Oh Captain, My Captain!

For some reason, over the past few days I have found the movie Dead Poets Society creeping in to my mind every now and then. So, when my class got out an hour early today, I decided to use my free time to watch it again. (I know, studying would have been more productive, but choices were made.)

I don't think I've seen this movie since I was in grade school when we watched it in English class, but I remember it a lot differently. From what I remembered, it was a somewhat funny movie with a dramatic ending (which I couldn't remember for the life of me until about 5 minutes before it happened) that was about these kids who liked poetry. I remember thinking it was a ploy from our teacher to get our class more in to the poetry that we were studying. Naturally, it didn't work, and we continued to goof around during class as usual (those were the days).

However, after watching it now, I realized the true message of the movie isn't about poetry at all. It's about finding out who you truly are, whether through poetry or something else that you enjoy, and following it. In my time here at Michigan State, this seems to be the thing I am always striving for; figuring out who I am. As the movie so adequately points out, this isn't something that can be found through other people. We have to fight through conformity to find our passions, and once found, live them to the fullest.


It's funny how different something can seem after a few years have passed. While watching the movie, I felt like I had never seen it before, which may be attributed to the fact that it's been about 7 or 8 years since I watched it, or that I wasn't really paying attention in class when we did. Either way, it was a refreshing movie with a great insight on life.

To end this post, I'll leave you with the most famous quote from the movie:

"Carpe diem. Seize the day boys. Make your lives extraordinary"

- John Keating (Robin Williams), Dead Poets Society

Puppy Bowl VII

I know today is Super Bowl Sunday, but if you didn't know already, the most exciting action starts 3 hours before coverage does on Animal Planet. It's the Puppy Bowl! I'm currently watching it and can't tear my eyes away... these puppies are just so cute! Here's a few pictures in case you're missing it, but it's on till 5 so tune in if you read this in time!

Life Currently

So recently, there has been a lot on my mind. New semester. New major. (Kinda) New job. And everything is kind of blurring together. However, the one thing that has stayed consistent is the thing that I don't want to. The lack of a significant other.

Now, before you roll your eyes, this is not a pity party blog post about how I don't have a girlfriend and nobody likes me. For now, I'm pretty content being single. That doesn't mean I'm not looking, it just means I'm not about to desperately fall in love with the next girl that gives me attention.

However, one of the main reasons that this is such a prevalent issue in my life is because of my environment. I go to Michigan State, one of the largest concentrations of beautiful women my age that could potentially be my future. And not only that, but in my smaller circle of good friends, relationships are a constant topic of conversation. Whether it's just about a new girl that a friend has a grade-school crush on, or a girl that just broke a friend's heart, we always seem to discuss "the girl situation" with each other at some point or another during the week. It's just an unavoidable topic.

Which kind of leads me to the point of this post. Here we are, in college, having some of the best times of our life, and yet we continuously come back to this aspect of our lives that really just ends up being the focal point of a lot of stress. I've tried many times (usually at the beginning of a new semester) to have the mindset of "let's just have fun this semester, do well in school, and not worry about girls at all," but it never seems to work. It's as if there's some driving force that comes alive any time there is a hint of attraction. Some sort of excitement, that maybe this girl is "the one," for lack of a better term.

But why am I trying to find her? As illustrated so perfectly by one of my favorite chick flicks of all time, (500) Days of Summer, when the right girl comes along, I'll know, and so will she. Up until then, it's all a series of events that lead up to the point that you finally meet. But what's the rush? As proven by previous relationships, crushes, and fleeting attractions, finding that right person isn't something that you're going to have to fight so hard for that you're pulling your own hair out. When it happens it happens, and until then we should enjoy what we're doing, focus on attainable goals that we have set, and just have fun.

That sounds so much easier when I write it out.

I guess this is why I like movies like (500) Days of Summer and shows like How I Met Your Mother. As fictional as they might be, they give hope that what I'm doing right now is just something that everyone does, and they bring to light the fact that until that right girl comes along, I should be having fun in life, not stressing about the small stuff, and in the words of the great Jimmy Mac, "Live it up."

That's all for tonight. I promise I usually won't be so deep with my posts, but I warned you in the first post, this blog is going to be about whatever's going through my mind at the time, and that's just what happens to be going on in my life right now.