Journeying through Time

Hi Readers,

As one of my friends had his wedding this week in Chicago (congrats to SF and RZ!), I decided to take the entire week off to catch up with friends in the Chicago area. I flew into Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to meet up with one of my best friends, SB. We planned on taking a roadtrip through South Dakota and western Nebraska, before driving back to Chicago for the wedding. We saw a bunch of national parks and monuments and did cool things, including the minuteman missile silos, Mt. Rushmore, caving in the Black Hills, driving through herds of buffalo in Custer state park, and hiking at Scottsbluff. After I returned to Chicago, I attended the wedding with another one of my best friends, LB. We proceeded to hang out for the rest of the weekend. I am writing this post from the flight back to SF right now.

Hanging out with these friends, it is hard to believe that 2 years have already passed since I graduated from undergrad. It seems almost as if nothing has changed, and that I am in undergrad again. Time seems to be accelerating. Already, half of my twenties are gone. SB is moving to Canada, and LB may soon become engaged. As much as I would like to think that time is static and that I can continue doing what I've been doing, the reality is that I'm getting old and cannot keep doing this for much longer.

With every year that passes, time becomes more and more valuable. People say that the twenties are the golden years, a time to take risks, have fun, and be reckless. The twenties are the time when people are the most flexible with their life options. That should make it the golden time to try new things. Some people think the only thing worth trying out in the twenties are different people, but that is only one aspect of life. But it is easy to get stuck in a groove of doing the same things day in and day out. And then, before you know it, the thirties arrive, along with a whole new wave of expectations.

My biggest fear is to live life with regrets. When I reach thirty, I want to be able to look back and see that I lived it to the fullest. To do this, I must continue to learn how to use my biggest fear to overcome my other fears. Please, let me have the strength and foresight to do so.

FCDH