Rich

Gah, it seems like forever since I've written anything, well, probably because it has been forever. I know it seems like my last few posts have all started this same way but the truth is I'm working on a bigger project right now. So, once again I sincerely apologize for neglecting this blog and all my readers but I will try my hardest to write more often. Also, for those of us in school or have kids college that are now out and home for summer, I hope your enjoying every second of it as much as I am.

With it being summer, I've had the privileged to see all of my friends once again and catch up. One night I was hanging out with a friend and we were discussing our semesters and school in general when we came across the topics of where our lives were going or where we wanted them to go. Things lead to other things and we started to discuss the meaning of being rich.

The King-

There once was a boy who was fascinated with building things. He would spend every day of his childhood gathering materials to build miniature palaces and kingdoms. Soon the boy grew older and eventually ruled over a huge kingdom that was passed down from his father. The king had everything you could possibly imagine. Everything from gold to all the wives he wanted to exotic animals from all over the world and a huge palace to put all his riches in. He spent his days scheming and plotting new ways to gather new riches and expand his kingdom further and further until it eventually became the largest kingdom in history. Over time the king grew ill. He became sicker and sicker as he grew older and older. One night while on his death bed, the kings oldest son, who was due to inherent the kingdom, came to visit the king. The son noticed the the king looked unhappy and asked what was wrong. The king replied "Son, I have a heart of greed that's filled with nothing but loneliness."

The Beach Bum-

There one lived a boy who loved to play in the ocean. He would spend his days playing in the waves and eventually developed a passion for surfing. As the boy grew up into an adult, he began entering surf competitions. For the first 5 or 6 years the man was broke. He lived in a shack near the beach, drove a old rusty car and spent his days perfecting his surfing techniques and enter more and more competitions. The man was insanely good and had multiple sponsorships. As the man grew older, he eventually married and had a son. They still lived in the shack, drove the old, rusty car and spent their days surfing. This is what amazed the other local people. They all talked behind his back, saying he had a drug problem and this is where all his money went. One day, the locals found the man laying on his surf board on the beach. One of the men searched the body and found a note and map reading: "Half goes to my family and the other half goes to charity." After following the map to the mans house, the found a chest with millions of dollars stashed away.

The Point-

In my first story the king had everything that he thought would make him happy but then realized when he was dying that he was unhappy. In my second story the bum followed what his heart desired and what made him happy. He could of used all the money he won to buy everything he ever wanted but he realized that he didn't need these things to be happy. His happiness came from following what his heart desired.  When I was discussing what our futures hold with my friend, we both realized we were going to school for the wrong reason. We were both going to school to hopefully get rich. That's when I realized that having money and other riches doesn't define happiness. Being rich means following your heart and doing what makes you internally happy. So if you love to sing, sing. If you like to help people progress, become a therapist. But whatever you do, do it because you love doing it. If you don't you will never be happy with what you are doing.

Meanings

Ok, I guess I've been neglecting this long enough but for us college kids the past few weeks have been quite hectic. That's right, we spent countless hours burying our faces in books trying to learn a semesters worth of knowledge in just a short time. So congratulations to everyone who has made it through another dreadful few months and double gratz to those who have made all the way through and finished up their last semester ever!

So last night I sent a post out on FB to see what my next topic would be and it seemed everyone wanted me to talk about "Plan B" or "Friends." Well I woke this morning after spend a majority of last night thinking about what to write in these and was preparing to write when I noticed I had a message from a friend I had not heard from in quite awhile. She is a reader of my stuff and had very sincere message giving feedback as I asked in the previous blog. So I know I promised to write what y'all demanded but this seemed more meaningful. I'll get to the others, just not today. Sorry if your disappointed and if y'all really want I'll write another one within the next few days. Just let me know.

Story 1-

This is a story of a girl who grew up living life as a normal kid(We'll call her Sam). Sam went to school everyday just like everyone else and was one of the more popular kids in school. She liked to have a good time so she didn't pay much attention to her actions or the things she said. Growing up in a small town, her family was close to each other, always being there and supporting each other through the thick and thin. On July 21, 2004 a young boy was born into Sam's family. Not knowing yet but this young boy would have an impact on the her life forever. The boy was diagnosed with Mytochondria and was told he wouldn't live passed the age of One. He can't see, talk, walk or eat on his own and has severe seizures. Sam became very close to the boy by learning how to care for him and eventually created an emotional connection with him. One day Sam went to the grocery store to get a few items and ran into a friend so they decided to shop together. While shopping they noticed a lady and her son who had a mental handicap. The friend saw the boy do something and said "Hahaha, Sam, did you just see what that retard did?"

Story 2-

I was with one of my friends that I had not seen in awhile due to college and we were getting ready to go out and have a night on the town. After we were ready, we hopped in the car and went to the bar where we were meeting a group of others. Upon arriving, we go in and start shaking everyone's hand and telling everyone hello. One of my more crazy friends came up and said "TK, whats up my crippled friend?" I replied with my normal "not much dude, how have you been?" After we caught up, I introduced him to the friend I came with, who had had a disgruntled look on his face. As the night went on I could still tell there was still tension between to the two, so after we left I asked my friend what was the matter. He said "Did you hear what that guy called you? That didn't bother you?"

The Point-

In theses two stories, there are words used that are offending. These are words that we use in every day situations without even realizing what the true meaning of the word is. These words don't just effect the person they're directed to but others connected to this person too. In story 1, Sam's family member is not only highly offended by this word but Sam is also. Sam hates hearing these words because despite of the boy's disabilities, he has fought and proven against the odds. The boy is now 8 years old even though he's a "retard" he's done more in his life than any of us have. In story 2 my friend called me crippled. This had absolutely no effect on me because I could care less what people call me. On the other hand, my friend was highly upset by the gesture and would of probably fought the guy if I would have let him. So when you go out these next few days pay attention to the words you say. You may not mean anything by it but to others words DO hurt, not only the directly affected but those around them too.