The Best Things In Life...

...are free? Or do you go with the saying that ends with "aren't things" because I'm really not too sure about either.  I'll give you my 2 cents about each, so bear with me here.

"The best things in life are free," is a saying that has been around for ages.  I'm not taking it from the song "Money (That's What I Want), as I only picture the Tiny Toons characters singing this song in cartoon form.  Regardless of where the saying actually came from, I disagree with this statement completely.  Not only can you use money to purchase your most favorite things (for me it might be shoes, or a camera, or some other material item... does that make me a horrible person?), but there is also the fact that every action taken or every thing in general has some sort of cost to it.

For example:
-Say you are sick one day and can't possibly make it to work or school or whatever other obligation you may have.  Sure, you're helping to not spread your illness around to everyone else, but you could miss a deadline, or an exam, or a dance recital or some other really important sporting event.  Face it: you're screwed at work because you can't make up your deadline or your test at school and there was only one show for your dance recital or it was the championship game and the team really needed you.  Sucks, right?  The best thing for some people is to work, or to go to school, or to dance, or to play football/basketball/volleyball/etc. and not only did you miss out on something that could have been really memorable and great for you, but now you're stuck with the constant reminder that you couldn't be there because of something that was basically out of your control.
-Or maybe you, for some reason, are one of those people who lives your life thinking that one of the best things in life is love.  I mean, that's fine, but are you stupid?  You have to be!  Sure, love can be a great thing, I know that, I've been there when it's been really wonderful.  But you really have to be completely naive to think that love in whatever form is free.  I know you might be thinking "wow look at you, ya huge cynic," or "okay, so since it's not free, what's the cost?"  This is the cost of love: everything.  You give yourself fully to someone (or something, if it's like a dog or a pet or whatever) not really weighing the possible outcomes until you've put it all out there.  Then suddenly, it's like BOOM!  Here's the other party ripping out so much of your soul, the soul you've worked so hard to protect for your whole life because your soul is what makes you you.  Even if it's not someone breaking up with you or cheating on you, you probably love your pet and then it inevitably dies because that's life.  You aren't expecting to feel the way you end up feeling and it's really just a huge load of bullshit.  If we as humans are supposed to love others the way that we do, why are we cursed with knowing what the opposite feels like?  Is there really always a need for balance in all areas of life?  Am I completely in the wrong and/or insane for feeling or thinking this?

Now, some people may go the other way and say this: "The best things in life aren't things," and fine if you think so, but I'm not so sure about this one either.  Everything is a "thing."  Feelings and emotions are things.  Nature is made up of things (like flowers, trees, the sky, the dirt, etc.).  I mean, maybe I'm just not completely understanding the magnitude of this quote, or maybe I'm too literal, or something, but I feel like this saying was also said and believed by someone completely naive or ignorant to his surroundings.

I'm just now realizing how much of a downer I was in this post, but I had a long day.  People, well, one person in particular actually, really got under my skin today, I had my first day at my new job, I'm sore from working out yesterday, and my dog farted something fierce in my face while I was watching TV earlier.  I'm sorry if I brought you down; it's obviously not my intention to change the mood of my readers for the worse.  I just needed to vent, and it was too late to go running, and I'm better with my words than anything else.

PoD:

 

Story:  Taken in Australia, these three photos were among my favorites from the two-week trip I was fortunate enough to go on (thanks, Mom!).  The first picture is of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which I was obsessed with by the way, and I love it so much because of how I can still see part of it inside of the lamp, even though it's warped.  I think that's what makes it so great!  The second one is of the cutest little seal I've ever seen in my life.  My mom and I took a two-day tour of this island (Kangaroo Island - cliche kind of) and I saw this little girl when we were at Seal Bay.  Tourists from all over come to Seal Bay, and the amazing part about this little park is that you aren't allowed to touch the seals or feed them or anything, and you have to stay on the boardwalks at all time.  You can go down onto the beach, but usually the seals stay away from people because they are scared.  This little girl was modeling for me and I got this amazing shot.  And then the third photo is one of my all-time favorites.  This little kangaroo is just so adorable.  Still on our tour of Kangaroo Island, the tour group stopped at a honey farm (we tried honey ice cream - omg amazeballs!) and this little guy had kind of domesticated himself and became a part of the family of one of the honey farmers.  He was hopping around outside the gift shop and he wanted me to pet him and when I stopped, he gave me this face.  Perfect photo.  So incredibly charming and lovable... but my mom wouldn't let me bring him home with me.  Talk about a Debbie Downer (wah wahhhhhhh)...

