Fate?

I was thinking about the whole idea of predestination and whether I support the notion.

I think I believe in it to a certain extent, but I wouldn't exactly say I believe in fate... more destiny than fate, I'd say.

What's the difference? They're two words for the same idea, many would argue. I would say they are very similar when you look at it from an objective standpoint. The words reflect nearly identical ideas. After much thought, however, I've realized the difference that I've been unable to articulate until now. Purpose.

To me, fate is pointless predestination. You experience what you experience because you were meant to do so. That's it. Destiny, on the other hand, carries meaning. You go through what you do not because you're simply meant to do it, but rather because it has a purpose. In my opinion, destiny implies there is a means to an end. Everything that you're meant to see and do happens for a reason, our task as human beings is to find out what that reason is.

The idea of fate, in my opinion, is an excuse. We go through hardship or experience fortune and attribute it to fate. It was simply planned out to be this way. Therefore, I don't have to think about it anymore. If I can just call everything fate, I don't have to think about WHY things happen... they just seem to happen.

Stepping back and looking for meaning behind events encourages people to grow, to become better human beings. If we don't look for this meaning, we become stagnant.

We gotta keep thinking. We gotta find our purpose. If we don't, our existence is meaningless, no?

Mr. Chi City

This guy is as inspirational and genuine as they get.

I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve: I can't wait for the time to pass, but the more I think about it, the longer every second seems to linger. I want this quarter to start already.

"Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism... It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard, and you are kind, amazing things will happen."

                                   

 - Conan O'Brien

Bittersweet.

It's tearing me up. I never thought it would be like this. To compete against the people you hold so dear to your heart. To watch them hurt so badly. It brings tears to my eyes to see the people I look up to most in my life in pain... And to watch my own words being turned on me, stripping them of their intention and branding them with an ugly mark. I want to do something about it, but because of the circumstances, others who have no idea how I'm feeling, see my actions as inappropriate. Condescending. 

Am I unable to say what I want to say to a FRIEND because of the conditions? Unconditional friendship to me means unconditional friendship. We're friends before anything else, and I'll be damned if I sit on the sidelines and watch them burn in sorrow.  

I could hold my tongue. Would that make me more sincere? Would that bring my friends any relief? It's true... I know nothing about the pain they feel... but would I hold my tongue if my friend lost an arm? I wouldn't. I couldn't. 

To those who I've tried to comfort. I'm sorry if I've made things worse. I'm sorry if I haven't taken this gracefully. But I love you and I couldn't imagine my life without the light that you bring to it. 

Friends. THEN staffers. Don't ever forget it. I would give my spot in the blink of an eye if it was to compromise what we have. On that you can trust me.

                                                                                              -Alek

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Steve Jobs

"A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world." -Leo Buscaglia

Imperfection

Imperfection is beauty. It's the little quirks a person has that makes them who they are. Without these random oddities in our personalities... what are we? Probably someone totally different: A semi-automaton who exudes an aura of mediocrity. 

Is a perfect life really that desirable? I wouldn't even consider it worth living. To me, pain is one of the most important aspects in life, it's reward being the strength you obtain from overcoming it. Without hardship, you become something that is truly inhuman: selfish, greedy, arrogant. These attributes represent the offspring of a so-called "perfect" life. 

Embrace the things that you consider faults. They are what make you unique. The closer you get to perfection, the farther you travel from humanity. Through balance and control, the only way one can achieve a perfect existence is by channeling these faults into something positive. At least that's what I'd like to think...

Rambling in the Wee Hours

Do I believe in love at first sight? I'd like to believe in it, but it just seems so impossible to me. On one side of the argument, I'd say yes. There are probably countless instances in which a singular meeting kickstarted a great working relationship. But on the other side I truly believe that every worthwhile thing requires an immeasurable amount of time and effort to foster into maturity. 

Love at first sight? More like luck at first sight to me. The person you become infatuated with just so happens to be a good match for you. She also just so happens to also find you extremely attractive. Lucky you. It's like winning the jackpot, except your payout is something intangible. Something that's more valuable than money. 

I wish I could believe. Sometimes the world of the romantic is so alluring with it's irrationality... messes with your head a little. 

People always told me that nice guys always get walked on. It's taken me a while, but I think I came to the realization today that this is a cold and honest truth. If you're nice to people, they'll see it as a weakness, and try to exploit that weakness as much as they can... I suppose it's just human nature.

It's confusing trying to decide between doing what your heart tells you to do and suffering for it and being someone you're not for the sole purpose of getting through the day without any pain... I gotta figure my life out.

IT'S 5 AM AND I CAN'T SLEEP.

The Word of the Day

Trust. What is it to me? Trust is a gift. To know that someone trusts you is an amazing feeling which is almost always taken for granted. To have full confidence in someone that he or she will have your back no matter what: It's something that should be cherished and revered.

It's human nature to survive, and an effect of this nature is self-reliance. To think that people can entrust others with their well-being despite these natural inclinations is unfathomable, and makes no sense from a scientific standpoint.

To me, trust is a form of love. Anyone I can tell my true feelings to is a person I deeply respect and love, either as a friend or a family member. Anyone who trusts me is someone who I would go to the ends of the earth for.

If someone tells you he trusts you with something, don't take it for granted. It's an outward sign of an unspoken love.

My brain is the fence around my heart. It's the thing that decides what goes in and what comes out.

Reflection

"Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself."

Came across this quote in one of my late night treasure hunts for inspiration. When I read it, I was reminded of the countless people I've met at UCI who have shattered my previous conceptions on the correlation between age and knowledge (not the knowledge that someone can get from a book... the kind that goes hand-in-hand with an understanding of life).

Last Spring, I opened myself up to others, stepping out of my quiet, reclusive comfort zone and allowing myself to be... myself. I was amazed by the results. Talking to the people who I now hold a very dear place in my heart enlightened me. I was learning something new every day by people both younger and older than I. I came to the realization that getting proven wrong by someone is almost always a good thing, and I became aware of just how little I actually know.

It's easy to find a quote that can give you a temporary pick-me-up when you're overburdened by responsibility, but it's a true blessing to find one that, at a glance is generic and superficial, but then makes you realize just how lucky you are to be you. Not because you're awesome (which you are), but because the only reason why you're awesome is because the people you've met in life have made you that way.

Just DO It.

"Trying is having the intention to fail" -Sydney Fife

Yeah, it's from I Love You, Man. I guess it just goes to say that you can find good advice in the most unexpected places if you're willing to hear it.

I think the difference between trying something and doing something is just a matter of determination and focus. If you put enough of your heart into something, you'll find a way to do it. Using the word try is merely a way to cushion your own failures, enabling yourself to abandon your goals with nothing but the ability to tell yourself "I tried". Do you really want to settle with just that?

Everyone takes a fall every now and then. The person who wins the race is the one who gets up and finishes what he started.