My 16-year old self disowns my 15-year old self’s writing

Tonight I looked back at some of the stuff I said and wrote a year ago. I couldn’t help cringing. My writing style, so elementary! My outlook, so simple! And I, so ignorant! I’m lucky I got through freshman year, I said to myself. Here’s the best part: a year from now, I’ll be saying the exact same thing.

A short reflection on friendships ended

“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interr’d with their bones.” ~Marc Antony, Julius Caesar

I’ll always remember the good times. Sure, things fall apart with people, and it’s a darn shame, but that’s no reason to cut a memory out of my life. That’s like cutting a tattoo out of your arm with a knife (remember Gladiator?). It just makes things worse and increases the possibility of infection.

You know what? If we’re not reincarnated, this is our only shot at life. Isn’t that mindblowing? A snap of a finger, a pull of a trigger, a blocked coronary artery and it’s all over. I know that “live life to the fullest” is a terribly overused cliche, and FAR too many movies have that theme, but you know what? It’s true.

The good times of our childhood, our adolescence, and our five minutes ago are gone. Yet we should not yearn for them, and neither should we forget them. Even if two people have parted ways, they can still remember the good times. I like that.

Subtly hating on my own country

Oddly enough, even though I live in America and I love America, I’ve still picked up some anti-American bias. When I crossed from the Canadian side to the American side of the border, I was afraid that the trees would be more dead, the environment would be more polluted, the food would be more disgusting, the people would be less healthy, the women would be less beautiful, and everything would cost more…yet I was certain my personal cleanliness would improve. Weird. Turns out my fears were unfounded on all fronts except personal cleanliness – and that’s only because I was home, not in a hotel. America and Canada are basically the same, except Canadian taxes are a lot higher, the media is more friendly, and Catholicism is a bigger part of the culture. Oh, and the weather is colder in the north…of course. Sure, the political system is a bit different, but when did that ever affect your life? They’re both stable democracies, so..

My 16-year old self puts on a linguist hat

Are the definitions of words partially based on phonetics? I think so. I mean, ludicrous just wouldn’t be ludicrous if it wasn’t ludicrous. Sex sounds pretty breathy, doesn’t it? Would you rather fight with a sword or a sabre? How about an epee? I think one of the best examples of this is the word “hypocrisy.” Hypocrisy is one of the most hated things in Western Society, and for good reason – it sounds despicable, and it is despicable. Say it out loud. HyPOcrisy. You really stress the 2nd syllable, and at the end it sound really shady and evil. Weird.

Fragments 1

Feel free to disagree with what I wrote, but know this: I meant every word of it.

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Few things are as mighty as the power of suggestion.

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Have you ever loved someone so much, or for so long, that you couldn’t think of a reason anymore? Someone asks you why, and you say, “I can’t remember”? Ahh, that is the stuff of life.

Posted from a hotel in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Nature is subtle. Even in places like the Niagara Falls, it’s easy to pass it by – unlike movies and other man-made entertainment, it makes absolutely no effort to grab your attention. You are the one who must discover it and appreciate, and to do that, you’ve got to slow down and stop thinking and start being. And once you’re ready to enjoy it, the Niagara Falls are an awesome spectacle, indeed.

A quick summary of The Goo Goo Dolls

Here is a summary of nearly every song the Goo Goo Dolls have written.

John Rzeznik Songs: Your/Our life sucks, but I like you anyway
Robby Takac Songs: My life sucks, especially because of you, but I like you anyway.

Well, that’s quite a proposal

“Oh, wow, honey! Thanks for the dinner! It was wonderful.”
“Anything for you, my dear. Now, I’ve got something I want to ask you..I’ve been thinking on it a long time, it may not come out right but I’ll see what I can do, eh?”
“Ah! What is it?”
“Kathy, my love..will you be my first wife?”
“Of course I…huh?”
“‘Cause you know, we can have a great time together, but in twenty or thirty years you’ll be old, and I’ll be old, and me being old is ok, but you, it’s like, ew….so I’ll probably frame you for alimony and dump you off for a nice, dumb trophy wife. But hey, you’ll get a couple mil and a beach house, so it’s not too bad of a deal, right? …hey, I didn’t know you had a crowbar! Why are you pointing it-”

Some False Optimists

TUESDAY NIGHT ACTIVIST
“Oh, Billy! That was the most beautiful movie I’ve ever seen! Let’s go out and make the world a better place!”
“I’d love to, honey, but it’s 10:30 and it’s a school night…can we start tomorrow?”
“Well, ok.”
(Guess who oversleeps their alarm and then forgets everything?)

PURE HUMANISM
“I believe that human potential is limitless. But people suck.”

SESAME STREET OPTIMISM
“I think everything’s going to be OK in the end!”
“Why?”
“….uh…I dunno..but that’s the right answer, isn’t it?”

THE WAIT
“Well, my life’s not all that great now, but it will be when I get a car! …when I get some! … when I get out of the house! … when I get a degree! … when I get a promotion! … when I get married! … when I have kids! … when the kids are out of the house! … when I retire! … when I..huh? Dead? But I’m just getting started!”

THE MOTHER OF THEM ALL
“Life is beautiful! Today at least.”

Let me tell you something

Growing up is not about what you want to do. It’s about what you don’t want to do. I don’t want to do it. I don’t have to do it.

I must do it.

Lord, I am in your hands.