It's not "Goodbye..."

It literally has been 2 months and 5 days since my last post.  I suck!  But I haven't been inspired to write much of anything anyway, so I guess it's not so terrible.  I promised myself that when I re-vamped my whole blog awhile back, I'd only write when I felt compelled to or if something really moved me and pushed me to write about it, which is why I've been lacking on the posts.  If you're an avid reader of my blog, I apologize for not providing you with anything new to read, but I'd rather read something that's important and personal over something that's just written to take up space.  But that's just me.  =)

So I'm moving.  To Fort Wayne, Indiana.  It's really not all that exciting, except for the part where I have 2 big closets in my room (!!!!!!) and that I have a job!  Hooray me!  It's been a year since I graduated college, and I'm finally doing something with my life.  I didn't think it would take this long, but when one doesn't really apply herself, it should probably have taken longer.  Oh well, better late than never, I suppose.

People keep asking me if I'm sad about leaving.  And some people are much more self-centered than I had remembered, too.  About leaving, I'm not completely torn up about it.  There are people that I wish I could take with me because I love them so ("I could eat you up, I love you so," --Where the Wild Things Are), and these are the people I will miss every day (I won't name names, but these people know who they are) and these are the people about whom I'm sad to leave.  But then part of me is excited.  And then I realize that I'm also nervous, scared, anxious (in both a bad and a good way), and sometimes I just want to lay in my bed and cry.  I never thought that I could feel so many feelings all at the same time.  When it came time for me to leave for college, I wasn't sad one bit.  Maybe that's because I knew I would come back.  This time, I still know I'll come back, but it won't be the same.  I've changed my address, moved all of my clothes, hung pictures and other things on the walls, opened up new bank accounts, I'm in the process of transferring my medical records to new doctors, and I'm about to get an Indiana driver's license.  My mom is happy for me, but it's getting harder for her to cover up her sadness over me leaving; her random hugs keep becoming longer and more secure.  This hurts my soul.  I mean, it makes me feel kind of good because I know that she loves me, but it's making it more difficult each day before I leave to actually make that leap.  But I'll get through it.

Several of the people I told about me moving gave me this response: "You're moving?! NOOOO how could you do this to me?!"  I thought it was a joke.  I thought it would be followed with something similar to: "Haha, just kidding! I'm so happy for you, congratulations! That's so great!" but no.  No congratulatory hug or anything.  I mean, sure, it's okay to be sad that a friend is leaving.  But obviously I have to think of myself here.  Am I right?  Or is that too selfish to want to start my career and begin making money and working to become independent?  Help me out here if I'm completely in the wrong...  (Sorry for the rant.  I was just really taken aback when those actions played out.)

I'm not sure if there is anything else I could write about me leaving.  I'm still really confused in my head and my heart, and I still feel like crying a lot.  I feel like this happens to a lot of people.  Obviously it wasn't an easy decision to make, but it's not like I'm trying to hurt anybody by leaving either.  And it's not like I'm moving to someplace really far away, like California or Florida or something.  I'm about 3 1/2 hours away via car, and pretty much anyone has an open invitation to come visit me.  =)


As promised, here's a pic of the day (actually, here are several):

  

Story: I love tulips.  They are my favorite flower, well, one of them, and I can't ever get enough of these beauties.  Not only are they so perfectly simple and amazingly pretty and have a vast array of petal colors, but they are really the first flowers to bloom in the spring, which makes me so happy.  The first two I posted really show my favorite part of the flower, which is the inside.  It has such a cool design with the black against the pretty pink and/or orange or whatever color the tulip may be.  The last photo, the one of the bud just about to open, is probably my new favorite photo I've ever taken.  If you can't understand why, then shame on you.

(...it's "I'll see you later.")