The Pursuit

After that comment from "Scrub" about the film Pursuit of Happyness, I was tempted to look up the ending of the movie on Youtube. I've seen the movie before, but at a time in my life where, frankly, it didn't mean anything to me. I was in high-school and sadly, I didn't have any aspirations, or big goals in my life, just finish high-school and begin the next level of education.

After watching the movie's emotional ending, I couldn't help but watch more. I started going through all of the related clips. Then I came across the one above. Whether or not Chris Gardner actually said that to his son, or it's just something Hollywood conjured up to get a message across in this movie, I'll probably never know. However, the message is there; it's real, and it's certainly something to think about.

"Don't ever let somebody tell you, you can't to something. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they wanna tell you that you can't do it. You want something? Go get it. Period."

So when I watched this movie, I didn't think much of it. I just thought of it as some guy that was going through some difficulties in his life, and he finally got a break. But, I guess I really have matured over the last 3 years, because thinking about that just makes me want to punch myself in the face. This guy didn't just get a break, he didn't just sit around begging others for help, he took the initiative and did what he needed to do for his child and himself. He was proactive and worked his ass off! And now he's living his life the way he should. Luck has nothing to do with the success of Chris Gardner.

I envy anyone who can consistently live with that mentality. The mentality; "if you want something, go get it. Period." I mean, if I want something, I work for it, but I can only go to a certain point. I've wanted/needed a new laptop for the past 2 years, and I do occasionally bust my ass here at work, vying for sales commission in order to feed the piggy bank. But apparently, I don't have that drive. Because I've been working for 2 years, and I still don't have enough for a laptop. Actually... maybe this simply illustrates my irresponsible spending habits, but regardless, If I had the motivation to get what I wanted, I'd be able to get the laptop and still be able to spend money on whatever I wanted.

I need that motivation to strive for the next level. To strive for success. Everybody has dreams and aspirations to do something or become someone. I don't dream of becoming the richest man on Earth, or the most significant figure in the world; I just want to write. My dream is to write for Engadget. Some may find this stupid, and immature for wanting to write about toys. Sure, I won't be making six-figures, and I probably won't be living in the biggest house in the neighborhood, but I will be doing something I love, and no matter what anybody says to me, they can't take that away from me. "Do something you love, and you won't have to work a day in your life." That's a little more endearing to me than making six-figures... So, it's time for me to step up and protect my dream[s]. To do whatever it takes to reach my goal[s]. It's never too late or too early for The Pursuit.

Beautifully Imperfect

These two videos speak volume, and I don't think I want to ruin them with my drivel. Enjoy

Equilibrium

What does it take to have a healthy relationship? Most people will tell you that it's about teamwork; it's about two people coming together and contributing the same amount of effort and expressing an equal amount of love for one another to maintain that stable relationship. This sounds about right... but how do we get to that state of equilibrium?

Easy, two people that like each other start dating, then they will fall in love; 50/50, boom.

...I don't think so. From personal experience, I can tell you what needs to happen is for a guy to possess an ebullient love for the girl, be completely head over heels for a girl that just does not care about him (this puts us at 100/0). The guy needs to work his butt off to win her heart, the keyword here is to be: pertinacious. After much sweat and tears, he will have won the trust and heart of his beloved. From there, the two will show each other the love that is needed and will slowly, but surely reach that state of equilibrium (50/50).

When I shared this thought with a friend of mine, she insisted that I was completely wrong. That I had an erroneous view of a "healthy relationship."

Jasmine's rebuttal was that, the aforementioned situation is only the ideal situation we all seek. Realistically, she says; girls fall for the guy's commitment, the kind of commitment that really shows, when a guy gives it a 100% (pertinacious). But, in the real world, nothing remains at 100% capacity for long, and once that commitment begins to diminish (which is usually while the two are dating), so does the relationship. She is implying that the guy will give it his all til the point of exhaustion, at which point he will inevitably break/crash/burn and call it quits.

