This weekend, Kathryn's friends have generously paid her way to Freed for Homecoming, to relax with friends and get away for a while. this trip has led me to a state of deeper thinking...at least for me. on occasion i have short periods of time where i ponder certain questions and how one decides on answering those questions; the process by which one determines which answer is the best one; the equation which each follows to decide what one truly values and how that person uses assigned values to set his or her priorities in life. personally i find it very interesting that although in my life, most of my priorities have changed...i no longer put high value in my athletic abilities, or my abilities to attract the opposite sex (and no i'm not looking to the same sex either), or even my abilities to fulfill the expectations of my mentors, friends, & family as much as i once have in my life. i now put much thought into what the best use of my abilities is, how i can achieve some sense of a true accomplishment in life, what kind of footprint am i going to leave when i die, what kind of adventures can i have in life, are people going to know that i have attempted to make a difference. most of those who read this, are probably thinking of the previous statement in a religious context...but i wouldn't say that i was referring to those things in that manner. one of my favorite shows involves a mathematician, a cosmetologist, an FBI agent, and several other random characters. the shows usually involves a theory from one field placed into a new setting to solve a crime. what if i could do that in my own life? what if i could use theories that i've learned in life and apply them to different areas? would i still be effective in creating a better world, or that which i can effect?...i think that this idea of using theories of one area and applying them to others isn't used enough...i feel that a person applies a theory of a field to only that field and doesn't expand the opportunities of that theory to anything but what it was originally created for...now i'm not foolish enough to think that this would work for everything...but in some areas...who knows?
these "weekends of thought" often bring about many questions about my own life...am i on the right path, is there anything i could do better, am i making the right choices, and so on? (once again...not all religiously speaking) there's a man that i respect a lot that told me last summer that, you use the skills that you have been blessed with to do the most good...that you're not always going to please people with your choices, but you are helping people. in the past the thought of joining the Peace Corps. or the UN have been very realistic options for me...it's got everything i could ever want: adventure, helping people, travel, etc...i keep thinking about my future and how i can involve all of these aspects into my life...i suppose i will continue to ponder and meditate on the choices that lay before me and hopefully be able to use the right equations and logic to determine the greatest answers for my future.
