stars in space

      I've made it into a game. Log on to Netflix. Type a random word in the search engine box and see if anything good comes up. Rule #1: You have to watch whatever comes up. Rule #2: Rule number one is voided by any mention of David Bowie. It's rather challenging. Today, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a documentary about the human race's first moments in space. Don't ask the name, after scanning for David Bowie, I don't really notice.

      This was one of the greatest films I've seen in quite a long time. Original footage, first-hand interviews, shiny space suits and one of the most influential events in human history. Let me clarify, I do not classify this as an influential event due to our making it to space and the moon. No, this makes the list of times when the human race proved that they are amazing and in doing so, influenced everything else. This is my favorite list. 

      Humans have long been known as a group of individuals comprised of many different hobbies, tastes, interests, abilities, desires and perceptions. It's amazing to me that we haven't blown up the planet yet (though we have come close). Throughout the years, humans have found ways to link those skills and interests and whatnot to create and improve. 

      Concerning this documentary, I found another great thing about human beans: we are brave. Not only were the astronauts brave in risking their life to explore, but we were brave in believing we could send them out there and bring them back alive. Space, for me, represents the epitome of "the unknown."  If you think about it, there is really close to nothing that we know about space. Sure, we've progressed since that day in 1961, but if you think about it, there is a lot out there that we have absolutely no solid knowledge about. And can you imagine back when Yuri was suiting up? Someone was looking into that black abyss one day and thought, "we should wrap a man up in a shiny suit, fling him up there and see what we find." And then someone volunteered. And then someone built a spaceship. And then that volunteer got into the spaceship and was rocketed up into space. And THEN, a few years later, someone got to the moon. What if the moon was acidic, and one step could have disintegrated you? But Armstrong did it. He left that shoe print that looked strikingly similar to every pair of shoes you ever wore before the age of 8.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." 

       

     Here is a human bean, testing the limits. What I love about that, is that people do it everyday. I had an irrational fear of turning on a blender once. Fortunately, the only job I could get freshman year was at Jamba Juice. I walked in, and after making my first smoothie, started the blender. So maybe it would explode and rip my face to pieces (that was the irrational fear part), but I did it. Martin Luther King Jr. knew the risk of standing up for his rights, but he did, and because of that, our entire nation was changed. Firemen jump into burning houses to save people, soldiers fight to protect their freedom, a kid stands up to the bully at school, you leap off the plane with nothing with a backpack that supposedly has a parachute in it. 

                                             

     It's amazing. The human race is a lot of things, and brave is perhaps one of the greatest. So, here's to being brave. Cheers. 

Stormy Weather

For some bizarre reason, whenever there are clouds and a slight drizzle, I get in this contemplative mood. So I sit here, and type up some advice for myself while the epiphany lasts. Here are some things about life that we all should know. I think it's becoming cliche to say things along the lines of "I know this is cliche, but...." but I don't really mind being cliche. I think it's totally mainstream and cool. #makingmainstreamcool #beforeitremergesascool

1. First off: if you're going to do something, do it and be amazing. Nothing is more impressive to me than someone who found their passion and pursued it with all they had just because they loved it. Even if you don't become the best, if you've done your best, your best will be enough to make you happy, which is the most important thing. 

2. L.I.V.E

      An acronym for how life should be lived.

L: Lusciously. No, don't just buy all the things. I believe a luscious life can be lived in a sub-Saharan hut or a penthouse apartment in New York. The ability to find luscious qualities about your circumstances is something that can make or break a satisfied outlook on life (I've got to find another word for life, it's gonna get old real quick). 

I:  Involved. If there's anything I've learned about this existence, it's that YOU are in charge of how involved you are. So many times I've missed out on things and blamed it on someone not making the effort to involve me or reach out to be my friend. This is a symptom of laziness. If you feel left out, it's because you're not making an effort to be let in. Be friendly, reach out to others, always be kind, etc. If you're this kind of person rather than a pity party in the corner, you'll not only be more happy with your current relationships, but will perhaps assist in brightening the day of someone else. 

     

V: Vivaciously. Building off that last one, seriously if you are happy and try to have a positive and excited attitude about this time in which we are alive, you will have so much more fun. I live the 3 second 5 minute rule: you've got 3 seconds to be annoyed or mad, then you decide whether, in 5 minutes, this thing will influence the rest of your journey or not and whether it will be worth being sad or angry any longer. It happens all the time, where we just blow up or sit there and mope for forever, and then regret that time lost later. So just take your 3 seconds, judge your 5 minutes and move on to the bigger and better. 

           

E: Eclectically. Technically meaning "selecting or choosing from various sources," I choose this word to mean something along the lines of DON'T JUST BE IN YOUR OWN LITTLE BUBBLE ALL YOUR LIFE. I was this person. I was in my own little head, sitting in my little house, in my little city, in my little state watching How I Met Your Mother and various David Bowie films for a lot of my life. I believe that there is a section of happiness that comes from exotic encounters. Expanding your horizons, choosing to be influenced by "various sources." For some, this means travel the world. For others, like me, who also want to travel but have no money, it means to take the time to value eclecticism. Read the news, learn how to belly dance, create your own tea ceremony, be an eclectic person, made up of different things or skills or anything. Don't just become really good at basket-weaving and think that's all the accomplishment one needs in life. Well-roundedness. That's the key. 

I was going to go on, but even I got sick of reading this. So anyways, live your life my friend.