When We Were Younger

When we were younger, we did silly things like wait for a phone call all day, take things personally, try to please everybody, think everyone is watching and let our emotions get the best of us. But then we realize there are things we can and should not waste time and energy worrying and thinking about, that sometimes you have to hurt people for their own good, and that no one really spends more than ten minutes gossiping about you, no matter what you do.

Every once in a while we meet people who complement us. You finish each other’s sentences when you’re together, you laugh all day, and you can comfortably share secrets and fantasies.
But rarely do we meet someone who will push us to our limits. Who will make us question ourselves and our capabilities. Who will make us seek for perfection. Who will challenge the way we think and view the world and other people. They make us uncomfortable, but they’re the ones who will leave not just footprints, but they start a trail that we can follow until our own footprints are indelible enough.

So you start a conversation with someone who projects himself as smart. And you talk about literature, art, politics, history, metaphysics, epistemology and all that crap. You go at it for hours, or even days. Then you both sort of admit you’re just pretending to LIKE talking about those things. Then you just start talking about the mundane things. What you did, where you went, what you ate. Don’t be intimidated by people. No matter how lofty what they’re talking about is, just think, you’ll soon be talking about just how hot the weather is.

And it’s true that when the Lord takes away, he gives something back, tenfold. New friends (the people I got close to this past month and a half beat the number of people I got close to the prior year). A confidence in myself that I never knew could exist. A zest to live life to the fullest and savor each passing second. He also made me appreciate the things I’ve always had but didn’t pay that much attention to. A loving, caring family. Friends who will always be there to support you (and let you hear the things you want to hear haha!) A neglected gift for writing (no matter how many times you abandon it, when you go back to it, it somehow always manages to be there).
I feel really grateful to God, my friends and my family for helping me find happiness and inner peace again. And I now believe that this part of my life is a gift. I just never felt so excited.