Change is Inevitable (Except From a Vending Machine)

For most of my life I've had something against change. I had the rest of my life planned out since I was in the 5th grade. I'd keep the same friends my whole life, we'd all live right by each other and work at the same place. In my mind the plan was flawless. Soon after that my world was about to get shaken up quite a bit. I was forced to go to St. Jude’s and abandon all of the friends that I was positive I'd have for the rest of my life. Looking back this one decision, forced down by my parents, has changed my entire life for the better. I've had a better quality of education, I've made some great new friends, and I have high expectations for my future. Though it's impossible to really tell how differently my life would be if I wasn't forced into St. Jude’s, I'm positive the change was the right choice. Anyway the reason I'm writing about this dribble is because of another change in my life. My parents want to move again and though it would only be a mile or 2 it is still a big deal to me. I really like the house I'm in now, but if it comes down to it I'm willing to accept whatever change my parent's decide on. Change is what makes life worth living. I don't know if I could keep my sanity doing the same routine day in and day out without much variation. So I guess I'm a little wiser than my old self in saying that I will accept change to my life, good or bad. It's no use resisting change for it will happen sooner or later.

Respect and Disregard

As I was sitting in church today listening to Sister Marie talk about her experiences with Pope John Paul II, I realized how honored she must've felt to have met the pope face to face. After thinking of this for a little while, knowing that the entire room must be thinking this same thing, it came to my attention that every mass we are personally in the presence of God and yet I don't see too many people experiencing this great honor. In fact it was made clear to me that most of the gym couldn't care less to be in mass instead of in class. The person on my left could barely keep awake and a lot of the others seemed to be dazing off or whispering to friends. All I'm really trying to say in this post is that it seems that church has become rather boring to those who do not participate. It is apparent that a lot of those who receive the Eucharist don't even realize what they are actually receiving.

Life's journey to God

Sitting at adoration I began to think about life and how it’s just one big journey. Eventually I came up with the conclusion that life is like a day’s trek through the scorching desert to paradise (Maybe I’ve been watching too many desert movies). Anyway the trek starts at 12:00 am symbolizing birth. The first 6 hours are rather easy (being the first 15 years of your life) because it is dark and rather cool and you don’t need water too desperately yet. During the 6th hour you begin to see the sun (the real world) though it is dimly lit you can still tell that it will be upon you soon. I think I am about at 7:00 am in my life and I have recently found a lush green oasis (the church) whose water has helped to quench my thirst and will help me make it through the rest of my journey safely. As I look off from the edges of the oasis I see others walking. They all look rather thirsty so I wave them on over but they ignore me as though they can’t even see the oasis or me. They are either too caught up in their own mirages of drugs and alcohol or they are just selfishly caught up in themselves. Most of them seem to be veering off the path that God has set for them leading to eternal paradise. The journey from 8:00am-8:00pm through life is difficult but you must remain on the path set before you no matter what temptations the devil brings. Towards 8:00 pm the journey gets rather easy again. The sun is subsiding and you know that your journey will be at an end soon. All of your hard work to stay on the path will soon pay off. We shouldn’t be sad when one of our loved ones finally reaches the end of their journey for they are in a better place than us now. All we can do is look forward and try to get through the desert as best as possible.

The 7 guidelines of a Good Movie

I was talking with Erin about what movies must have in them to be considered good and I think we've come up with a near perfect set of guidelines for movies to follow.

1.The main character can't die unless it happens to save everyone else.
2. Everything must be as dramatic as possible (ex. if there are 3 chances of doing something it must be done on the 3rd try)
3. The main character (the good guy) cannot under any circumstances be persuaded to the side of evil
4. The bad guys must either die or have an unlucky occurrence befall them.
5. All materials/conditions necessary to carry out an amazing stunt or life-saving plan must happen to be present and perfect.
6. The ending must be either extremely happy or extremely sad. If the ending is poor the entire movie sucks.
7. All of the above rules and guidelines shall be declared null and void in the event that five (5) or more usable quotes are present in the script of the movie in question.

Now I know what you're thinking after reading this "If there is a set of objective guidelines for movies to follow, does that mean that someone can compose a perfect movie?" Fear not though for I have the answer to this paradoxical question. That answer is yes. The perfect movie that follows all of these guidelines perfectly is the Matrix Parody Alex, Nat and I made 2 years ago for Mrs. Switzer's class.


If you see any mistakes with the guidelines or you feel like adding to them feel free to post your opinions.

Happiness

Everyone's actions in some way or another are related to their pursuit of happiness. There are many ways people attempt to fulfill this search. The most popular and fruitless method, however, is through greed. They attain more and more possessions in the belief that the next one will quench their endless thirst. The reason this method is so popular is because the media promotes it constantly. 99% of all commercials attempt to make you believe that if you purchase their product you will be one step closer to happiness. Sadly this is not the case. The happiness obtained through objects is an ethereal and fleeting one at best. It is my belief, however, that true happiness can only be obtained through following the will of God.

In any case the reason that I chose this topic for my post is because I'm beginning to attend the Antioch youth group meetings and I must say they are truly inspiring. They seem to have a constant aura of joy filling the room and I can't help but think that this must be a glimpse of what eternal happiness in the afterlife must be like.