Just Breathe.

Young adolescence: full of identity crises (as illustrated in my last post), uncertainty, and misunderstanding. All contributing factors I'm not going to miss and would like to believe I'm slowly leaving behind. However, I'll gladly take these cons in exchange for the simple advantage of being young, of having the majority of my life in front of me. Sure, the future is uncertain, but that's one of the best parts of life. Each one of us has the power to decide who we are going to be and what we are going to do. Whether to live within the system, challenge it, or recreate it entirely. I've never been one for going with the status quo. I've never been able to see myself slaving away in some cubicle in some city watching the hours, days, months, years slip past as I grudgingly climb the corporate ladder. That life is cut out for some, but is far from my idea of living. Perhaps it's selfish of me to believe there is more to life than working, but it is my only known way of thinking. I know others share in the concept and that's comforting. 

A world without money. Impossible? Not entirely. Just take a slice of time to entertain the thought. Imagine how different the world would be. True wealth identified not as monetary value, but as all the intangibles one possesses throughout their journey, their adventures of life. Moments unexpected and unforgettable. Relationships blooming and ever-lasting. Life's touched and changed for the better. Nature in its purest form. Consider the paradox: As humans we need oxygen to breathe. Naturally, oxygen is produced largely by trees. And us humans, being the all-knowing beings that we tend to be, cut down our true means of survival, turn them into money, and, in turn, create the very element used to fuel wars, poverty, and devastation. A world without money. When the focus is turned elsewhere, what does your purpose become? Does it shift from doing whatever humanly possible needed to obtain monetary wealth to touching as many lives as possible? To seeing and experiencing every corner of the Earth both poverty-stricken and luxurious? 

There has to be more to life than school and work. One should not have to confine "living" to the weekends. Living should be a constant. I understand that as individuals inhabiting this planet at this time we have responsibilities to uphold and roles to fill. But we cannot allow ourselves to forget that we are in control of what we dedicate our life to. Whether it be an office job, a coaching career, a specific major in college, the choice is ours to make despite outside influences. We are not required to submit to the environment we are placed in. Adaptation is key. We have the power to alter the mundane routine, to do the unexpected, to deviate from societal norms. Dare to be different. Dare to live.