22

Wanderlust: the profound feeling that within the soul, there exists a compass that constantly tugs at the very foundations of the being, pulling the body in whichever direction the winds happen to blow on that given day.
I first realized that this was a part of me during my teenage years...can anybody say Road Trip? Oddly enough, the colossal cross-country venture that was taken was not even my idea; I ended up being the fourth tag-a-long in a small silver car with three other girls. Well, two girls and one woman - the little Honda Civic was crammed with my best friend, her sister, their mother, and yours truly. I remember my heart pounding as we left our town in the early morning, and then the sinking disappointment creeping in as we drove nonstop through the the seemingly endless stretch from north Florida through Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Little did I know that the interstate in the southeastern United States rarely reveals any wonders besides spectacular views, an occasional road kill, and Waffle House signs at every exit. Texas became more promising - it was entertaining counting the Texan flags that scattered the towns, and seeing the sparkling city of Dallas from a distance at night seemed downright cosmic. We grazed the corner of New Mexico, and then finally reached our first destination (Colorado), after over thirty hours of driving. To be continued.
Wanderlust is not a conscious choice; it is in innate part of a being, but the choice to act upon it or to stomp it out is up to the person who carries it. It is an unpredictable phenomenon that can rise and fall like the tides on the shore. There are times when it seems to ebb away, and times when it comes crashing back full force.

21

There is a ballet
In which the dancers
Are planets and stars
Spinning unrelentingly

And we observe them
In wonder and awe
Wondering what could sustain
Such marvel and persistence

Can we not
Imbue such beauty
In a world of consciousness
And gifted will

But the stars have withstood
The test of time
And we forget
That we are only temporary

20

In response the person I heard today putting down her friend who is dreaming of becoming a music teacher (because it is a "low-level and intellectually-unchallenging life-style...he can reach higher than that!")...
Please please PLEASE be aware, it takes an INSANE amount of courage and hard work to become a person who is dedicated to the arts, and is in no way easy or a "stupid career path!!" Art/Music students (the dedicated ones, at least) are just as hard working as the students in any other major, and I'd even go out on a limb and say that in most cases they are even more so. Where else will you find people staying awake to work for over 72 hours straight, living off of coffee and sleeping on campus (ok, besides you engineer guys...)? In most cases, artists/musicians/actors don't even have much straight-forward direction to follow (like textbooks to read and write papers on, or tests to study for and pass) - they're relying on pure creativity, improvisation, and self-motivation to produce at their highest possible level (which is tough when you're usually starving, lol!)...it takes an enormous amount of determination. Anyone who's aware of the real world right now and has a brain (left OR right sided ;) ) realizes that the job market isn't exactly inspiring - it definitely takes some extra guts to pursue an art-related career when the country is cutting back on any liberal spending. There's a growing number of people in the Arts in Medicine program who make children feel better and suddenly become talkative on a daily basis, after doctors give them all sorts of medications that don't relieve their pain and stress. I firmly believe that if magic's real, it exists in art. And if anything, I also think that every artist/musician I've met was just as happy as anyone else around them, if not more so! :) This has probably been my first and only FaceBook rant (yeey!), but I feel like it needed to be said!
Also, backupz!: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304402104579149060054918936?mod=trending_now_1

19

It seems incredible that for all that human beings have evolved into, we lack a real and full ability to feel each other.