Alterations

Sunday, October 18 2009, I just came back from visiting one of my best friends that I’ve known since the 7Th grade in Pollock Pines. Unlike just any other visit, today we celebrated her 19th birthday. Today was also the day that I got to see her 13 days old son Koby, my god son, for the very first time.

As I wrapped Koby’s diminutive body in my wide open arms, many thoughts filled my mind. I couldn’t believe that just a year ago my two best friends and I were talking about our future and what was going to happen. None of us imagined her, the youngest of us three, to be the first to have a kid. Thinking back to 7Th grade we would’ve never thought about the future this way. It seems like as we get older life only gets more difficult with plenty of new obstacles.

I could only then imagine how hard life is going to get for my friend especially being a teenage mom with only one year of a college education. It almost seems as if her future is set for her; to be a struggling teenage mom. I didn’t want to think the worse for her so I told her that things will get better but in my heart I doubted my own words.

Then I thought that one wrong move could alter my entire future. I was definitely scared, I don’t want to struggle to support myself in future but I didn’t want to have to sit down and plan out my every move just to make sure that I would succeed. I didn’t want to feel like I wasted my entire life by studying and working all the time. I want to be able to have fun, live life, be young while I can but at the same time be successful.

It then came to my senses that all those things could happen. I could have fun, live life and be successful as long as I know how to limit myself and set my priorities straight. I could be successful as long as I work hard and believe in myself. I could party and have fun as long as I don’t do it when I have a midterm, project or final the next day. My life could be perfectly fun and successful as long as I can manage my time and put what’s more important ahead of me.

Then I realized that I was just thinking too much, my friend’s future isn’t set for her; she has her entire life ahead of her. She could still be a successful teenage mom as long as she is willing to work for it. Of course a college education is going to take longer for her but its better late than never. With the help of close friends and families she could definitely be able to support not only herself but Koby. It won’t be easy, but I know she’ll be able to do if she just puts her mind to it.

Watching her and Koby today made me realize that one mistake doesn’t end your life or your future as long as you can get back on track. If school work gets hard, I’ll just have to keep trying or ask for help. If my social life gets a little out of hand, I should just hang on and see it through. Life isn’t an easy ride and everyone hits a bump in the road once in a while. As long as you just keep on going, you’ll get to your designation even if it does take a little longer and this is possible for everyone.

Culture

Today in anthropology discussion we were all supposed to choose a quote from this article by Clifford Greet entitle "The Impact on the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man" and then write about it. My friend Ray Kishida had chosen a quote that really caught my attention. The quote stated "One of the most significant facts about us may finally be that we all begin with the natural equipment to live a thousand kinds of life but in the end having lived only one."

To me this quote meant, everyone starts of in the world with many different choices and or paths that they could take. Though some people may choose to take the first path together they will ultimately split at another road in their lives. No lives are ever lived the same, no one will ever be just like someone else. There is always something that will distinguish the way one person is compare to another individual.

Take for example, identical twins may look exactly alike and have the exact same sets of chromosomes but the way they think, their opinions, their personalities, and their beliefs are different and that makes them who they are.

Despite how we decided to lives our lives and despite what roads, path and choice we decide to take we are all only given one chance to live one very short but long life. It made me really thought about my future and the choices I have because I really only have this one life to do what I really want to do.