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