Wisdom

This year has been very, very, very long

And it's not even over yet.

If it could be summed up in one word, it would be Wisdom.

This year:

I moved out of my old apartment in Santa Barbara and into a new one.
I decided to spend the Summer at home in Orange County.
I have learned a lot about my family.
I decided to help my dad start his new business.
I couldn't be happier about my dad’s marriage—Dean and Christine are perfect for each other.
I traveled up and down the coast of California and Oregon visiting cool people and seeing some of the most beautiful places on the planet.
I went to Big Sur for the first time.
I went to Yosemite for the first time.
I went to New York for the first time and I sense that that city will have an important part in my future.
I lost the house of my childhood and moved out of the neighborhood I grew up in.
I lost an important and close family friend.
I came closer than ever before finding out what I want to do with the rest of my life.
I've spent a lot of time alone, a lot of time with new people, and probably not enough time with old friends.
I have learned to trust my instincts more than ever.


More than anything else, I have spent a lot of time giving my mind a break and getting my thoughts in order.


I have learned to accept more that I cannot change, and changed much that I can, and I have gained more wisdom to know the difference.


As the year draws to a close, I can't help but feel that one issue remains unresolved. Why do some people allow the slightest things to get in the way of their relationships with their friends and family? I try very hard to balance everything in my life, and part of that balance is not taking sides in feuds between family members and friends. Isn't that the ideal? Of course I will always defend my friends and family if someone else were to come after them in any way, but when it comes down to it, I don't understand why some people are completely okay with living a life that's a lie. Honesty is important for any healthy relationship: secrecy and backstabbing will surely divide any family.

So why let all of the pain continue?

Somewhere down the line, we will all die. We do not know when this will happen, and we do not know how it will. We can die with a clean conscience or with a guilt ridden mind—the choice is ours.

So much conflict is based around people refusing to admit that they were wrong in the past. Pride can bring down any house. It's far better to be humble and admit and learn from your mistakes.

This is an ideal I am constantly working toward.

We are all guilty of making mistakes at times, but it is realizing them and learning from them that is a true sign of wisdom. Work towards our dreams, live honest lives, and surround ourselves with the ones we love and who love us. If we didn't, what would be the point of it all? Slothing through life day by day, we would never achieve what we wanted to, and go to the grave with the secrets that ruin our lives.

We have a limited amount of time on this earth.

Let's make the best of it.

Let’s make this next year one filled with achieving dreams and living life to the fullest.

That’s what I have scheduled in my planner.