Normal Shmormal

Growing up, I had what I considered a stale, mediocre life. We were middle class, middle of the road, right down the middle -- nothing too extraordinary. I was eternally bored and chomping at the bit for something, anything to happen.

As I get older, I realize that it was a normal life and that that is what my parents strived to achieve. When it is up to you to take care of everything, I guess you see how terribly wrong things can go and you just try to keep them within the realm of normalcy.

But what I don't understand is... why only try to not be dysfunctional? That's like just keeping your head barely above water. To see other people who have it worse than you and only strive in your life to not be like them. You won't accomplish much besides having it a little better off than someone else.

Why not strive to be great and do extraordinary things? Don't let your goal be to not have a bad life... work towards having an amazing life. Go the extra mile and do what it takes to make this journey unforgettable. You only have one chance.

I don't want to go through life looking down and being satisfied that at least I'm not at the bottom. I want to always look up and outwards, to see the endless possibilities of where I could be and not be afraid to go there. I don't want to be held back by the suburban view of normalcy. Seriously, if your only goal is to be normal you have no imagination. Who cares what anyone else thinks -- they aren't the ones who have to live your life. You can make it whatever you want to and you should.

Mark Twain said, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."