i'm alive

I turned 20 on Tuesday.
20 years and what do I have to show for it?
Maybe I'm being cocky, but I think that I have lived a great life so far.

But why is it that we are always waiting for our lives to begin?

We always put things off saying that we will do the things we want to do when we have the rest of our lives sorted out. Here's a reality check: life will never sort itself out.
Life is meant to be this grand adventure, except for many of us it has become a waiting room. We spend our lives waiting to live, and then we wonder where all our time has gone.

Life has become an endless game of what's next. We are always looking forward to the future, always looking forward to something else, rarely enjoying the time we have today. Why are we hoping for that day when we will come alive? Why can we not wake up out of our comatose state and live?

"It's like you wake up just to find that you're alive..."

I want to go to Africa, and I knew that I would wait until I had things in my life sorted out.
After I'm done school I will have time and money.
Buzzer anyone?
I realized last year that I would never do the things I wanted to do because I was constantly waiting for the 'right moment.' But what if there is no right moment? What if the right moment is now? Why do we always wait for things to fall into place instead of grabbing hold of them ourselves?
I made a pact with a friend last year. I asked him to make sure that I went to Africa in the summer of 2009. I knew that if I didn't have someone holding me accountable, I would always find an excuse not to go. This year I talked about it, to everyone so that when next summer came around, I would have to go.

Waiting has it's benefits, but not if it become the force that controls your life.
Waiting is like fear, sometimes it can keep you safe, but sometimes, it just stops you from living the life that you were meant to live.

"One day you will awake, unafraid..."

Live now; laugh now; love now. Do what you like and do it now; life won't wait for you to slow down...