I am stealing this from someone else's blog, I thought it was just written beautifully:
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Howdy.
While this entry is supposed to cheer you up, it's going to be brutally honest, and perhaps even harsh. I say this in advance so I avoid catching anybody by surprise, so don't say I didn't warn you.
I can only imagine that things have changed (or are changing right now) for all of us, and the once seemingly hectic lives we lived just a few years ago seem uncontrollably nostalgic.
Is it that our lives were that much better years, months, or even weeks ago? Or is it just that our hopes, dreams, and goals were so innocent and hopeful, that looking back at those ambitions from our current stand point makes us feel like we let ourselves down....?
Well, I'll tell you one thing... we were stupid. I know I was.
We heard people say "If you graduate with a degree in *blah blah blah* from *hooplah hop* (ahh yes, the famous University of Hooplah Hop), you'll be SET with a plush job and a bourgeois lifestyle that'll make P-Diddy look like a street performer!!"
While such claims seem ludicrous to those of us slapped with countless rejection letters from companies and grad schools, we wanted to believe those unrealistic myths.
Perhaps we believed it because we wanted assurance that what we were doing had a purpose. Perhaps it was out of ignorance about the "real world". Perhaps it was a result of listening to too many Jack Johnson songs. Perhaps it was delusion from all that alcohol you drank. (....or can you even remember those nights?)
In any case, the legends created by our predecessors during the mid~late '90s made us feel like there wasn't a thing in the world that could prevent us from acheiving that golden dream.
Then the dot.bomb, 9-11, economic recession, George Bush, Arnold Schwartzenneger (did I spell that right?), the disbanding of N'Sync, and the resurrection of Hitler happened (trust me, it happened.... you just don't know about it!), creating global tumult and insecurity.
Naturally, it became more difficult to find a job or even get into grad school. Anybody that achieved either of those seemed undeserving because you KNOW you were just as good, if not better...
You're still alive, but you're not where you thought you'd be. You feel you've lost sight of what you want and are unsure of the path that you're taking. Suddenly "reality" hits, and you feel you're merely "surviving"..... not "living".
This is not how you want your life to be...
Now that I've thoroughly discouraged you, here's the sympathetic part:
You're not dead yet.
I say that because people often forget how long life is, and how short it can be.
Every moment you live becomes part of an experience. No matter what odd job you've done, no matter what lame office work you do, it's all a part of an experience that's unique to you... simply because you're unique.
How you perceive your life is solely on you. Society, including your family, may not consider you to be "a success", but honestly, who are THEY to say that you're living YOUR life wrong?
If you told somebody that you were driving down to LA from SF taking "the scenic route", they'd say "Oh that's neat." How is life any different?
So what if you don't take a first class jet out of SFO to LAX. Ask them what it's like to talk to a friend for hours on a roadtrip, laughing all the way. Ask them what it's like to feel the rush when you fell asleep at the wheel and had to swerve to avoid hitting the side rail. Ask them if they saw the a breathtaking sunset reflect off the ocean at sea level. Ask them if they were able to pull over, get off to stretch, feel the sea breeze, beltch like an ogre, and pass gas next to a field of blooming daisies. (poetry is a dish best served crude. =P) They will never be able to see what you had just seen, since they weren't there. It's a moment of beauty that they'll never taste...... That is something that they can NEVER have.
The long road up the sandy hill is just as important as the magnificient view from atop.
Sometimes it's fun to get lost along the way. Sometimes it's fun to travel without reservations. Sometimes it's fun to eat Mc Donald's for 7 meals straight. Sometimes it's nice to know that there's no such thing as being late. Sometimes a road trip isn't over until you say it is.....
Granted, the trip can be lonely if you don't have company. It can be down right scary if you have to drive for hundreds of miles by yourself. You can't always find a friend to drive down for the weekend. Sometimes you have to drive by yourself.
But always remember that if they were able to do so, they would've been ready and willing to go on that journey with you........... at least I know I would. =)
To those of you who wanted to fly first class. To those of you that are pulled over right now because you don't have a destination yet. To those of you who are driving alone. To those of you who are unsure about which exit to take....... I say to you:
"We'll fly first class next time." "Let's rest for a little bit longer, and we'll figure out where to go later." "Hey, call me up the next time you go on a roadtrip." "Meh.... just keep driving 'til we see a Mc Donald's. =)"
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