For those of you that have seen Into the Wild, you can comprehend what I am about to say. For those of you who have not seen the movie or read the book, I suggest you do so as soon as possible. It is one of the saddest stories ever told, based on a true store and the picture you see to the left is the place where Christopher McCandless did eventually die. It is the story about a young man who wanted to see the world, he had the world handed to him and it was not enough. Parents who loved him and wanted nothing but the best for him, yet he was searching for something more. Something in his life was missing and he was in search of it. He died a tragic death at young age but if you look into his story you can can in no way fault him for what he did. He did what he felt he had to do in life and nothing or nobody was going to stop him. He had a top notch education, parents worked for NASA and by all accounts had the perfect life, but in all of that deep down he felt he needed to do something. And so he did. Now go watch the movie :o)
The point I am trying to convey is that no matter our upbringing or how we are raised, we are still able to do what we want and become who we want. there is nothing written that we have to be one way or another. So I am here to tell you who I am and give you some insight into what makes me tick. Not that there has ever been any confusion or anything but this experience of picking up and moving all the way to the eastern part of the United States I will admit has changed me to the core. I have a healthy appreciation for life and what it means. I realize now more then ever the importance of friends and family. I am sure a lot of us take this for granted and assume our spouses, family members and friends will always be there. It is true they will be but anything can change in a instant. I have found this out the hard away and as devastating as it might have been a month ago, I can look back and realize it was the best thing to happen. We get so wrapped up in our own lives and what we are doing we sometimes can not look beyond that. We never take the time to step back and ponder the decisions that probably need to be made. I have picked myself up, dusted myself off and realized after 11 years of selling expensive textbooks to students, this is something I no longer wish to pursue. I have seem to have grown a big heart over the years, maybe it has always been there but in the past 2-3 years or so it has come to the surface and become even more important over the course of the last few months.
I honestly can not pinpoint where this side of caring came from. Most if not all people I have come in contact with say I am nice, easy to get along with and generally do not have any problems (I hope) so why care? Why drop what I have been doing for 11 years and switch gears? I guess it is that cliche of I want to change the world. To many people seem so wrapped up in how much money they can make and how rich they can get. That is great and all and nothing wrong with that, but what about your neighbor about to lose their house? do you just brush them to the side as if they do not mean anything to anybody? More people on earth today need our help more then ever before. Jobs are being eliminated, economy is going in the tank and houses are being foreclosed at record pace. Does this make the individual any less important then yourself? because you have a comfortable lifestyle, how come you can't share? Sharing is something that is probably not in out nature, most of can look back on how that went with siblings and friends when we were growing up. Probably not to well, but I feel we have to share now more then ever before.
Why am I talking about this, I guess because over the past few months I have discovered who I am and maybe what I mission in life is. I want to say this because this is how I feel, not much is going to change my mind and so if you like what I have to say great, I encourage to help out anybody anytime you can. If you don't like me, then that is fine to. better you know now then find out something later you don't like. I am never going to be rich off the bat, but I feel helping somebody in need now outweighs any future earnings down the road. I have submitted my application to the Peace corps and Americorps and am waiting to hear back. I look forward to sharing my thoughts, my heart and my compassion in helping somebody else turn their own life around. If I can do that to just one person then in my mind the mission has been accomplished.
I wish each and everyone of you who read this the best of luck in your own lives, dig deep and try to find that one that will make you happy an follow that idea no matter the outcome. You never know until you try and their is no such thing as failure. Don't let anybody tell you a idea is stupid because no ideas are stupid. Follow your heart and in the end follow your dreams.
**disclaimer** I wrote this with only 1 hour of sleep while sitting in empty airports waiting to go home to see my family, I am sorry if some ideas seem out there or don't make sense :)
