01/25/08

As second semester rolls around, I begin to reflect on the choices I’ve made the last few months.

Did my mom really need a Hannah Montana calendar for Christmas?

Why am I taking 20 hours this spring?

Will I ever beat “The Legend of Zelda”?

However, looking back, I also realized that last semester was one of personal growth-a lot of it, in fact.

You see, I’ve always tried to be more philosophical than I really am.

When faced with a problem, I try many different avenues before deciding on a course of action.

Last semester was an interesting one for me because of all the friction I had to deal with.

Whether it was friction with professors, friends, parents, roommates or whatever, I went through a lot and I’m sure some of you reading this experienced just as much if not more.

At the time, I thought that it really sucked to wade through all that crap (and it did, don’t get me wrong), but it also helped me grow immensely.

In my opinion, people who don’t experience friction become stagnant.

I compare it to a car a lot of times.

For instance, if a car had no traction, it wouldn’t be able to go anywhere.

Like on ice, if the tires just spin, you don’t get a thing done. The same goes for life, I think, if you don’t have some outside force rubbing against you and creating friction, you don’t have any reason to change and better yourself.

If you aren’t a car person, how about a more academic approach?

A good story has a couple of things: an interesting character and a conflict.

With just a conflict, things aren’t very appealing.

So there’s a war going on.

OK. If you don’t care about who’s fighting in it or what the goals are, then do you really care about that war?

Or say you know someone really cool.

Is it that awesome just to watch them go about their daily lives?

Eat breakfast, go to class, workout, etc.?

If they have no problems, it isn’t that interesting.

You need both aspects to make things a good read.

So, where am I going with this? Good question.

If you find yourself leading a fairly perfect life with little to no conflict, then congratulations, tell us all how you do it.

However, for those of you who deal with friction or conflict on a day-to-day basis, I urge you to simply keep something in mind as you wade through the crap.

You wouldn’t be going anywhere if you didn’t have that friction.

Your car would be motionless and your story would suck.

I know this might sound like some “everything-will-be-all-right-feel-good-garbage,” but think about it.

Tough times make you stronger. Ask anyone who lifts weights.

If you keep lifting the same amount, you don’t gain anything.

You have to push yourself to get the best results.

So there you have it, my morale-booster for the week.

Keep your chin up, and stay away from the voodoo.