A Leap Is All It Takes

One of the first things that I hear from people when I tell them about my plans for Grad School is "wow, that's so far away, are you scared?"

I'm nervous, yes. Anyone flying halfway around the world to be in a new place would be nervous, but I've been there before.

When I graduated high school I chose a school almost a hundred miles away from Long Beach. I didn't have a car and I didn't know a soul. Not one person. I was 17 and scared out of my mind, but I succeeded, some would say I overdid it.

Four years later I couldn't walk around campus without stopping and saying HI to several people and having an animated conversation, much to the chagrin of anyone who walked with me anywhere (sorry friends!).

I would even leave for class fifteen or twenty minutes early so I wouldn't have to rush through conversations with friends. Even then I would still be late for class on occasion (sorry professors!).

College is a phase of life, and so is high school. It was hard to leave those both behind but we have to remember: life is full of people entering and exiting. 

Very rarely does someone stick to you through it all. Everyone has their own lives to lead.

I think the hardest part about moving to a new phase of life is accepting that. Accepting that people change, their priorities change, and that you change.

It's scary.

Really. Fucking. Scary. But it's the truth.

But, another truth for you: Do not let that fear hold you back. 

What I'm saying is all it takes is one leap of faith.

Don't ever say you can't do something or get frustrated when something isn't working out exactly the way that you've planned.

It's up to you to change your circumstances in life. Successful people take chances and risks to hit the top.

Nothing is going to ever be perfect. Perfection is only in movies (and those movies are never the really great ones).

And you know what is also hard to accept: being wrong. You're going to be wrong sometimes. You'll make mistakes and get bumped and bruised on the path of life but you have to keep moving forward.

If this all ends up being a mistake do you think I'm going to go cry in the corner and wallow in pity. Hell fucking no I will not. I'll brush the blood off my knees, stand up, and find a new and better path to go down.

Don't be afraid to conquer life. 

Make life afraid of your blinding determination.