sweet summertime

The summer sits in front of me now like a long stretch of open road with little excitement up ahead. Maybe  a few quickly passing trees or roadside signs.  Oh the road signs of life. They would read something like this. "reduce speed for 10 o'clock classes ahead." or "beware of no jobs in the area," or even "quiet days and nights up ahead." Yup, those are my road signs for the summer in front of me now.  Not to be a debby downer, I just feel like this summer holds nothing particularly special. I'm not taking any exciting trips or adventures and I have to take summer school, so it's not going to feel like much of a break.  I get to experience the mundane of the day to day lifestyle. I guess the mundane is beautiful in it's own way. Like most things It's just a matter of perspective. The main thing I am dealing with now is, how do I get excited about what this summer holds for me? With the future is uncertainty, and uncertainty equals possibility. And possibilities are always intriguing aren't they? I am looking forward to a change of perspective, new classes, new jobs and new people, and with that comes a new day to day life.  So there, I already feel a little better about it than when I first started writing. I will keep you posted on how it all unfolds... 

the gift of precious time

Here is a thought that has been on my mind lately, and since I have this wonderful blog, the perfect venue to tell my inner-most thoughts, here goes. What in the world is more important than caring for the people in your life? I think this bears the need for repeating... what in the world is more important than people? Seems like a dumb question right? Well surprisingly enough there are a lot of people out there that don't subscribe to this belief.  People nowadays are consumed with advancing themselves professionally and personally while losing sight of what is really important in life, and that is relationships.  Maybe this is on my mind right now because I'm in college. College is one of the most selfish times in a person's life.  College students are there to better themselves, they don't have children or many responsibilities so they don't have to think about others lives I suppose.  Now, I'm not saying to spend every waking minute with your friends and family. No, just some of your time is all.  I think the most true cliche' I've ever heard is this: Life is short.  Life is far too short to be stressed out about school and the day to day. Life is too short to not be there for the people that need your support and love.  

gotta defend my reality tv

So I have to come clean, I am somewhat of a reality tv addict.  Lately I have been really into the series real housewives of new york city. Sounds horrible right? yes, while it may sound so terribly shallow and lowly, it does provide interesting social insight into a crowd I would never know existed in new york. It is somewhat anthropological if you will.  I find that our culture's recent obsession with reality tv is not only a result of the writers strike but speaks volumes about where our interests lie and what people are craving to watch nowadays.  While some reality shows are purely awful, (i.e. rock of love or flavor of love... virtually any with "love" in the title) others are very interesting and truly give the viewer a look into another lifestyle or educate viewers on real life situations. There is something undeniably alluring about uncut unscripted life.  The sitcoms and tv shows that show the perfect nuclear family are a thing of the past and have become somewhat archaic in our ever-changing society today.  People no longer want to see the perfect family going about their perfect lives.  People want to see life on the other side and the way real families and individuals function, or rather dis-function.  Yes, I'll admit reality is entertaining to watch, and more often than not these shows make you feel better about your own reality. And thats a good enough reason to watch if you ask me...

words like rain drops that never hit the ground

out of reach

As I am awake late at night watching the graduate on AMC I cannot help but think about the concept of the forbidden fruit. With it's quirky 60s music and strange camera angles on the beautiful, and graceful Mrs. Robinson it is evident that there is something undeniably alluring about the forbidden.  Whether it's that one thing you can't have, or that elusive goal or idea you know you could never act on.  Whatever it is for you, it is attractive because it's unknown or simply out of reach.  There are so many social standards and rules that our society has created in which we must live our lives within. This is just a part of life I suppose.  Sometimes though, the repression can just be too much to handle.  Often times in reality the forbidden isn't as great as it seems when it's up on that high shelf out of reach.  But who's to say you can't find out for yourself.  As a rule (yet again more rules...)  as long as you don't hurt people in the process, I think it might be a good idea to explore that top shelf.    After all if Benjamin was never with Mrs. Robinson then maybe he wouldn't have met or been as entranced by Elaine... who knows?

the rules were meant to be broken... right?

So this week I have found myself wondering, how can I push the limits?  I mean, were the rules meant to be broken, or meant to be followed? I guess this depends on the rule and the individual's perspective.  Sometimes there is a thrill involved in testing the limits, but more importantly sometimes you just need to experience life and it's consequences for yourself. Even if that means making mistakes and pushing the set standards. This idea can be put into actions as well as in thought and in the questioning of age old traditions.  If you don't question and push the boundaries of what you have always been told, then how do you know that something is true.  I have made mistakes, like any other person and, like any other person I have figured out that I am not invincible. A painful experience, but true and necessary in life.  I have also had doubts and questions, like any other person. All I am saying is I just think that people need to push life to it's limits sometimes to figure it out. I am so much better and wiser than I have been in the past and I am thankful that finally the blinders are off of my eyes. 

I feel home

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home" said Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz as she clicked her shoes together and wished to be there. Even if home sucks, like Kansas, it is home none the less. Home. Even the mere utterance of the word conjures up emotions and feelings of security, familiarity and refuge.  I have been lucky enough to move every year of my college career. I have found many new experiences and feelings associated with the word home over the past few years as well, not all good ones. (haha) Home is an interesting idea and raises some thought provoking questions. Is it the place where you were born, the place you spent your childhood or the place you live now? Right now home to me is my family house in Pittsboro, NC.  It's where I go to get away from life, a place where time stands still and I can be bored, but most of all it's a place where I can be me.  I hope that someday, sooner rather than later, I can find another place that feels home.  So we've all heard the adage, home is where the heart is. I would say this is true.  Home is not just the place we lay our heads down at night, it is the place where we should be able to let our hair down, and to feel refuge and peace.  Yes, those positive feelings towards home during college have been elusive for years, but maybe they won't always be.