Life is a journey, not a destination. Rest assured, you can live your lives freely, without having to worry about someone else's opinion. Don't let fear overtake your desire to be yourself. Being scared and running from things has never solved anything. And besides, you've got nothing to lose. The only thing you can lose is your pride, and with the death of pride comes the birth of truth, as you begin to love others before yourself. Love hurts.When you love someone, the gates to your soul are open with the joy that comes out, but also open to the hurt that can come in. Even so, do not be afraid to love. You may win, and you may lose. You never know if you'll be loved back, and it's always easier so say "I love you." when you know someone's going to say the same on the other line. Don't be scared to say it, because you never know how long you'll have left to let that person know. You may have tomorrow, and you may not. Life is a gift that has been given to us, and God can take it back at any time. Don't hold back. Sometimes you'll be happy, sometimes you won't.
Life isn't about getting your way. Anybody can be happy when things go the way they want them to, but you don't live in a fairy tale, and there isn't always going to be a fairy godmother to turn your pumpkins into carriages. Try not to think so much. Just live life by the seat of your pants and listen to what God is telling you to do. Thinking is good, but thinking too much and too hard can cause you to lose sanity. Worry less. Pray more. Never think in terms of an end. Tomorrow holds better things, great joy and laughter that can't be imagined. When leaving something or somebody behind, don't just walk away. Take the time to let them know how much they mean to you. Never forget to say goodbye, and always remember the final slow dance with the one you loved. If you want to be strong, be humble. If you want to be loved, love others before yourself. If you want understanding, realize that you must first go through pain.
Life is a process of learning, and nobody has ever learned everything. Don't worry about things you can't control. There comes a point in our lives when we all just have to sit back and let fate take its place. As much as we may love to think so, we don't control everything, nor can we, so don't try. Hang on to life, but don't squeeze so tight that no fresh light can shine through upon you. Know who your friends are. Don't try to please superficial jerks, and don't neglect those who really care about you. If things aren't working out and the hope that you once had is no longer there, instead of worrying so much about yourself, try and touch someone else who is in need. Sometimes we forget how great the feeling is to know that we really mean something to somebody, and sometimes we forget to let those who mean something to us know just how special they are. Our time here is short, and time passes so swiftly and quietly that often we don't notice ourselves changing in the midst of things. Change is good, but sometimes it just takes time to adjust. Have patience. Sometimes it's okay to wait on things. Nobody has ever said, "If only we had gotten married earlier..", have they? Think things through before you clumsily blurt them out, because everything you say has an incredible influence. Use your words to bring joy to others. Make someone's day by telling them what a great smile they have. Don't wait until the end of the year to strike up a conversation with that one person who sits next to you in bio, because before you know it, summer will come, you'll be swimming with the fishes in the Bahamas while they're off touring some pretzel factory in Germany with Aunt Matilda, and the chance will be gone.
Look beyond the mountain before you and see the hope that lies on the other side. Don't forget to stop and take in the beauty around you every once and awhile, the beauty that the world tries so hard to take away. Have excitement for things to come....for if you don't, your will to strive on will become a dry well, and when you ask yourself "Why?", you'll never have an answer. In general, people don't like it when somebody works up enough courage to say something different from the rest of the crowd. They mock, laugh, or even worse, ignore. Don't be afraid to be that person who has enough character to stand up for what they believe in, no matter what the masses say. Who knows, maybe one day they'll even see it your way. Try and balance your time as best you can so you can still enjoy the things you love, no matter how busy you get. You'll find that the older you get, the harder it becomes to fit "fun" into your schedule. MAKE it a part of your schedule. It's a good thing to do well in school and whatever else that you are involved in that requires endless hours of restless time spent doing things you don't find important, but don't let school encompass your whole being. Don't let it consume you to the point where you can't remember the last time you saw a sunset at the beach.
School really does matter, but don't let yourself believe for one instant that you will always have tomorrow to enjoy that sweet sunset, because you won't. They say that youth is wasted on the young, and it's true, because most of us won't realize how much opportunity had been ahead until we can look upon these times in foresight, when we're old. Hopefully by that time we will be able to look back and be happy with our lives and how we lived them.God has a purpose for your life, and nobody can take it from you. We all need our time to dream, time to remember, and time to reach the infinite. Time to simply be ourselves. I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, I know what it is to have plenty. Never fear the shadows, for they simply mean there's a light shining somewhere nearby. Life is a journey, not a destination, and we must learn to take joy in all the stops along the way. Kyle Pardue 4-26-00