This past weekend I had the honor of
witnessing a college friend tie the knot in Seattle. I hadn't seen her in 3 years since our time
at the University of Illinois, and her wedding is the first
wedding that I’ve ever attended. First
off I should say congratulations to the couple.
Despite the long span of time of not seeing her, she still looked as
beautiful as ever, and nothing else about her character-wise seemed to have
changed. It was a nice reminder that
sometimes people will remain their awesome selves.
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| My recreation of Unofficial 2008 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a wedding gift. |
Probably to the disappointment of some,
this post isn’t a recap of the events that took place in Seattle. There was indeed plenty of drama, laughs, food,
drinking, and the sharing of memorable moments that I could write endlessly
about. Just think of any romantic
wedding in any Hollywood movie, and you’ll probably get the idea. However, I’ve
decided to share some realizations I’ve made after returning home from a remarkable
time in the emerald city.
First off, I’ve realized that I’m getting
older.
Anyone that knows me, if even for a short amount of time will know that my absolute GREATEST fear is physically growing up. To me, time is my mortal enemy, and I find myself constantly trying to battle it day by day by desperately holding on to my youth, whether it be through working out at the gym hardcore, or eating ridiculously healthy. After seeing a friend suddenly get married like that, I started becoming more aware that people are moving on with their lives. Another stark example of my skirmish with time was when we went clubbing after the reception in Seattle. Feeling young and energetic, I walked in there thinking that I was still in my prime. On the contrary, when we stepped on to the dance floor, everyone there was literally a few feet shorter than us, making our group the tallest ones in there. The kids dancing were all baby-faced and so full of life that just watching them made me feel like an old man (and not to mention dancing with them made me feel creepy as hell). We still had a lot of fun, but it was a little jarring to see the sharp contrast between our group and everyone else. While I’m still in the process of trying to come to peace with aging, I’m starting to recognize that time is just the natural order, and it’s only fighting a losing battle if you try to wrestle with it. It’s a struggle that we all must face, and how we make use of our time on this planet depends entirely upon the way we view it.
Anyone that knows me, if even for a short amount of time will know that my absolute GREATEST fear is physically growing up. To me, time is my mortal enemy, and I find myself constantly trying to battle it day by day by desperately holding on to my youth, whether it be through working out at the gym hardcore, or eating ridiculously healthy. After seeing a friend suddenly get married like that, I started becoming more aware that people are moving on with their lives. Another stark example of my skirmish with time was when we went clubbing after the reception in Seattle. Feeling young and energetic, I walked in there thinking that I was still in my prime. On the contrary, when we stepped on to the dance floor, everyone there was literally a few feet shorter than us, making our group the tallest ones in there. The kids dancing were all baby-faced and so full of life that just watching them made me feel like an old man (and not to mention dancing with them made me feel creepy as hell). We still had a lot of fun, but it was a little jarring to see the sharp contrast between our group and everyone else. While I’m still in the process of trying to come to peace with aging, I’m starting to recognize that time is just the natural order, and it’s only fighting a losing battle if you try to wrestle with it. It’s a struggle that we all must face, and how we make use of our time on this planet depends entirely upon the way we view it.
Second, life is really about the people you
meet, no matter where the location.
While I’ve already somewhat grasped this idea throughout my experiences in both the U.S. and Asia, the wedding in Seattle helped to solidify this concept even more for me. Here we were, gathered all together to share a momentous occasion in another person’s life half-way across the country. While it was nice to be able to see the wonderful city of Seattle and enjoy many of its cultural aspects, we were ultimately there for each other. New friendships were made, old ones were re-enforced, and fresh memories were created. Also another good friend of ours was having his birthday at the same time in Chicago. Even though we were far from each other, we took the time for a group photo and sent simultaneous birthday texts to him. If this should continue to happen as time goes on…then maybe getting older isn’t such a bad idea.
While I’ve already somewhat grasped this idea throughout my experiences in both the U.S. and Asia, the wedding in Seattle helped to solidify this concept even more for me. Here we were, gathered all together to share a momentous occasion in another person’s life half-way across the country. While it was nice to be able to see the wonderful city of Seattle and enjoy many of its cultural aspects, we were ultimately there for each other. New friendships were made, old ones were re-enforced, and fresh memories were created. Also another good friend of ours was having his birthday at the same time in Chicago. Even though we were far from each other, we took the time for a group photo and sent simultaneous birthday texts to him. If this should continue to happen as time goes on…then maybe getting older isn’t such a bad idea.
Last but not least, I’m still young and I
have to make the BEST use of my youth.
I had a small chit-chat with the bride afterwards about life in general, and just listening to her talk about her passions and seeing her get excited for her future aspirations was quite inspirational. It made me realize that we are still young and still very much in control of our lives. Also in Seattle, we were still partying, still exploring, still cracking immature jokes, and still enjoying ourselves. I may be getting older, but I’m still as childish and naive as ever. The moment to live life to the fullest is NOW, because later on in life, we just won’t have the same energy as we did back in high school or college to do things anymore. I know I’m only 25 years old and probably should have no right to complain, but what I end up doing is just wasting more time worrying about getting older, rather than going out there and loving it. As been once said:
I had a small chit-chat with the bride afterwards about life in general, and just listening to her talk about her passions and seeing her get excited for her future aspirations was quite inspirational. It made me realize that we are still young and still very much in control of our lives. Also in Seattle, we were still partying, still exploring, still cracking immature jokes, and still enjoying ourselves. I may be getting older, but I’m still as childish and naive as ever. The moment to live life to the fullest is NOW, because later on in life, we just won’t have the same energy as we did back in high school or college to do things anymore. I know I’m only 25 years old and probably should have no right to complain, but what I end up doing is just wasting more time worrying about getting older, rather than going out there and loving it. As been once said:
“They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.”
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| With the bride, friends, and the Seattle skyline. |
