Youthful Life: X

Truth - Being on your own can be absolutely mortifying but it's one of the most satisfying things you have to do in life. Every single day leaves things up to you to choose. With no one else around, you ask yourself in those moments who you are and especially now that no one else is watching. What kind of individual do you want to be? What's the impact you want to make in your communities? What do you look like in these changing contexts. Things never stop changing, all of it is temporary but that time is all important nonetheless. Call me a sojourner.   "People change and forget to tell one another" Unknown Does anyone else talk to themselves or is that just me? The past few days, at least for me, have been nothing short of chaotic. I don't think I have ever been so scared in my entire life. Context - I moved to Cleveland for graduate school. From the outside though, everything looks perfectly fine but in all honesty, I have never felt so out of place, d...

The 20s are all about being afraid. Fear sometimes serves a purpose. While it can cause us to remain small, to cower, and to freeze, it can also be a powerful thing that motivates, exhilarates, and inspires us to do truly amazing things. Fear is what holds people back but also what pushes them forward. Fear is a double-edged sword that you have to know just how to wield. Fear can take us to dark places but also lead us to the light. Fear can keep us stuck but can liberate us all the very same. It can tell us we're alone or can bring us together. Fear is fear, is fear, is fear. Sometimes you have just get lost in the fear. Maybe you don't really need to be found. Try and find me, I'm a lost boy. Quite possibly the scariest thing that I have ever experienced was coming to the realization that I would not be going to medical school after college. I had spent the entirety of my life preparing to do just that. I had my life planned out, medical school, then residency, wife, ...

Being a teenager is all about knowing when you've got to take a minute just to pause. Take a moment, wait a while and just be where you are. Then you've got to rewind like those old cassettes once you're done taking your time. Reflect like really did that just happened? Finally it's time to press play and go on. This is pause, rewind, and play. Just pause, stop what you're doing. Stop reading this post, and let your mind be at rest. Be at peace wherever you are, whoever you are, and however you found this post. Take a second, breath, and continue on. September 11th, 2001 - a day that will forever go down in American history as one of the most tragic. I can remember exactly where I was when I heard the news about the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centers, Pentagon, and the downed flight in that Pennsylvania field. I was eight years old, in third grade, and randomly in the middle of class my teacher turned on the television. It wasn't something we did very of...

Being a teenager is all about facing your fears. Everyone, and I means literally everyone, and everybody is afraid of something. It's what makes us human, imperfect, and for teens it's what keep us grounded. Even if it's not a specifically ridiculous fear like some of mine, heights, ski-masked burglars, elevators, fish, spiders, snakes, and all insects especially bees & wasps (let's just say I'm not an animal person) - it's a broader fear like of failure, being hurt relationship-wise or death. It's normal, and natural - but when you learn to deal with it, or better yet conquer it, that's when you can make the most of your life. Superstition is not the way (Raven Symoné sit). Superstition is one of those things that can drive people up the wall crazy. This past Friday was Friday the 13th, the third one this year (the maximum possible in a calendar year) - each of the occurrences were exactly 13 weeks apart as well. People were going bloody mad (...

Being a teenager is all about knowing exactly what you're feeling at all times. Let's face the facts, we're an emotional people, known for our mood swings, raging hormones, and passionate beliefs. If you're anything like me, you understand the feeling of uneasiness when it comes to stepping of out your comfort zone. The days until my college move-in are slowly dwindling away, and with it so is my confidence about actually going to school. All that I'm super excited to finally leave home, head out on my own, and do my own thing stuff, has been thrown out the window and I'm pretty much scared shatless. It's time to face the truth and chuck the deuces, we have to leave sometime. Going to college is one of the biggest steps ever. I'll be away from literally everyone I know, in a new place with tons of new people. It's kind of overwhelming to think about. Absolutely everybody is a complete stranger, and I'm just somehow supposed to be okay with it. ...