(no subject)
Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.
When I was little I had this idea that life could be perfect. That if you were careful enough, you'd never make a mistake, never be lonely, never be misunderstood, never be frightened, but it doesn't work that way. Life is big and messy, and you just have to climb in it with your boots on and hope for the best.
Real loss is only possible when you love something more than you love yourself.
My high school experience wasn't what I planned ... it bore no resemblance to the pictures in the brochure, but I am not unhappy. I don't think any of us are. We got what we needed out of it. It's kind of like when you go on a vacation, you plan everything out but the one day you take a wrong turn and you end up in some crazy place you can't even find on a map, doing something you never thought you'd do. Maybe you feel a little lost while it's happening, but later you realize it was the best part of the whole trip.
Nothing you love is lost. Not really. Things, people - they always go away sooner or later. You can’t hold them anymore than you can hold moonlight. But if they’ve touched you, if they’re inside you, then they’re still yours. The only things you can really have are the ones you hold inside your heart.
There are some things from our high school experiences that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives and some memories that we choose to forget. But when we look back at those experiences, we’ll see our friends … the ones who got us through everything and we’ll realize how lucky we are to have them.
We picked up our caps and gowns and all that senior stuff that’s supposed to help us remember the good ole days, but some of the things that you remember the most, can’t be put on paper. That day finally came, and you sat there with all the friends you had made over the years … you looked out at your family and deep down, you knew that this was a once in a lifetime moment. It was the last time in your life that all these people would be together in once place. Yeah, there would be reunions, but there was always the chance that one person wouldn’t make it there. You looked back on your time with these people and realized it was short lived and that it didn’t seem as if there was enough time for everything that you wanted to accomplish … sports, activities, SAT, ACT, and all that good stuff. They called your name, your tassel got turned, and you got a piece of paper that said you were smart. Then you said good-bye … maybe to your town, and that school and your friends. You know that you can go back to visit, but there will be strangers in the halls and it’s not the same. It’s different … you’re different … but it’s not the end. In fact, everything is just the beginning.
When exactly do we go from being kids to being just people...I'm not sure. I do know that it's not about turning a certain age or graduating from school. It happens when your not paying attention. We go from playing with our friends to playing with our friends' feelings. Without our knowledge or consent childhood slips away in the night and innocence escapes us. And we wake up one morning to find we have become...who we are
Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of everyday. Do it, I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.