personal thoughts and feelings you are only getting what I am willing to share....

Truth - There's a big difference between being in love, and loving someone or something. Oftentimes the two seem to conflated as one in the same but there is a nuanced distinction to be made. Love is not just a feeling but also action, thought, and belief. Love is the ways in which you treat certain people because of and in spite of the love you have for them. Love is more than picturesque imaginations of romantic-comedy style dates, bouquets of overpriced sweetly fragrant crimson red roses, or decadent boxes of silky smooth assortments of chocolates. Love is dynamic. Love is powerful. Love is timeless. Love is an unwavering belief in someone else. So ask yourself, do you love love, or love someone? "True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about but few have seen"  Francois de la Rochefoucauld The millennial generation has garnered a reputation for our apparent lack of commitment to just about anything and everything. We're critiques as being incapabl...

Truth - A change of perspective does the mind good from time to time. Being reminded that every person you come across experiences the world differently than you do, and likewise, you from them can be an important thing. It can be so easy to get caught up the chaotic monotony of our everyday lives and miss out on the opportunities to know other people, brand new experiences, and figure out ourselves if we do not shift our perspective every once in a while. Things are never what appear to be, and at the same time they are. It all just depends on your altitude. "Your perspective on life comes from the cage you were held captive in.”   Shannon L. Alder How easy it is to forget that the ways that we ourselves are inherently different than how others perceive us. We think we're showing up in one way and that might be so, at least to us, but others may experience us differently. The tough thing is we have to acknowledge that both perceptions are uniquely valid, and yet fundamen...

Truth - There is a time to usher in peace and a time to wage war. Knowing when those times is an imperfect process of trial and error. The art of war truly is one that requires a specific finesse just as the notion of peace is not so easily accepted. It's a delicate balance between raising hell and bringing heaven to Earth. Learning how to pick your battles and knowing when to bite your tongue is complicated. It never gets any easier either. Sometimes you really just have to be a firestarter.    " I think of myself as a catalyst of action and a messenger of hope, turning people onto themselves and turning people onto their dreams."  Les Brown One of the few things I miss about my college years was the implicit self-determination and autonomy I had. At a moment's notice I could go from class to a meeting with administrators or to a protest. There were times where I could placate and dialogue to an understanding. On other occasions I had to be nothing more than ...