Instructions For Life

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three Rs:

Respect for self

Respect for others

Responsibility for all your actions

4. Remember that not getting what you want is somtimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

-- The Dalai Lama

Rain

There's something about the rain. Something that makes it both powerful and gentle, both beautiful and terrible. This something is a little indescribable, and a little mystical.

The drops begin coming down slowly, one at a time. Standing beneath a skylight, or behind the windshield of a parked car, the rain touches down right in front of you. Almost as if you're going to get wet -- but at the last minute the drops decide otherwise, bead up and roll away. And as the rain gets harder, the world outside changes. A film creeps over the trees and the sidewalks, repainting the world in muted greens and grays. The air becomes thick with falling drops, each one making a splash when it lands. The nooks and crannies in the ground which have already begun filling with water, crescendo until the rain runs through the street and into the sewers. There are sounds, too. The sound of cars driving by, sloshing the water that's been collecting by the side of the road. The sound of the drops pounding the rooftops. When the rain becomes torrential, it defines the outline of the wind, which carries sheets of water through the air.

But just as quickly as it comes, the rain leaves. It leaves the world a little cool, and wet, as if it's just woken up from a deep slumber. The trees are missing a few leaves, and the grass is flat. When the sun comes out, it shines all the brighter, refracting off the water left clinging to every surface.

Beginning To Blog

Why am I starting a blog?

Well, one obvious reason is that everyone else I know is doing it, and I might as well jump on the bandwagon. But, of course, there must be a reason that everyone is doing it. And, I think there is. Despite their ubiquity, blogs serve their purposes (unlike Twitter). If a blog can prove that it has utility to the average web browser (by providing information about technology, celebrities, or even pornography), then it can in fact hold quite a lot of influence. The selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate was set into motion (or at least assisted) by a single blogger named Adam Brickley. As a college junior, he started a blog about why Sarah Palin should be Vice President (on a blogspot blog, no less!), which picked up momentum in the mainstream media.

But alas, we can't all be VP-makers. Which is where blogs can come in handy again. In small circles, they're great for keeping up with the activities of your friends, should they decide to talk about it on the internet. And I'm sure many of mine will, especially since they're going through massive changes during their first few weeks of college (some already have).

I've had a blog before. Sadly, it fell into disrepair as I kept forgetting to post. I believe it still exists out in the cloud, and I might find it again should I be so inclined. So what's the point of this blog? I don't know. I doubt I will know for a while. But whether it's to inform my friends about where my life is going, or just to go on about topics that pique my interest, I'll give this my best shot.