the author handwrote the draft of this post without glasses on the bus home, in the dim light of dusk, in a spontaneous rudimentary attempt to understand the difficulties faced by someone with retinitis pigmentosa, which is a degenerative ocular condition of which one of the symptoms is night blindness. it isn't an easy condition to live with, and no effective treatment for it has been found so far.

yet the author knows that there are those out there who, despite such challenges thrown in their way, do all they can to live life to the fullest, to achieve what they can to the best of their ability, and to not let these little things get in their way. it's a crying shame that so many of us, despite being in perfect health, tend to give up and take a defeatist attitude all too easily toward things that seem to appear insurmountable, making excuses for ourselves all the time, blaming all and sundry, never willing to acknowledge and attempt to overcome, but instead giving in to our weaknesses.

and so, if you're reading this (you know who you are), the author feels that you deserve a standing ovation. for living it up just like everyone else, for being able to hold your own in a top tier college, for giving part of your weekends to help others who need it, and for so much else, despite your visual condition.

you can still do way more than that. just believe.

because even the sky isn't the limit.

and.

thanks for the inspiration.

ずっとがんばって。

だから

ぼくは君に信じるよ。

logged at 12:28 AM

Sunday, October 07, 2007

the author is of the opinion that constraints imposed by external agents or forces on an individual such as family, cultural or spiritual factors can oftentimes be frustrating, especially when they get in the way of one's happiness or personal wishes/goals. while the author believes that most things can be worked around, compromises made, and some (or many) liberties taken, like many individuals today do, others wallow in their predicament, constantly repressing desires, sacrificing dreams, and almost invariably looking back upon their past with regret that they weren't able to do or experience things that they wanted until it was too late.

while the author definitely acknowledges that some of the intangible barriers might be pretty hard to get past, often because of the way some individuals have been brought up and socially and culturally conditioned, we also should realise our own sentience. although anyone who knows a little about durkheimian sociological principles would say that external agents do indeed influence an individual's behavior, we certainly aren't automatons, and we are definitely free to make our own decisions, no matter how outrageous it may seem to others.

and thus, we should celebrate our freedom to make our own decisions, and not let things get in the way of our pursuit of happiness. repression is a terrible state of being. having to look back on something with regret is a very, very sad thought.

it's a beautiful world out there. breathe free. run free. live free.

logged at 12:20 AM