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“The universe is under no obligation to ever make sense to you.”

This week has been nothing short of life changing. I still don’t think I’m ready to talk about it in it’s entirety, as there is still so much to comprehend and learn from the experience. In light of this, I’ve learned to take each day as it comes. Life certainly was not readily made to make sense.

How to not understand life and still be okay with it:

1. Wine comes from grapes and grapes come from the land. Wine is a natural healer. (((and should be a food group)))
2. Scream at the sky when you’re angry and watch the clouds when you need to think. Both will help tremendously.
3. Do things that make you nervous and let the feeling consume you until you feel scared and alive and want to throw up.
4. Don’t worry about falling in love. It shouldn’t always be the focal point of your life.
5. Pick flowers whenever you see them (just not all of them!) and give them to strangers. It will make both of you smile.
6. Kiss all of the things that make you happy and all the things that make you sad. Kiss everything that makes you feel anything.
7. Hold on to things that you don’t think you’ll want 5-10 years from now. Some you will want, some you (still) will not.
8. Never empty your pockets and try not to live out of a suitcase.
9. Light candles and watch at least two movies when you are feeling sad. Let them make you forget about life for a little.
10. Pictures of mountains and canyons will make your head spin. Look at them you’re feeling like things are going to get bad soon.
11. Charge your cellphone before it reaches 10%, but do not center 100% of your life around it.
12. The best people have electricity running through their veins and around their hearts. Let them shock you.
13. Forget how old you are. Actually, forget how old anyone is. It does not matter.
14. If a boy ever treats you like an option rather than a priority, leave him. Even if it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do. Even if you’re still convinced there is hope. I promise you, you do not need this. You don’t.
15. When the rest of the world is asleep, make the night your friend and you will become invincible.
16. Go to an unfamiliar part of town and explore. Take pictures. Don’t text.
17. Cry if you want to, but try not to drown in your tears.
18. Do not be afraid of the sight of blood or the smell of hospital beds.
19. Look at the moon and look at the stars. Write about them sometimes.
20. Never stay in one place for very long.

And if you’re ever feeling really upset or confused about life, here is a free flash version of Super Mario World. You can play it on your computer and I promise you it will make your day at least 15% better:

http://www.pouetpu-games.com/index.php?section=2&game_id=1&w=640&h=480

You’re going to be okay.

Page 1 of 365

A lot can happen in a year. Regardless of what that “a lot” is, one thing remains transcendentally true: change occurs. Most of the time, we don’t always notice it happening until we stop to take a look around and realize that our lives are completely different.

I’m serious. What was your life like a year ago? Different, right? If your answer is no, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re doing something wrong.

Change – good or bad – is to be embraced. Anyone who knows me decently well can vouch for me when I say that 2013 was arguably the worst year of my life – and drunk me made sure everyone knew that on New Year’s Eve. My conversations with a few random U Penn students went something like this:

Random Drunk Guy/ Girl: “Got any New Years Resolutions?”
Me: “TO MAKE THIS YEAR LESS SHITTY THAN LAST YEAR!”

Random Drunk Guy/ Girl: “What’s your favorite memory from 2013?”
Me: “TONIGHT BECAUSE THIS YEAR WAS THE WORST YEAR OF MY LIFE AND I’M GLAD IT’S FUCKING OVER!”

… I’m sure you get the picture. And although last year was pretty shitty, it taught me something about myself that undoubtedly needs to be worked on: the acceptance of change. Life goes on – and continues to change – whether we like it or not. The more you resist change, the less happy you will be. The more you embrace it, the happier you will be. See the correlation?

“You must be shapeless; formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” –Bruce Lee

I can wholeheartedly say I hated 2013 because so much change occurred in my personal life that I wasn’t necessarily prepared for. My mom was in and out of the hospital with cancer treatments, my classes began to conflict with my personal interests and frustrate me, the guy I was head over heels for graduated and moved away, my personal views began to change… the list goes on and on. I tried as hard as I could to resist ignore these changes, and in consequence, slowly began to lose my motivation and passion for life. I also overlooked all of the things that I did have going for me, like falling in love with my major, joining a THON committee, and making a ton of new friends.

The key to dealing with change is approaching it with a positive attitude and growing with it. When life throws you a curve ball, is there anything you can do about the situation? Yeah? Then why worry? In that same light, if you can’t do anything about the situation, why worry?

So as drunk me professed to 1/3 of the University of Pennsylvania on New Years eve, this year will be different. This year is going to be as amazing as I can possibly make it. Today is the first day of the rest of my life; I’m excited to see what this year has in store.