Gone

 My highschool dreams are gone
My childhood sweets are gone
Life is a song that doesn't last for long

This is one of my favorite songs because it introduces a simple idea that so many people forget. The idea that most what we worry about, dream about, put so much stock in and hope in, will soon be gone. And what we have now, what we depend on to fulfill us and make us who we are, won't always be around.

Everyone wants to be remembered in some way, but everything fades. All kingdoms and governments fall. Once-hot clothes go out of fashion. Technology that was once cutting edge is replaced by some Apple product. 

This principle is common in the entertainment business. One minute you're the hot young new thing, and the next minute you're not. Names that were once all the rage "immortal" are fading faster and faster in our memories. Like some critic said, "the worst day of Lady Gaga's life will be the day no one remembers or cares about her." In the magazines we can read about celebrity's increasingly desperate attempts to stay in the public eye as they get older and more and more musicians and actors come to take their place.

Even non-entertainment jobs work that way. You could have a successful business career, but businesses fail and are bought out. Etc. etc.

One thing I always thought was weird was when in Percy Jackson,  Annabeth  says she wants to be an architect because she wants to build something permanent, something that won't fail her, something that'll last and be remembered, a monument for the ages. Apparently, she hasn't realized that buildings often have a shorter lifespan than people. Girl needs to watch more action movies.

What do you depend on for your security and your self esteem? And when it's taken away from you, what do you have left?

I used to depend on internet popularity(or *cough* what I considered internet popularity) for my self esteem. It didn't matter what  happened to me IRL, as long as I was near a computer, I could log on and be popular, funny, and knowledgeable. I could rack up followers, collect comments, and work on the Lakehouse, my pet forum that was growing in popularity and success every day.

But then life speeded up, blogs began surpassing me in followers, the forum went through several swervy events almost equivalent to a crash-and-burn, and everything was overwhelming and I was beginning to fall out of touch with my friends, both online AND(as a bonus) IRL.

And I came to a frightening realization. At the end of the day, without my followers, my forum, or my friends, I'm just a girl with a computer. I'm basically nobody. I'm a loser who alternately spends the afternoon reading or glued to Tumblr.

So many people lose themselves and worry about and devote themselves to things that actually don't really matter, and then all that disappears and they're left with not much.

 One of the main problems with culture today is short sighted perspective. People glorify giving it all up for the present, living in the present and doing whatever they can to have fun now, no matter what consequences it will have for their future. "What's the point? You only go through life once, so why not sap it for all it's worth?"

Christians believe that this life isn't all there is. And we believe in heaven, but heaven isn't just an eternal awards ceremony in the sky where the good people get rewarded. It's the other way around-Heaven is where we were meant to be, where the real life is. This "life" is just a short warm up, or test, before the real thing. On Earth, we're tested to see who we really are and how much we understand. Why live for the moment when you can live for the eternity?

I guess what I"m trying to say is, don't be so obsessed with following a pre-set path for success. Whatever "success" we achieve on this earth is short lived, and we should be more concerned with learning about God and ourselves, following His plan for our lives, and learning how to get in touch with Him. Because that's what the real test is.

We are God's ambassadors. With all the distractions and temptations the world throws at us, from academic success to fame to popularity, can we keep our real goal in mind? Can we remember where our real home is?

The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.


James 1:11

This verse is talking about us, even if we don't perceive ourselves as rich.

So enjoy life, and go for what's out there. Just don't be so obsessed with it that you find yourself chasing after something that'll soon disappear.