Hi.
The name to which I preferably go by and most commonly answer to is C, and I undoubtedly have a worst fear.
This is not to counter that most humans are inherently afraid of something, just that if you dig a little deeper, we all have that one thing that makes our fingers go numb and stomachs turn while our internal clocks refuse to sputter out of battery as we lie in bed at 3 am. This worst fear, lets call it WF, can range from failure to isolation to death, dependent on the individual. My personalized WF happens to be a life of contentment and routine; numbness disguised as happiness and security. Let me explain myself; it all started when I, an adolescent girl whose biggest concern was how to talk to the cute lacrosse boy in history, was asked to state how the rest of my life was going to pan out. "What college will you go to?" "What will you major in?" "What profession do you want to enter into?" "What will your life look like?" "What scores do you want on your SAT and ACT?" "What scores do you NEED to get into your choice college?" "What volunteer work do you need to be doing?" The wave of responsibility and choices that determined my life dragged me out to sea and refused (and still refuses) to return me to shore until I had my life planned out and said good-bye to my childhood. But here's the thing: you can plan your life out as much as you want, but it will never turn out quite as picturesque and perfect as you planned, because, ironically, life gets in the way.
A lack of spontaneity has undeniably always been my vice; I have never been quite able to dismiss the miniature heart attacks that come from a wrench being thrown into my schedule or bumps in the road that screw with my plans. However, I believe that the cowardice of saying no to climbing a fourteen-er at 2:30 in the morning, or cliff diving while on vacation, or going to that one concert from a band that will never be in town again, will slowly but surely break you. As the ingenious Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Do one thing everyday that scares you." I 100% believe this. Without the self-discipline and ambition to do something great, whatever it may be, we slowly sink into sameness; unknowingly slipping into the shadows of an ordinary human life, with nothing to show for it as we lay on our deathbed. The thought of this becoming my reality causes me to freeze up and blindly search for something, anything that can save me from this seemingly inevitable fate. Once I have calmed myself considerably, I remind myself to do three simple things in order to find the extraordinary. (Of course these three things are the answer to everything, I came up with them myself...)
1. Look for the beauty in everyday things (that are taken for granted more often then not).
2. With an understanding of its instability, plan for the future; plan for adventure and service to others and a life that incessantly reminds you to live life in order to build character; for that's all you'll have left in the end.
3. Do one thing everyday that scares you.
In the end, your plan for life will never be fulfilled completely, but if your plan includes a little bit of adventure, spontaneity, and selflessness, I'd like to think you're on a pretty good track.
So consider this a pledge from me and a challenge to you; to live your life extraordinarily, one day at a time.
With the help of this blog, I plan to conquer my great WF and live a life inspired by creativity, spontaneity, and character.
- C.
This is not to counter that most humans are inherently afraid of something, just that if you dig a little deeper, we all have that one thing that makes our fingers go numb and stomachs turn while our internal clocks refuse to sputter out of battery as we lie in bed at 3 am. This worst fear, lets call it WF, can range from failure to isolation to death, dependent on the individual. My personalized WF happens to be a life of contentment and routine; numbness disguised as happiness and security. Let me explain myself; it all started when I, an adolescent girl whose biggest concern was how to talk to the cute lacrosse boy in history, was asked to state how the rest of my life was going to pan out. "What college will you go to?" "What will you major in?" "What profession do you want to enter into?" "What will your life look like?" "What scores do you want on your SAT and ACT?" "What scores do you NEED to get into your choice college?" "What volunteer work do you need to be doing?" The wave of responsibility and choices that determined my life dragged me out to sea and refused (and still refuses) to return me to shore until I had my life planned out and said good-bye to my childhood. But here's the thing: you can plan your life out as much as you want, but it will never turn out quite as picturesque and perfect as you planned, because, ironically, life gets in the way.
A lack of spontaneity has undeniably always been my vice; I have never been quite able to dismiss the miniature heart attacks that come from a wrench being thrown into my schedule or bumps in the road that screw with my plans. However, I believe that the cowardice of saying no to climbing a fourteen-er at 2:30 in the morning, or cliff diving while on vacation, or going to that one concert from a band that will never be in town again, will slowly but surely break you. As the ingenious Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Do one thing everyday that scares you." I 100% believe this. Without the self-discipline and ambition to do something great, whatever it may be, we slowly sink into sameness; unknowingly slipping into the shadows of an ordinary human life, with nothing to show for it as we lay on our deathbed. The thought of this becoming my reality causes me to freeze up and blindly search for something, anything that can save me from this seemingly inevitable fate. Once I have calmed myself considerably, I remind myself to do three simple things in order to find the extraordinary. (Of course these three things are the answer to everything, I came up with them myself...)
1. Look for the beauty in everyday things (that are taken for granted more often then not).
2. With an understanding of its instability, plan for the future; plan for adventure and service to others and a life that incessantly reminds you to live life in order to build character; for that's all you'll have left in the end.
3. Do one thing everyday that scares you.
In the end, your plan for life will never be fulfilled completely, but if your plan includes a little bit of adventure, spontaneity, and selflessness, I'd like to think you're on a pretty good track.
So consider this a pledge from me and a challenge to you; to live your life extraordinarily, one day at a time.
With the help of this blog, I plan to conquer my great WF and live a life inspired by creativity, spontaneity, and character.
- C.
