Beautiful BC

"Beautiful British Columbia." Yup, that's what it says on our license plates. This past week, I realized how beautiful BC is. For the first time, I drove to Nanaimo and then to Comox on Vancouver Island. After a pretty pleasant ferry ride and a short trip to my hotel (with a nicely upgraded room), I looked outside my window to see a beautiful ocean, speckled with boats and a narrow passage between mountains. The next day I had a native Nanaimo resident show me around the city. I was amazed at how vibrant the city was. But what struck me the most was not the number of Starbucks or McDonalds, it was that no matter what way you looked, you saw mountains. I was in awe.


The drive to Comox started off pretty boring. But one quick turn off the Inland highway, and we were driving along the coast - the scenic route. Or as the signs said, Oceanside route. It was beautiful. After the morning of touring around, we stopped for lunch at this little cottage called the Filberg Teahouse. To my surprise, right outside the front door was a deer! How often do you eat lunch with a deer?

It was at that point when I realized how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful province. You don't really discover it until you're forced to go. If it wasn't for this business trip, I don't think I would have ever realized the beauty of Vancouver Island.

My goal for the summer of 06 - Discover beautiful British Columbia!

... And then we die.

A couple nights back, I was in some deep conversation with a close friend of mine. The topic of choice was, of course, the meaning of life. My friend and I are basically at the same point in our life. Both she and I have taken the same steps to get to where we are today. We were born, went to elementary school, then high school. We went to university to get a degree and now we're working to make a living. A pretty standard life to say the least.

Today, we question why we do what we do. Being in my early 20's I still have a good 35-40 years of work left in me. Personally, I don't see myself working for that many years. But the other night I realized, what's the point?

What's the point of life? We're born, we do a whole bunch of stuff to fill in time, and then we die. Does it really matter what we do inbetween? Society places upon us a variety of rights and wrongs. Sure we try to live our lives with good morals and ethics. But does it really matter how we live our life? We constantly strive to be the best we can be. I guess that makes living worthwhile for some. For others, maybe not. But if we think about it in the sense that we're born, and then in the end, we die, does it really matter how we fill the inbetween?

Some Good Advice

"As we grow up we learn that even the one person that wasn't suppose to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back."

The Other Side

Today I find myself on the other side. We've all been in situations, be it with a friend, a colleague, a partner, where we find ourselves vulnerable. Those who know me well, know that I am pretty naive. I guess it's an effect of being so trustworthy. When it comes to relationships, I put myself out there. And most of the time, I get hurt. Sure with any relationship comes happiness, sadness, good times and bad times. With every relationship there is bound to be some hurt. And I sure know what it feels like to be hurt. So as I go on with my life, I try real hard to treat others that way that I would like to be treated.

Here's some history. A couple months back, I was in a situation where I decided to suck it up my reluctance, put my feelings on the line and "date," only to find out that my date wanted to "just be friends." I don't think that I was as hurt as I was upset that I let myself be put in that situation. Today, I find myself on the other side.

You never really think about situations from the other person's perspective. You only think about yourself. It's human nature to be selfish. So what do you do when you're faced with being the one who has to hurt, instead of the one being hurt, knowing full well how it feels to be hurt? I'm not too sure. All I know is that finding myself on the other side, isn't all that fun.

Independence

Is there such a thing as being independent? I know that independence comes in many forms. For youth, it is oftentimes the idea of not being dependant on your parents anymore. And for a long time, that was independence for me. Sure, we all grow up. We don't ask our parents for money anymore, to pay for our clothes, our bills, our nights out. We don't rely on our parents for rides to the mall, to birthday parties and to the movies. Instead, we get full time jobs to earn money to pay for our clothes, our bills, our nights out. We buy the only car we can afford so that we can drive ourselves to the mall, to parties and to the movies. We start to do things for ourselves. Until we finally have the courage (and the money) to move out. Moving out - the pinnacle of independence. Paying for our own mortgage, our own bills, our own food, on top of the car and the entertainment expenses. We learn to budget for the pure need of survival. Survival based on no support from our parents.

Sure, this has always been my idea of independence. But I look back now and think, are we, am I, ever really going to be independent? Maybe physically, yes. I will not need my parents for survival. But emotionally, I don't think so. I think I'll always be dependent on my mom and dad for love, support, friendship, courage, motivation and to be that shoulder to cry on. I think I'll always be dependent on my tea for comfort, my computer to keep me organized, my cell phone to be connected, my hairdryer for non-frizzy hair. So I ask you, is there really such a thing as independence?

My disclaimer

Here is my blog, with my thoughts, my ideas, my assumptions, my discrection, my feelings, my wisdom, my ignorance, my critique, my heart on my sleeve. Enjoy!