t minus twenty-two
I find that every year has been the hardest. This isn’t really surprising since I’m in high school, and high school, according to Steve Carell, is the most miserable time of your life. (And in preparation for Harvard, Steve Carell is an entirely reputable source.) I was too stupid to actually appreciate anything in 2004; 2005 was marked by extreme naiveté and the utter agony that came of it; 2006 started shitty, was absolutely incredible in the middle, but also ended...shitty. And 2007? 2007, by far, has been the hardest in every which facet. I briefly considered posting the highlights but, whatever, who the fuck cares. What’s intriguing, though, is that although so much has happened in the past 365 days, everything can be quantified by merely two words. I hate the what-if game only because it’s a dire waste of time. What if, what if, what if-IT HAPPENED. Because it did. If anything, it’s more interesting to see the situations in which a what-if is applicable. At the same time, I think dwelling on the past too much is a little unhealthy, a little like watching the entire season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in one sitting. Which I did. Recently. Recently meaning today. There’s always room for a little vice, though. I mean, it’s okay to indulge, right? It’s New Year’s Eve.
If we have to watch Dick Clark kiss his wife for another five consecutive minutes, we can basically get away with anything. And if I hadn’t gone to Josh’s house the night before New Year’s Eve, what would have happened then?
Or if I hadn’t taken the subway at Columbia? I’d like to imagine what if I had said, yes in February; if Angela had said no in May.
No to gov school, and yes to Texas.
Yes to Piers, no to James.
No to Armenia, no to the grass when it’s freshly painted, no to four minutes of bullshit, no to runners on Monday afternoons, no to heat, no to Lake Michigan, no to a gentleman, no to forgiveness, and futons and maps and gasoline and jackets.
Strangely enough, none of this is true.
Strangely enough, I loved this year dearly.
Here’s to things for the way they are. They way they started, they way they were, and they way they ended.
So say "yes." And if you're lucky, you'll find people who will say "yes" back.
Now will saying "yes" get you in trouble at times? Will saying "yes" lead you to doing some foolish things? Yes it will. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don't learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying "yes" begins things. Saying "yes" is how things grow. Saying "yes" leads to knowledge. "Yes" is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say "yes."
-Stephen Colbert