Recipe For Life

Out here on the balcony, it is so peaceful and calm. The quiet absence of sound is stifling. The antithesis of WAIS during lunchtime. I sit here during journalism and write, enjoying the tranquility and relishing in my solitude. The metal rails overlook the courtyard. From where I'm sitting, I can only see the tops of the methodicallyplanted trees, impossibly green. The trunks as thick as my forearm. They're just babies, baby trees, and it's a shame that they're going to have to grow up in this concrete jungle, raised on the screaming of children and soccer ball beatings. It's pitiful that they will never know what a forest looks like, or where they came from. They will spend their lives in ignorant complacency, not even knowing what they are missing. As much as I pity those trees, I fear them. They represent all that I do not want to be, and all that my life may be confined to. Beautiful and delicate, but only seeing the world through others' stories and encounters. I get so scared sometimes about missing out on things that I end up making very rash decisions. My logic is that it is better to have experienced something and felt the consequences than to never have known it at all. This is a very unwise way to conduct oneself, and I would not recommend it for everyone. It gets me into a lot of trouble, and puts me through a lot of hardships for some of my mistakes that many others my age may not have to endure. In spite of it all, though, I wouldn't change my decisions for the world. My parents can take away my CD's, my privileges…my life and my pride; my sense of selfworth. They can take away all that I hold dear, but they will never be able to rob me of my memories. If I hadn't done some of the things I'd done, I wouldn't even have those, and in the throes of my despair, I'd be nothing but a shell. So even though I've had to pay dearly for some of my experiences, and will undoubtedly continue to do so for the rest of my life, at least I KNOW now. At least I've been there, done that, and seen it. I'm enriching my life with every mistake and every triumph accredited to my name. I am resolute when I say I will never submit to a life of secondhand experiences, and those trees wobbling in the breeze of our courtyard will always stand as my motivation. With these words of wisdom in mind, I supply my homemade recipe for life: Ingredients: 1 brilliant mind Fair doses of drive and independence A strong will to learn and grow 58 "true loves" Keep the cookie dough coming… Directions: Mix into a large bowl and set in the sun, uncovered. Serves: 1