Today's musical recommendation -> "Marchin
On” by One Republic
When you're interested, you do what's
convenient. When you're committed, you do whatever it takes!
I came across an interesting story online
about a student at UWO who didn’t like the guy he was when he was younger and
bullied people, using slurs to put down those different from himself, and more
often than not the target didn’t follow heterosexual practices. Instead of
sitting there and doing nothing about it he has worked with another student at
UWO to create video messages that highlight what he’d say to himself if he
could talk from his current perspective. The videos include both homosexual and
lesbian participants and I think send a powerful message.
Reading the story and watching his video
got me thinking….what would I tell myself if future me could send a message
back in time to when I was just turning 21 and here is what I came up with,
like it or not, I hope it makes you pause and wonder what you’d say to
yourself.
“You are going to come to forks in the road
that veer off in widely opposite directions, don’t be afraid of them but rather
use your heart to make the decision on which one to take. Trust me on this one,
it may steer you wrong once or twice, but in the end the ones it does select
create a journey is pretty freaking amazing and well worth living. One of those
forks will offer the chance to move 3K miles across the continent, don’t just
say yes, say hell yes and jump at it as it is the best one you’ll ever make.
Some of these forks will result in pain or
disappointment, but each will also make you the person you are today, though
there will be some things you do that you regret, you need to realize that life
is about the ups and downs, and the good things you do make far outweigh the
bad.
Life is about balance. Remember that when
buddies call you to go out and play hoops and you put them off to work. Work
isn’t life, you’ll get this later but if you can get it sooner all the better.
When you have those doubts about your first
real relationship, trust them and act accordingly when things come to a head.
It will be ugly before it gets better but it is one of those life lessons we
all need to go through. You'll come out of it a better person and you learn later she managed to get things together as well and ends up happy too.
Don’t take that job in New York. You didn’t
but it was a close call and who knows where you might have ended up, probably
seduced by the all mighty dollar, trying to be one of Wall Street’s Masters of
the Universe from the 80’s.
When you begin to feel like there has to be
something better out there in the early 90’s trust me there is and she will
change your life so much. Sure she won’t end up being the one you grow old with
but she will welcome you into not only her life but her daughter’s life as
well. Oh, in case you’re wondering, that little girl becomes your daughter and
introduces you to what it means to love unconditionally.
Take more time to enjoy things with your
children. They have so much love for you and want nothing more than to spend
time with you. Remind yourself of the vow you took when you were little about
being a better parent than yours were with you.
Just one last thing to think about, that
name you think is cool for your son, it doesn’t work and when the time comes you’ll
change it on the fly at the hospital, catching everyone off guard, and pick the
perfect name for him, it suits him to a tee.
Hug your children often and tell them you
love them. They can never hear it enough”
What would you say to yourself if you had
the opportunity?
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