By 26...

Life is a 2 lane road that travels 1 direction.

The direction is North, South, East, and West. 

I know it's confusing... it's life.

~Levi Arnone

It has been over a year since my last blog post. I’m sorry to those of you who follow and expect more from me, I would like to be more consistent. However, I do not want to fill my blog with meaningless posts just to meet a monthly quota.

For those of you who have been following, or have read my posts before, you will know each post has a certain ‘feel’. I try to convey that feel through my writing in a passionate way. Hence why I don’t post often. I have to feel passionate about what I’m writing, or it is difficult to get my point across.

Well, the time has come. I have had this topic on my mind for a few weeks and I cannot seem to escape it. This only means one thing… write it down.

I think many of us, if not all, have a ‘plan’ as we mature and get older. For many this ‘plan’ can come as early as middle school, some in high school, many in college, and others after that. Hell, some of us still don’t have a ‘plan’.

When I refer to a ‘plan’ I’m specifically talking about how we envision our future life. In a way, we are setting a loose goal and vision of exactly how we want things to go. It’s basically a rough draft of our life as we progress down this path called LIFE. Some of us may write our ‘plan’ on paper, others talk about it, and for some it’s all in our head.

This is a small outline of my ‘plan’, or so I thought. Mine started to build around age 18 when I was about to head off to college. It went something like this: Finish my Bachelor’s degree, land a great job, and start my MBA. Be married by 26, have a couple of children. Build a house, get some nice vehicles, a few fun toys. Have controllable debt (house payment and maybe car payment). Live happily.

Fast-forward.

Let me tell you, my ‘plan’ did not go according to plan. Some things were able to fall into place and my ‘plan’ was now becoming my reality. Today, here I am, 26 years old. I have finished my Bachelor’s degree but never started my MBA. I’m nearing 4 years working for a great company. The rest… well, it never really happened.

The ‘plan’ that I had envisioned years ago never really happened. In fact, I’m glad it didn’t happen. I think society and the people around us shape our reality and tell us the way things “should” be. It’s okay not to follow in those footsteps, though. You don’t have to have a ‘plan’, you can make it up as you go. Blaze your own path and do the things you want to do, not the things you think you have to do. The things you wanted at age 16 you may not want at age 20. The things you want at age 20 may not be what you want at age 25.

Today I’m still deciding; do I want to be married? Do I want to have kids? Do I want to go back to school and get an MBA? Do I want to build a house, or live in a big ass van and travel around? Will I ever switch jobs? These are all things I’ve questioned recently that I never thought I would have at age 18.  

I never pictured my plan being something like this: Get my Bachelor’s degree, get a good job. Start skydiving and jumping off other high objects. Spend large amounts of money on parachutes and wingsuits. Selling my truck and motorcycle to downsize; put Jeep up for sale. Start working in the skydiving industry to support my hobby. Be in a series of relationships, some good some bad. Start going bald (definitely not planned). Figure out what I’m doing with my life…

There is nothing good or bad about this. There isn’t a right or wrong way to do things. It is simply an observation I’ve made when I look back and say, “By 26 I…” and realized so much of it never happened.

Now I’m working on my next ‘plan’… “If I live to see 30…” ;)

When you’re me, you think about it.

Art is...

Art is... a question mark in the minds of those who want to know what's happening.  ~Aaron Howard

This post is not meant to be a rant, although it may sound like one. This blog is designed to make people think about a subject in a different light, or perhaps put you in someone else’s shoes. At times, I feel like I’m ranting because I generally talk about something that is bothering me, or something that made ME think. I write in hopes of changing at least one person’s perspective, I want to broaden their horizon. Today, it is all about art.

Recently I have become more in tune to my artistic side, something I always knew was there, but never had to use it. I have come to appreciate art as if it were the greatest thing since sliced bread or peanut butter.

This is where my questions begin to surface and I become flustered with things that I don’t understand. Do I think too deep? Or do I just think, and others don’t?

Just like many things in life, I feel, art is highly underappreciated, and to many, unappreciated. People fail to recognize the beauty of art, whether it is architecture, paintings, drawings, pictures, tattoos, sculptures, etc. Everything around us is art and art is all around.

Why is it that people fail to recognize the true beauty that coexists within a single frame? Each line, brush stroke, pixel, etc. means something significant to each artist. When we don’t stop to recognize the beauty in each individual segment of the art, we can’t appreciate it like we should; as it deserves to be appreciated.

As a professional photographer, it bothers me when someone quickly flips through a photo album of my photographs. Something I put so much thought into, and countless hours of editing, composing, and developing thoughts, that someone can flip through in under two minutes.

I had a conversation with an artist a few weeks back where we discussed a painting he was working on. He said, “It’s a button.” However, the plaque underneath the painting would say, “It’s not a button.” Such an interesting concept that many people may not recognize or comprehend as an artist does. It’s not a button…it’s a painting of a button.

The point is this: Art is a passion that many people share, and if you don’t share it, at least try to recognize and appreciate those who do. Stop and stare at a picture or painting that you pass daily; you will be surprised what you find that you didn’t notice in the past.

Art is beauty in its purest form…recognize!

When you’re me, you think about it.