Youthful Life: X

The 20s are all about adventures. What remains crystal clear to me every single day is that each one is distinct from any other. From dawn to dusk and all the moonbeam laden hours following, the escapades of the day both are contained to that day and yet reach beyond it. It's a wonder that we are allowed to make meaning daily. The ups, downs, and the damn good plot twists in between make our lives truly legendary epics. What will you write today? To infinity and beyond! " Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another " Thomas Merton The days after graduation were an absolute blur. I still cannot believe that my college story has concluded. It is beyond me in so many ways and yet it is the matter of fact truth. Just as quickly as it had begun it was all over. It was something like a dream just totally ephemeral and phantasmagorical. Four years had come and gone but what I take with me are the memories, less...

The 20s are all about letting your light shine. I have always enjoyed the symbolism of light. I find it heartwarming and moving in so many ways. I often wish people light in their lives and ask for the same. I aspire to be a light in the world and one that not gives their light but is able to receive from others who offer it in return. My light, I hope, shines bright unto others and ignites, refreshes, or enhances theirs. I strive to do that daily. I will let my light shine, so long as I live. I know it will until it all ends here.   *Miss part one of my graduation weekend story - read it first here "One Last Time"   From Marianne Williamson's A Return to Love   - a poem " Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure . It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a...

The 20s are all about finding meaning. There are so many times where we look to different sources and other people to find meaning when more often than not, that meaning can be found within ourselves. Sometimes the personal truths we hold are so big even we, ourselves, do not believe them. Yet still, we know them to be self-evident and must accept them in order to master them. Truths have no power unless they have been spoken into existence. The hardest actualities to share are that of ourselves. We know the truth of who we are. Are we ever ready for the world to know though? One last time we tell the truth.   "We are what we believe we are" C.S. Lewis It only occurred to me a few weeks ago that for someone who spends a lot of time, at least in writing, talking about themselves, I actually dislike talking about me. I was doing my fraternity "All About Me" presentation and all of them remarked that almost all of the stuff I had displayed was new to them. The...

The 20s are all about redefining your comfort zone. Everyone has those places and situations that knock you right on out of your safety net. You're nervous, anxious, and sometimes even a little (or a lot) scared. It's normal but it doesn't make it any less daunting. We face brand new things daily and immediately it becomes clear whether we're up for it or not. Knowing and understanding your discomfort are the keys to overcoming it. We're headed into uncharted territories. This is the final frontier.    "As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal" Robin S. Sharma Growing up is both exciting and scary at the same damn time. I like the adventure that it brings but the uncertainty I could probably do without. I can admit that I've spent the majority of my life trying to be in control of everything that happens around and/or to me. In a world where young people often have relatively lit...

The 20s are all about dictating your own experience. Too many times do we let frivolous petty things soil our fun. Good times are forgotten because of things or people that really don't matter. We let them get to us and instead of being fully present we get stuck in this knit picky cycle of ingratitude. Nothing is perfect but nothing just gets to be. Things are what they are. Take them that way lest you hyperbolize every negative instance that occurs. You are your own arbiter.  "Who are you are speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you're saying" Ralph Waldo Emerson There's more satisfying than self assurance. No matter what you're good. There's nothing anyone can say or do that will get to you. You find peace within yourself and throw your worries to the wind. Insecurity, doubt, and fear can and will come but they will always go because you're you. That means something truly profound. There is no one else in the world like you. No one get...

The 20s are all about saying see you soon. Departures and goodbyes don't get any easier as you get older. In fact I would argue that they only become more and more difficult as your relationships become deeper and more substantial. Getting to know people on sincere levels of authenticity, vulnerable, and honesty is something I have to cherish and value the older I have become. Letting them go for both us of us to move on have never been more tumultuous. We grow. We grow up. We grow out. The kids are alright.  "It is both a blessing and a curse to feel everything so deeply" It wasn't until recently that I come to understand some semblance of what my parents meant when they said that they spend every waking moment thinking about us [their kids]. Through work, running errands, and even their relationship as partners at the back of their minds, if not the forefront, pass our faces and our plights. With five us, it must sometimes be overwhelming to have so many peop...