I see the validity in her rebuttal and I do agree with her view on the whole equilibrium situation, but I also disagree lol. Here is my rebuttal to your rebuttal (I'm sure there is some legal jargon for this, but I don't know it); Yes, the guy's commitment will slowly diminish, but at this point, the girl would have stepped up and displayed her share of love as well, which would keep the guy's spirits up. Once the girl even has an ounce of love to share with the guy, I think that's when the stabilization process begins. A guy's commitment/love will surely go from 100% to 90%, to 80% then to 70% and so forth, but while this is happening, the girl's 0% love, would most certainly rise a significant amount, I would hope it would rise significantly faster than the guy's going down... but my point is; at a certain point, they will meet in the middle and reach that state of equilibrium.

Is this too unlikely? Is my vision completely insane? Can this occur within the realms of our world, or is it doomed to abide in utopia?

The Most Important Lesson...

What exactly is this telling us? That in life, we only have people that are greedy? That people are always looking for the answer, but never willing to share it? That in life, we need to fight for everything? Maybe it just simply means... that the answer to life is never that easy, and that the answers to life cannot be given, but must be vied for.

"By suffering comes wisdom"

What do you think?

Gameplan

So there hasn't been much going on lately... Not much on my mind either, which is sad.

"The mind is a terrible thing to waste."

I know that quote means to actually do something with your life, like, go to school and stuff, but I currently feel like I am wasting my mind. I like to believe that I am someone that likes to talk, someone with a lot on his mind, and to have been silenced, by the mundane rituals of everyday life seems like a tragedy. I have been striped of my youthful imagination and in its place is a black and white photograph depicting the rest of my life; one long routine- til my ultimate demise.

I should really stop being that "glass is half empty" kind of guy, but is it better to just lie? To tell myself that only the opposite is true. Or is ignorance the way to go? Does ignorance really bring a blissful life? I look at Young and Sean- ignorant as any can possibly be- and at times I am jealous. Jealous of the lifestyles they live. To them the smallest things bring them joy, much like a child. The look in Young's eyes when he gets chicken and rice in the city can only be compared to a child getting a puppy for Christmas. Sean could care less about his physical appearance; it shows in the clothes he wears everyday. Now, I'm not saying I wanna all of a sudden turn into an ignorant fool, or dress like a child, I just envy their simple lives.

Remember those days where homework only took 30minutes to finish? When staying up all night was an option, not a necessity? When if your crush even looked at you he/she made your day? When going to school only meant you were going to see your friends. What about when summer vacation meant summer vacation, not more hours at work?

I definitely miss those days. But it's unfair to say that life has turned for the worst, no, not unfair, but selfish. And proclaiming a life of ignorance would be better than the life I have today, is a weak and shameful view on life. Change is inevitable. Change can most definitely be good too! Most of you that know me, know full well that I have changed a lot. I won't get into too much detail, because I've told this story way too much... but I went from that Young Kim-esque, indifferent Alex Kang, to a more well-rounded, acute, [at times] romantic Alex Kang. Like anything else in this world, there are pros and cons. I just need to come to terms with the cons and realize that the pros outweigh the cons. Living an ignorant life won't bring me joy, I'd just be lying to myself. Living a hateful life won't do it either, obviously.

You must be asking yourself now, "so what do we do?!"

What do we do? We can only prepare ourselves for the transformation ahead. Some have already come to terms with this and successfuly segued into their newly found lives. For those of us who have not done so, we have to mentally and emotionally prepare ourselves for the peregrination ahead. Accept the fact that our majors may not affect our careers later on. Accept the fact that "play-time" is near extinction. Accept the fact that it takes WORK not luck to get through this world. Once you have achieved this, then comes the joyful views of life. Life will shine and we will bask in the light of our blissful lives... so let it happen. Take the initiative: prepare yourselves for the transformation ahead, accept it, grab a seat, and enjoy the show, because it's gonna be a long one...