I woke up with a cold this morning, but it was a sunny walk to work. A bus passed by right before the subway, and it said "Forever Young II" on the side. It both inspired me and saddened me. I'd written in "Forever Young" about always pursuing and appreciating the bliss of life, and being kinder and braver and trying something new every day. I haven't felt like that much in New York the past three months, or at least not as much as I expect to based on everything I've been through. Maybe the contrast to adventurous life makes it a little harder to adjust. There have been some great moments, and overall life is decent, and I'm very aware it's all been a necessary transition to get where I want to go. But truth be told, I'm tired from all of the travels, poetry patterns, uncertain and constantly changing living conditions, and teaching mundane material to decent yet unenthusiastic company.
My cold got worse throughout the day, so I succumbed to some fast food on the way home instead of waiting to get home and take a while to cook, and then took an hour long nap. Waking up from the nap reminded me of why I don't eat fast food anymore. Then I got a new SAT study book to help for the test Monday. I can only study Math for so long, so after dinner I watched this movie I've had since I first moved to San Francisco but hadn't watched yet. It's called The Artist. It won the Oscar a couple years ago. It's a silent film, and I enjoyed it very much.
Afterward I opened up the only hard copy of the book I wrote last year and found many of the pictures I used to have on my wall tucked into a pocket in the back, along with several quotes I used to have on my wall. I slowly began sorting them out and realized my walls were a little bare. Now I've got a little more inspiration and quite a few photographic reminders of where I've been and why I went on the journeys.
I did write in "Forever Young" that sometimes you just have to be patient during certain life situations and make the best of them while you can. And I told everyone I met on the road and off the road that you can do what you want if you have basic freedom and determination and know how to be patient.
Beyond the routine mundane scenery and activities of daily life lately, I feel love and hope, and that's enough.
My cold got worse throughout the day, so I succumbed to some fast food on the way home instead of waiting to get home and take a while to cook, and then took an hour long nap. Waking up from the nap reminded me of why I don't eat fast food anymore. Then I got a new SAT study book to help for the test Monday. I can only study Math for so long, so after dinner I watched this movie I've had since I first moved to San Francisco but hadn't watched yet. It's called The Artist. It won the Oscar a couple years ago. It's a silent film, and I enjoyed it very much.
Afterward I opened up the only hard copy of the book I wrote last year and found many of the pictures I used to have on my wall tucked into a pocket in the back, along with several quotes I used to have on my wall. I slowly began sorting them out and realized my walls were a little bare. Now I've got a little more inspiration and quite a few photographic reminders of where I've been and why I went on the journeys.
I did write in "Forever Young" that sometimes you just have to be patient during certain life situations and make the best of them while you can. And I told everyone I met on the road and off the road that you can do what you want if you have basic freedom and determination and know how to be patient.
Beyond the routine mundane scenery and activities of daily life lately, I feel love and hope, and that's enough.
"You can decide to forget that you are a writer at all
and you can decide to sit down at your [laptop]
and put words on paper, one at a time,
in the best fashion you know how."
- Preface to The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze
by William Saroyan
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