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.