Youthful Life: X

" Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you." Saint Augustine There are moments where I don't want to be special anymore. Sometimes I am tired of standing out, being noticeable, and marked as different. Yearning to blend in when you are always visible is a conundrum. In some ways, people want others to take note of them, to recognize them as they are, and to be grateful for their presence. I think we always want those things. In other ways, there is peace in not being at the forefront, having to be "on," or in the mix. I still struggle to balance between showing up with the energy/comfort I'm feeling in any given moment, and the expectation that my personality means I am supposed to be endlessly entertaining lest others worry I am off. Sometimes I just want to dim my light, or to keep its glow for myself. I know I'...

"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do." Leonardo Da Vinci We live in a society that has come to value expediency over substance. It doesn't matter what we say, just that we say something, and be the first to say it. Knowledge has lost its gravity. Knowledge needs context, always. Contrary to what we're seeing continually, patience, self-restraint, and perspective matter just as much, if not more, than expediency. What does it matter if we're first if we're false? Pause. Wait to respond. Think. Think! Think!!! Before we speak, think. Our answers are more thoughtful and thorough we give ourselves that time to properly formulate them. We get to speak with precision instead of haphazardly. And, and, and we don't have to know everything. In fact, we should NOT know everything. Life would be pointless if we did. Learning is what life is, in essence.  Be teachab...

"What's wrong with being elitist if you are trying to encourage people to join the elite rather than being exclusive?" Richard Dawkins I'm an elitist . There I said it. Being in a place where I have an even wider variety of people with differing experiences, life paths, belief systems, etc. has made me realize just how much my access to education and corresponding "pedigree" has impacted me. The way I talk, what I talk about, how I carry myself, why I dress the way I do, and everything in between communicates I am a product of an immense amount of privilege. There's nothing implicitly wrong with that per say but it can easily become a problem in snobbishness, snootiness, and unappealing arrogance. I don't think I'm better than other people but pretending I'm like other people is a falsity for us all. I have had a rare life experience with a lot of opportunity. I think for me it shows up most when people are intimidated by me, have diffic...

"There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning" Jiddu Krishnamurti Sometimes I find myself in laughable situations. I just stop for a moment and realize that my life may actually be a sitcom sans audience participation or laugh track. Things happen and I'm just left with nothing else to do but take it in stride, make fun of myself, and keep on keeping on. Think about the all the things you were never taught but probably needed to learn sooner than you actually did. Families do us a disservice in some of the things they don't bother to teach us but even more so, we do ourselves a disservice when we don't take the time to teach ourselves . Who is ultimately responsible for what I know or don't know - me. I think being a lifelong learner is absolutely critical to living a full and dynamic life. ...

Truth - No two people are the same. While that may be an infallible truth, we are more alike than we sometimes like to acknowledge. In another sense, there are just many things that make us unique as there are things that make us similar. We're exceptional but not the exceptions. We're complicatedly simple and also simply complicated. We're special and we're not special. "You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old" George Burns The rhetoric targeted at the millennial continually seems to get worse and worse each year, or maybe I'm just more cognizant of all the stereotypes others put on us, and the ones I was part of creating for myself. Millennials are hailed as the generation of narcissism, superficiality, social media, entitlement, idealism, and restlessness among other things. My issue with those stereotypes is not that they're necessarily wrong, but rather that they are remarkably limiting and leave little to no ro...

Truth - Reality is relative. The ways that we experience the world vary greatly. It is a testament to people being given the same knowledge or facts, and coming up with different conclusions. Absolute truth may not be quite so absolute. In the wake of a truly dramatic campaign season, the different realities we exist in has once again diverged. The divide from person to person seems to grow. Some are relishing in this brave new world, and others are struck with mortal fear. What thing that holds to be true is that no matter what or who we are, our lived experiences are valid. This is our Dys(U)topia.   "Perhaps the greatest utopia would be if we could all realize that no utopia is possible; no place to run, no place to hide, just take care of business here and now." Jack Carroll Hope and peril . Dreams and nightmares. Awe and terror. This is the tale of two Americas and the multiplicity of realities in between. The day after an election is nothing but an almagation of a ...

Truth - Knowledge is power. What we choose to do with that power though makes all the difference. Knowledge can be used to the benefit of others. It can be a tool utilized for liberation just as easily at it be a used to oppress. Knowledge can provide choice, agency, and control in the same ways that it can limit, obscure, and dictate. Knowledge does not come with an inherent values judgment. Those who bear it's weight must decide what to do with it. This is knowledge. "Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family." Kofi Annan Do you ever feel like you just know too much? It sounds like the plot of a 1920's crime ring that you have just unwittingly uncovered, and you're set to be "taken care of" because you gained some knowledge you weren't supposed to have. There is this unspoken burden that comes with knowledge. You have to do something with it otherwise it is truly mea...

Truth - The world can be a scary place. It never ceases to amaze me just how drastically people's experiences can be living in the same place. I understand societies are not actually homogeneous utopias of euphoric amiability but more and more it seems the distinction between the different realities people is stark. I want to ask how can some people not know but I refrain and realize in other ways people could say the same about me. All I know for sure is that no one is getting the whole story and that context is invaluable. The system has failed so many. The system was created to benefit of some and the disenfranchisement of others (whether intentionally or as a haphazard byproduct). The system is heading towards self-destruction. This is system is overload. " If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their ne...

Truth - The media would have you believe that some things and people are more important than others. Think about it. Is there not inherently a ranking when you see something gets news coverage versus something you have to research on your own? Doesn't that necessarily entail that some people, stories, experiences, etc. are more newsworthy than other? What makes some people, things, and events matter more? This is hierarchy.    “You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.” Mahatma Gandhi It would be woefully naive to believe that all things, particularly in regards to the media could be given equal airtime. That's not realistic and not the purpose of mass media. In trade for our viewership we allow networks, showrunners, and producers to tell us what to care about. What we often fail to do is do more than that and think for ourselves. We're slacking and not doing enough of our own research. We do not see...