Youthful Life: X

Truth - Morality and ethics can both be clearly defined, stringent absolutes, and complicated ambiguous gray areas, depending on your ideological beliefs and personal contexts. In living in a society, there are some commonly agreed upon parameters and guidelines that we all accept, whether consciously or inadvertently. Those who operate beyond the bounds of what we deem legal, if caught, are supposed to deal with the established consequences laws, statutes, and orders that have been set in place. The challenge to that bureaucracy when that established system disadvantages certain people or may just very well be inherently corrupt itself. Are we for moral absolutism or are we more moral relativists? "Despite what they tell you, there are simply no moral absolutes in a complex world." Berkeley Breathed Last week  was an adventure and a half. At every junction I came to there were moral and ethical decisions to be made. How do I behave, what is best for not only m...

Truth - The values of the world we live in have changed over time. Things that used to be commonly understood as mundane now seem out of the ordinary. There are no longer such stringent standards that we hold one another to. Our society is more individualistic than ever before. It has its benefits, some gnarly side effects, and a whole lot of ambiguous gray area in between. What ever happened to predictability? Now we never know what to expect. Forget about us, and don't even get me started on trust - this is commitment issues. " There is a constant feeling in our culture that we might be missing out on something better, therefore, we rarely commit to a decision that we can’t back out of if something better comes along." Rhett Smith "There's a higher form of happiness in commitment. I'm counting on it." Claire Forlani When did flakiness become socially acceptable or at least a common practice? Left and right people just don't show up to enga...

Truth - People change people. It's not our beliefs, opinions, or feelings but rather who we are and how we connect with others that makes all the difference. The ways that we approach conversations dictates the outcomes of those conversations. The more purposeful the intention, the more likely an expected outcome will be achieve. Centralizing conversation and genuine dialogue as the context through which you approach others is something truly profound. There is a massive distinction between calling people out, and calling them in to conversation.   "Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted" Ralph Waldo Emerson We live in comparatively the most progressive day and age. We have come a long way, and yet we still have so far to go. More and more we hear this dichotomy of arguments for celebration of diversity, equity, and inclusion being directly opposed to this notion of a censored, politically correct, hyp...

Truth - Connection is one of the defining characteristics of the human experience. We exist in communities, tribes, families, and relationship because they are what we need to sustain us. People matter, more than we realize. We are impacted by the things others say and do as they interact with us, but even more so in the subtext of when they have departed or what is left unsaid. It is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but sometimes absence helps you realize you were better off without them. Navigating relationships is a lifelong endeavor - this is constant contact. "Vulnerability is the birthplace of connection and the path to the feeling of worthiness. If it doesn't feel vulnerable, the sharing is probably not constructive." Brene Brown It's funny just how much my relationships have changed since graduating from college. The ways in which I approach people, the kinds of questions I ask, and the sincere intentionality behind it is all new. Without...

Truth - Nobody stays young forever. While we may physically age who we are on the inside does so at an entirely different rate. Age does not necessarily equate wisdom or experience. Many a person has been born, lived, and passed all within the minute confines of the microcosms, communities, and insulated bubbles we exist in. Is that living? It depends on what your definition of life is, besides who are we to judge the lives of others lest we welcome the same scrutiny ourselves. The spirit of youth of is alive within each and every one of us if only we allow it to be carefree, adventurous, and genuine - long live the youth.   "Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life." Samuel Ullman Ageism is prejudice , bias, and discrimination based on age or perceived age. All those t...

Truth - No two perspectives are the same. We all experience the world in profoundly unique ways. That distinct viewpoint is part of what makes us all so special. No one takes in the world the way that we do. Nobody knows the things that go through our heads. No one else has all the information that we hold. Even more so, the ways in which we understand ourselves can be drastically different than how others know us to be. The narrative of our nature may be one thing to us and completely different to others. The catch to that sentiment is that both vantage points are equally as valid. Reconciling the two may be a lifelong process, but those that do so become legendary. “Youth is the most suitable age to enjoy the life completely or to work diligently for the life, what you decide makes your rest of the life ordinary or legendary respectively.” Amit Kalantri The dichotomy between who we understand ourselves to be versus who we actually are can sometimes be a sharp contrast. We ...

Truth - The greater life lessons we learn oftentimes do not manifest themselves until long after an experience has concluded. Love can be so pervasive and yet so elusive. Recognizing love for what it is can be a difficult thing to ability to cultivate. In doing so though we learn better how to choose for ourselves. We choose love. We choose our family. We choose those that we let in to our lives. We give invitations, make promises, and pledges ourselves in pacts. This is my fraternity pact. "We're on a planet. At the same time. In the Universe ... Let's do something great together!” Jeff Byington   In my post-undergrad life , the significance of my "lifelong" membership in a fraternal organization has faded into little more than fond memories of weekends spent having stupidly hilarious conversation to the soundtrack of early 2000s hits, bureaucratic unproductive chapter meetings, and semblances of interfraternal communal collaborations. I rarely wear my le...

Truth - You never really know how much you miss someone until you see them again. It's uncanny how differently we remember things from how they actually happened. It seems time serves as a gentle eraser where we only recall the most harrowing of times and the most amiably memorable moments. More often than not seeing someone from the past brings up warm memories. Maybe it's that instant recognition and the rapport between you all, or maybe it's a just regular nostalgia, either way. There is something special about getting back together with people you once knew. This reunion. "Nostalgia is a file that removes all the rough edges from the good old days" Doug Larson   *Check out a special vlog to catch you up on my life this week. There is something truly profound about coming back together with old friends. It's a true testament to see the strength and endurance of your bonds when you are able to just feel those same ways that you always used to. I...

Truth - Some people are amazing because of who they are, but there are a select few who are awe-inspiring in spite of the adversity they face. There is something profound to be said about those that society writes off in multiple ways. These are the people that are often overlooked, disregarded, and made to be invisible. What society doesn't realize is that in doing so it creates an undeniable power dynamic. Just as those who society uplifts have their power source, those that it disempowers get their strength from their disenfranchisement. When the world tries to break you, tell you that you are nothing, and whispers in the most insidious ways that you do not belong you break back, tell your own story, and shout that you are above it all. This is a special brand of awesome - this black girl magic.  "The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within - strength, courage, dignity" Ruby Dee Black girl magic is a term coined by CaShawn Thom...

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...