Drive

"Don't just chase your dreams ... anyone can do that. Chase them down, tackle them, and squeeze the life out of them. They deserve nothing less, and neither do you."

I said that to a very dear friend of mine three or four years ago, and I sincerely meant it. You can't just go through life with some notion of what you might want, what might make you happy, or what might be the key to making your existence worthwhile. You have to figure it out. And if you don't know or haven't even got a clue, you've got to put your soul into something in the meantime and try to at least determine a starting point. Dive into something. The worst you can be is wrong.

Sometime in the last couple years, I lost track of this motivation, this drive. I came to take things for granted in nearly every aspect of my life for more reasons than I can possibly name here. The point is, though, that nothing can be taken for granted. Family members will die, be born, or simply move away. Friends will come and go as you move from age to age, place to place, job to job. So wherever you are, whatever you're doing, whomever you're with ... be there. Be there with all your heart.

Whether you cherish something or take it for granted, someday it may be gone. And if it means something to you, if it's your dream ... you can't let it go. Love ignored will fade. Friendships ignored will wither. Work left behind will catch up to you. Sooner rather than later, you'll be looking back and wondering where it all went. It doesn't matter if you turn around and smile or turn around and sob, everything goes to the same place. Personally, I'd rather turn around and smile, knowing that I'd lived the best I could in the time I was given.

So my theory is to start with what makes you happy. What makes you tick, keeps you sane. The things that, if you know they're ahead of you that day, you smile in bed in the morning. Figure out what they are, then hold onto them. Don't let go unless you're absolutely sure you don't need them anymore, because they will leave.

How do you know what they are?

Beats me ... but I know that tomorrow I'm going to go to class because I like to solve problems, and someday I want to design something amazing. I'm going to attend several meetings in the evening because I know my friends will be there, and I want to be involved in the work those organizations do. This weekend I'm going to help out at Music and Engineering Day because playing music is a part of me. I'm going to go out with friends at night because there's only so much time left when I'll be this close to them, and I love the laughter we share.

So for now these are my dreams- to learn, to perform, and to share time with those I care about. And for now ... all that's important is that I don't let them get away.


Happy Spring.