Advice, like youth, probably just waisted on the young - Mary Schmich

Ik kan niet zeggen dat dit van mij is. Dat wil ik ook niet. Kunst moet onder de juiste naam verspreid worden en dit nog meer bij woorden. Woorden zijn voor iedereen verstaanbaar en anders kunnen ze vertaald worden. Daarom moet het ook duidelijk zijn van wie ze komen, om diegene eer toe te dienen of juist te verachten. Mary Schmich schreef in 1997 een column voor een Amerikaans tijdschrift. Door de jaren heen werd er steeds een andere schrijver vermeld, maar deze woorden zijn en blijven van haar. Deze column, dit advies is één van de beste dat ik al gekregen heb. Ik deel het dan ook met jullie, in de hoop dat jullie ook iets meepakken.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering
experience…I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours.
Floss
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own..
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen…

17 % vol. A view on life

So this is it, I guess. The beginning of a confessional by a 17 year old guy, with an over romantic side and a cynical view on people. I’m here to tell you about a view on life, tainted by my adventures and mishaps.
The world is harsh and beautiful. It’s enchanting with its wondrous sight, but revolting with its hidden goals. It will show greatness in the smallest of things and narrow-mindedness in the greatest manifestations. The serene beauty of a flower and the inhumanity of war are both part of this world and are both equally important.
But flowers lose their petals and wars end by force or by reasoning.
Just as this world revolves is defined by those two characteristics, so is life.
We can find absolute bliss in a lover’s kiss, a friends laughter or family member’s embrace. But we also find fear and sadness in the loss of partners and the loneliness we more and more often find in a sterile Western society.
The things I’ve just talked about are things everyone experiences. Everyone meets love and loses it. And how hard it may seem, we all seem to fall for love’s charms over and over again. But that is the beauty of love. A constant rebirth of one of the purest feelings, although some say only the everlasting one is real.
I’m 17 now. I’ve been through childhood and puberty and I already have experienced moments in life I wouldn’t wish anyone had to experience. And in another way, I wish everyone does. Because the most awful moments in our life are those we learn the most of.
I still fight for tolerance and peace, but my life has learned me to see that these dreams are worth fighting for, but they are nothing more than dreams and unachievable. 
I’ve not lost my childhood values, but I’ve watered them down. I’ve learned to live this life in moderation. And just as a glass of Baileys, there’s a strong taste, but with a soothing effect. Moderation has become a lifestyle and a seemingly good alcohol percentage.
This was it. The beginning of my confessional and a description of the point of view from which it’s written.

-Op aanvraag van Liesbeth Verheyen-

Moonshine, made with love

Moonshine heeft 2 betekenissen. De eerste is de meest romantische. Maneschijn. Die zachte schimmering, die de wereld hult in een witte schijn, versterkt of verstoord door de straatlantaarns om ons heen. Ze is het licht dat geliefden naar huis leidt, die bescheiden vriend die ervoor zorgt dat je niet verdwaald, zelfs niet in de hulst van de nacht.

De tweede is zelf-gebrouwen alcohol. Vooral bekend door de drooglegging van 1917 in Amerika, staat het symbool voor rebellie. Weg met het strikte regime, tijd voor illegale drank. Het gevaar van de Moonshine was wel de toxische mengelingen waar men blind kan van worden.
Zijn naam krijgt hij van de smokkelaars die de drank in het midden van de nacht over de grens en door het land moesten smokkelen.

2 compleet verschillende definities, maar allebei met een zekere romantische waarde. En allebei passen ze bij deze site. Een mengeling van dingen uit mijn dagelijks leven, gemengd met romantiek en een poging tot een kritisch oog op onze maatschappij en onze visie op de wereld.