Thursday, April 14, 2011

A Bold New Frontier

It's been a long haul, blog, and you've been there with me for all of it. Most of it. Some of it....

Alright, so I update this blog just shy of once a year, but hey blog, we're aware of each others' existence, and that drunken night of awkward fumbling we go through every 11 months or so as I try to remember just what all your buttons and drop boxes do is great and memorable whenever it happens, and I'm glad that it happens with you.

What I'm trying to say is that I'm graduating soon. In like, three weeks. Provided I pass all my classes at least which... I mean passing is a D, so I GOT this, right? Totally.

But I'm going into the world with business cards that look like this.



Fantastic, I know. They show so much confidence. Or at the very least, they show the business aptitude of a 10 year old who just graduated from the Mountain Dew Academy of Awesome (arguably the most respectable of the colleges in the Stupendous League conference of schools).

But as I walk into the valley of the shadow of the death of my childhood, I do so with no fear. I'd say I'm not looking back, but I'm of course Moonwalking at full speed toward the future, or at least performing my best interpretation of the Moonwalk.

The only thing I want to do with my life is to be happy. And I always get weird looks from adults when I tell them this. And by adults I mean people older than me, that feel like I should know better than this because they feel they know better than this. And I'm not here to knock someone's approach at life. I want different things than them that's how it goes.

Life is what you make of it, and there are things that I love that aren't important to some people, and things that I don't need that are the world to other people. I don't need...things. That's not true, I do need things. But I need less things. I began a process of purging things I owned about a year ago, and it's slow going, but it's happening. Scanning old notes and pictures I drew to a digital file and storing it in multiple places before destroying the originals, giving away old toys and books, thinning my clothing, all that jazz. This goes along with how much I love traveling. With that mindset, it's weird to have things that tie you to a place. if I could fit all my life into two or three suitcases that'd be ideal, but I'm still at that awkward mix between owning things and getting rid of all of it. Every time I go through I find more things I needed to have that I just don't need anymore and it's exciting.

Maybe it's just me growing up and not wanting to hold onto things anymore. Maybe it's me changing my perspective on things? Maybe it's just nothing important and I'm simply bored.

As a result of these things though, I need less money to buy the less things I don't need. So I feel like whatever I do I'm going to be just as successful as everyone else is, because I'm measuring my success differently. My happiness is my important goal. Traveling is my goal. Making other people happy is what I live for. If I have the means to do these things, then that means I'm successful. Everyone wants fast cars, huge houses, expense accounts, other things that I don't understand the meanings of (although briefcases are cool, I'll hand that to the business world). They need more money to afford more things that make them happy.

I'm happy with a computer and a passport. And a pad of paper so I can write things and doodle when I'm running around. And the ability to buy lunch for my friends and rent a movie when they've had a bad day.

Are there things I'd like on top of that? I'd like to be in a movie. I'd like to build something elaborate with my bare hands. I want to do the Shikoku Henro. I want to climb something, get into shape, cook a delicious meal on the fifth anniversary with someone I love, own a hedgehog, go parasailing, swim in the deep ocean, shake hands with a blue whale, high five the president, write a book, dance in the rain.

There's nothing stopping me from doing these things though. Nothing but myself, and you can find time for these types of things no matter where you are in life. It's why I'm not worried.


They're going to happen.