The Beginning of the End

Life. 
What a wild ride it can be. 

One moment we are shrieking children without a worry in the world. The next moment we are angst riddled teens who can't wait to grow out of our braces. From there we turn into young adults who know how to get through college without opening our $600 textbooks. All the while we are waiting, sometimes without even realizing it, to become adults. 

Then we "grow up". Or at least we are expected to. The ever sought after "adulthood" somehow doesn't seem as glamorous as we thought it to be. 

Wake up. Work out. Go to work. Go home. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

When did monotony become the norm? What happened to hopes and dreams? I can't ever remember thinking "I want to have a desk job when I grow up". But yet here we find ourselves. Slaves to our student loan debt that makes reaching for the stars seem impossible. I, for one, have had enough of this game. It's as if I am running on a hamster wheel trying to reach for a paycheck that goes to pay for a degree that I will most likely never put to a practical use. 

Enough is enough.

If you knew that today was the last day that you had to live, would you be content in your everyday routine? How many days has it been since you last thought "this is exactly where I want to be"? 

We live in a world that is governed by fear of failure disguised as responsibility; don't quit your job that you hate, don't leave your hometown that is smothering you, don't grow into the person you want to be. We are expected to work ourselves to death, and for what? 

"Death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away...Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." Steve Jobs

It is time for a change. Taking the first step is terrifying. 

After walking on solid ground for the past 15 months I am starting to notice potholes in my commute. The road is starting to deteriorate and it is only a matter of time before my foot doesn't come down on the earth at all, but slips into the void of uncertainty. This free fall from stability has the power to create personal freedom disguised as irresponsibility.

This could be the beginning of the end. It could also be the end of the beginning. Either way, change is coming and I have never felt so calm.  

Life.

You only have the one, what are you going to do with it?