yup. 9/11 is my date of birth, michael’s(my brother) is two days later.
yeah, this day of remembered tragedy is also the day i was born. well 23 years ago, i mean. anyway, i didn’t celebrate or anything; just another day of the week, i suppose. and a solemn reminder that i’m getting old ;)
as i’m about to go to sleep in a warm bed under an insulated roof, i stop and think about stuff. i thank God for everything i have in my life: not just materially speaking, but the more important stuff like my family and the love we share. in terms of material stuff, i have everything i need. no, i ain’t rich and i’m still helping my mother pay off all our debt from years of trying to make ends meet without my dead-beat father helping us out, but still, i am blessed.
e got problems just like everyone else, but there are so many less fortunate families out there who have nothing. Everytime i complain about my food, i gotta remember the mother in ethiopia praying for just a little milk to feed her baby. Or when i complain about the room in my house, how can i forget the people in florida whose homes and possessions have been wiped away?
and the man on the corner who i pass; he smiles and nods, his eyes sad. where is his family? is his mom alive? did he have any children? what went wrong in his life?
how can i stand justified in my moments of compaints when i am blessed just to have a loving mother, brother and sister?
never a day has gone by where i’ve starved or been without a place to sleep. i am not materially rich, but i am wealthy indeed.
even goals in my life: since i was like 2, i’ve said i wanted to be a cartoonist. not necessarily animation; i just really loved to draw. and now, 20 years later, i actually have fulfilled that dream. no, i don’t work for nickelodeon or disney, but i get to draw a lot, and people pay me. not a lot of people can actually say they got to be what they always wanted to be.
i guess it’s different in my case, cuz my goal was simple: i wanted to draw cartoons.
now, don’t get me wrong, i know some of you may be thinking: Hey whaddabout your film degree? or Dang this guy talks a lot!! either way, my answer is this: Yes, i still plan to make more movies. ‘Filmmaker’ is a title that can be part of the list too.
but for now, i must settle for Artist/Cartoonist/Graphic & Web Designer/Videographer & Editor/Screenprinter/Barista.
so maybe some of you reading this are thinking “yeah yeah, read me another hallmark card”. well, let me read you something else: “…for i have learned; in whatsoever state i am, therewith to be content.” that’s from the Bible. yeah, there are times we complain, and no we can’t always keep a lovey-dovey perspective of the the world–we’re human, it’s not possible. but we can try can’t we? that’s the whole point, isn’t it?
i’m not always the most chirpy, charmy, peaceful dude. but everyday i wake up and say: yesterday’s gone, today’s a new day, and it could be my last. help me, God to smile a little more today, to laugh a little more, and live a little better, that should i die today, i will have touched someone , even if for a moment, that they may be encouraged to keep going.
and regretfully, not much of that has happened. i’ve been around 23 years, and i’ve probably done a lot more harm than good. but even still, i wanna try, start anew, and see what happens.
it sounds cheesy and idealistic, i guess that’s what happens when another year goes by and you just stop and think about life. but who cares? we can always dream can’t we?
til next time…
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