This quote comes from the poet and author Atticus Finch (who I'd honestly love to do a quote collection post about), and I found it while looking through quotes to post underneath one of my Instagram photos. While the quote seems to be in a descriptive form of someone, I like the metaphor it aims to convey- that metaphor being that while you may have a fear of moving forward in life or making big decisions that can affect your life, it can be just as scary (if not scarier) to perpetually stay still and not move forward in life.
If you've read this blog before, you likely know that life progression is something often discussed by my dad and I. My dad endorses people setting goals and striving to reach them, while I tend to encourage people to never stop learning and choosing to learn. In any case, I like this quote because of its similarity to our own message of not being afraid to make a change in your life to strive for something you've wanted. While I'm still young to make big decisions and take chances that'll drastically affect my future, I can certainly say that I hate "staying still" or not progressing forward in my life. I'm constantly moving and constantly changing- just not in a way that'll change my near future too greatly. Obviously, my choices and changes will amount to who I am in the long run, but it's not necessarily a near-term change. Recent changes I've made to my life include a smaller friend circle, higher work-load, and more time spent volunteering at my karate school. I wasn't happy with the drama and negativity in my life, or really the people I was spending time with... so I made the change and cut back my circle of friends to people who I love and am comfortable being myself with. I'm aiming to achieve an Associate's Degree when I graduate in 2019, so obviously, my workload needed to be raised. This was a necessary change that will end up eventually shaping my future, but I sincerely believe it's for the better. Finally, I'll be testing for my Sensei title in December- a huge step for me in my karate life and something I've wanted for a long time. The extra time spent in the dojo is not only necessary for my title, but also something I love doing- while I still get a little flustered in front of large classes, I love being able to help people one-on-one and I enjoy teaching people new things that'll help their form or technique. These choices and changes are big for me, right now. In 10 years, will it matter if I cut back my friend circle? Well, maybe. Who I choose to associate myself with could have a huge impact on who I become in life. Adding extra time to focus on my education is also vital to where I'll be in 10 years... and finally, acquiring that sensei title is something that will never expire or fade away for me. While the choices I make now may pale in comparison to the choices I might make as an adult, they are in no way any less important because they are stones in the path leading to my adulthood. I am not afraid of heights... and I'm already beginning to fly. It's never too early (or too late) to make a choice, make a change, that can affect your future for the better. - Maddie
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This wasn't today's original post, but after my laptop decided to do an update and destroy my original, I decided to say 'screw it' and just write a new post altogether. I'll have some new posts on the Letters next week, anyway. It didn't HAVE to get done today, I just prefer writing letters because of their unique perspective. In any case, I digress. I went onto google to find quotes about self-reflection and improvement, and instead found the above quote... however, it did inspire me and I wanted to share my thoughts on it.
My interpretation of this quote is that you should always be yourself and always seek to make yourself happy and gratified in your own life, because spending time trying to edit yourself to be an image someone else would want is rather pointless. So many of the people in your life are temporary, and even at 15 I'm already seeing this. I've gone through so many friendships that I thought would be unbreakable, and now those same people won't even glance at me when we pass on the street. It's as if we've reverted back to strangers. And in a way, I guess we have. We've both changed and grown into two uniquely different people. I could no longer tell you almost anything about the person I see, and I doubt she could tell you anything about me. That's a moot point, however, and perhaps the subject of another blog post in the future. Imagine, though, if I had centered my entire being and personality around this one friendship... only to lose it. Imagine if I had changed my lifestyle to suit this person, only for them to leave. I would've been a person who wasn't truly me... for someone no longer in my life. Once you alter yourself, it can be very hard to go back to who you were before... or back to yourself, in general. Even when the person leaves your life, the change they inspired remains.... and that change can be seen by anyone who encounters you, aside from one small detail: instead of seeing it as a change, people who didn't know you prior will take it as your true identity, and chances are that it will slowly become that if you don't recognize it in time. Now, I do know that changing for someone and not knowing how to go back to being yourself can be terrifying- you feel as if you've given up a large part of your own identity, and a loss of self-identity is horrible. I look at life through the lens that something once lost can never be re-gained. While that may sound a bit pessimistic, I see it as a chance to start over. Fresh opportunity, if you will. Instead of trying to go back to who you were, look at your lack of identity as a way to become who you were meant to be. Take the lessons you've learned, and build from them. Build, build, and keep on building until you are fully happy with the person you've become. At the end of the day, you will die for your own life. Not for anyone else's. Make sure you've lived a life worth dying for. - Maddie This quote is such a honest metaphor for people who refuse to make progress in their life. I see examples of this everywhere in my life... friends claiming they've made progress toward becoming a better and healthier person when they've only taken one step and then stayed in place, people saying they're going to strive towards goals and then refusing to push themselves and progress... everyone says they'll try for something, but then they get comfortable with where they are and stop pushing themselves to go further.
I've always been taught that you are never too old to stop learning new things, and that you're never too old to stop trying. When I say I'm going to change, I throw everything I have into it... and I try to not quit until I've reached my goal. That's why I've climbed Mt. Monadnock 5 times now. That's why my lowest grade is a 95. That's why I'm a second degree black belt. Speaking of karate, karate is a perfect example of this "phenomenon". So many people take karate until they reach black belt... and then feel validated to drop out. They've attained their goal, so it no longer matters or is important to them. They leave and then saunter about for the rest of their days claiming they're a black belt. There are people who have been gone for years who still say they are, though they haven't practiced or came to class in ages... and while this doesn't deprive them of the title they fought to earn, it does deprive them of the application, fitness, and knowledge that they gained from their training. It's so sad to see people's talent go to waste. At the end of the day, this quote is telling you to shoot for your goals and to follow through with them. Don't reach a milestone and get comfortable or quit... because the moment you do, you're giving up on your goal in its entirety. Sure, you may not be as bad as you were before- but you still aren't where you set out to be. It's like climbing a mountain, and then getting halfway up and deciding to build a house and live there instead of actually completing the hike. Shoot for your goals, and finish them. Even the smallest of steps count, so long as they are in the right direction. - Maddie "You must be the change that you wish to see in the world." That is a quote by Mahatma Gandhi. It's a nice thought, but not really realistic. For example, I would like the world to change so that there are no wars. All of my life, I have not become a soldier, have not supported any of the war efforts and certainly haven't clamored for war, and yet, there is war, In fact, the only thing that has kept me from getting caught up in a war is the luck of having been born in North America, which has basically been war free over the past 100 years or so. In fact, to get to a war zone, I would actually have to travel to another continent.
On a very personal level, I guess his phrase could be true in some instances. Dieting comes to mind. Looking for a new job... that sort of thing. But certainly not anything that involves the world at large. So how do we affect change in the world around us? I think it is by realizing that nothing happens on a worldwide scale instantaneously. Little by little, things can change. It may take decades, however! Think, if each person who truly wants peace teaches their children that peace does not mean war elsewhere, and encourages them to not choose the military as an option, at some point the idea may gain traction. Instead of glorifying war through movies and books and dehumanizing our political enemies, we should show our children the true costs of war. Show them the children who have lost their fathers. The men and women who have lost limbs or their mental stability. Introduce them to people who are different than they are. Allow them to experience new cultures by meeting recent immigrants. Change on a global scale is slow, but it can be accomplished And, in the end, it does really start with the individual. So, was Gandhi wrong when he said that you must be the change you want to see in the world? No, he was correct. He just failed to mention that the change you want to see just may not happen during your lifetime. |
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