For the next while...

After I'm dead I'd rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one.     - Cato the Elder

Me, in many, many years [hopefully]

This weekend I used an app on a friend's phone. It's called Oldify (shameless plug) and it just takes a picture of you and turns it old. Easy.

My first thoughts upon seeing an older version of myself were:

1. Wow. I still look pretty good
2. Wow. I'm old
3. Wow. My forehead is wrinkly
4. Wow. All the old people I know used to be young
5. Wow. I'm getting old
6. Oh my goodness I'm aging
7. When I'm that old I hope I will have left my mark on society
8. When I'm older I want to have made a difference
9. Life is so fragile
10. I hope my eyebrows still look that good
11. What am I doing today to ensure that I will have accomplished something great tomorrow?

I've actually had a few things weighing heavy on my heart recently. Big life decisions, and all that jazz. Trying to establish what I am doing with my life. I've always pressured myself- maybe just a little bit more than I should- to make sure I am accomplishing things and furthering my life. This is great for planning purposes. I have many well laid plans ready to reference based on differing circumstances and different decisions I may make in my life. That's well and good, but it always makes me rush through life. I'm always planning the next step, and don't enjoy the scenery on this leg of the journey.

So, in the spirit of enjoying this leg of the journey and making a mark on the world, all at the same time, I am in the process of trying to educate myself on politics and issues of the world. I have gone about this by asking successful people whom I have seen as mentors in the past what books they have read that have shaped their world or political view/ have made them who they are today. The responses have been steady and slightly overwhelming. I foresee long hours on the elliptical trying to make it through this giant list of literature that I have received, and I cannot be more happy. 

This time, focusing on quality instead of quantity, I plan to study each book and then somehow apply a principle that I have learned from the book to my life. My commitment is to keep you updated with what I am reading and how it is affecting my life, and to honor this commitment. If you have any further suggestions of something that you don't see listed, please feel absolutely free to comment/ email/ facebook/ tweet your thoughts. 

Significance.

Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves. ~ Walter Anderson

Well, I had something profound to write. Then I realized that it's not really that important. People focus too much on things that aren't truly important- like money, fame and fortune. Sure, these things are nice to have, but what really is vital is the relationships in your life; how much effort you put into them. When you are old and look back over your life, it would obviously be great to see all of your conquests. But what do these things do for you? Alone, and you will still be missing something. Paired with good relationships, and everything in your life turns from a mere happening to a memory. An actual memory that makes you feel something. It doesn't have to be a warm, fuzzy feeling of some great event. It could be a terrible sadness, one big regret, or a deep longing for more. Regardless, whatever you do now- the relationships you form, the habits you develop, the tasks you accomplish- are all a part of a greater picture. Without relationships, no one will care what that greater picture looks like once its finished. In the end, people just want someone to care. They just want to be important.

The awakening.

Life realization #1. 

If you move to music city, everyone is trying to make it. Aka, everyone is attractive. I never really thought about it before, but it's true. It's okay though I'm used to it- I went to Samford. (I have heard that LA is a bigger, badder version of attractive than Nashville. Truth?)

Life realization #2. 

Never date a guy you met at a bar. You may think- "Oh, this one's different!"

He's not.

Don't be stupid.

Life realization #3.

Get your sleep in during the week. You never know what your weekend holds.

Life realization #4.

Don't take yourself too seriously. 

Seriously.

Life realization #5.

Put effort into your relationships with other people.

Don't be lazy and anti-social. 

It'll pay off, eventually. And you'll have more friends.