parker quinn

25

five years ago i thought i knew everything. if you would have asked, i would have told you that i had it all figured out. and, i would have believed myself.

the older i’ve gotten the more i’ve realize how little i actually know. i’ve realized how different everyone is and how people “grow up” so differently. when i was younger, i had such a concrete set of thoughts and beliefs. if someone older and wiser would have told me that i was being ignorant or naive, i would thought that what i knew, at the time, was so right that they didn’t know what they were talking about. it’s only now that i look back at myself five years ago and realize how ignorant and naive i was.

when i was 20 years old, i was amazed how much people changed from 15 to 20. but knowing that i had it all figured out, i didn’t think i’d change from 20 to 25 at all. the truth is, i’ve probably changed more from 20 to 25 than i did from 10 to 20. although i am currently content with how i think and how i feel and what i believe, i know that i’m only 25 and i don’t know everything.

with that said, here’s a list of things i’ve learned and think are important in my 25 years on this earth:

1. love.

2. all you really need are only the things you really need.

3. biggie was half right. mo’ money mo’ problems is only applicable when people know you have it and/or you’re spending it like an idiot. if you have a million dollars in the bank, no one knows about it, and you’re still paying 500 dollars rent, you won’t have any problems.

4. breakfast may not be the most important meal of the day.

5. don’t trust anyone. but, hold on to the people you can trust.

6. don’t care what other people think of you. i still have trouble with that one, but i know it’s important.

7. music is way more important than people give it credit for.

8. music and math are the only 2 things that are universal, it probably wouldn’t hurt to get better at either one.

9. time for yourself is sometimes the most important time.

10. whenever you can, travel.

11. everything in moderation. so important.

12. a day without laughter is a day wasted.

14. most elevators don’t have a button for 13. there was a joke here, somewhere.

15. buy a good bed. you spend one third of your life sleeping, spend the money. people will spend tens of thousands of dollars on a car and for some reason have trouble spending money on a bed. chances are, you probably spend three times the amount of time in your bed than in your car. trust me, it’s worth it. your body will thank you.

16. do what you love to do, as much as you can. you only have so much time.

17. God gave you life. be thankful. the rest is just circumstance, which He should never be blamed for.

thanks

there are 2 things i don’t discuss,… politics and religion. politics, because i am too ill-knowledged and choose to remain ignorant. and religion, because everyone seems to have a predetermined disposition and both parties just end up frustrated.

someone asked me the other day, “do you believe in God?”. and for whatever reason, the question struck me differently than every other time previous. instead of giving the generic answer of, “yeah, i’m a christian”,… i really thought about it.

i took religion out of it, and i looked around. i looked at my surroundings. i looked at my current situation. i looked at life. i, personally, have so much to be thankful for. i have incredible friends and family. i have my health. more often than not, i have food on the table in front of me. and when i choose, i have a shirt on my back. in the grand scope of things i really don’t have anything to complain about.

i looked further. i live in california. on any given night, i’m probably watching the sun set over the pacific ocean. in my opinion, there’s nothing more beautiful,… it’s amazing to think that no two sunsets will ever be the same. and there’s something so humbling about having the opportunity to experience something so powerful and peaceful at the same time. and i feel so blessed and so fortunate to find myself in a situation where i have the freedom to experience such things on such a regular basis.

then, i began to think about our freedoms. our freedoms to live and to choose. not so much our “freedoms” as defined by the government. but our natural freedoms, our freedoms as human beings. and again, i was just so thankful.

i’m definitely speaking for myself when i say there’s something awe-striking about a california sunset, but i’m sure, no matter where you may find yourself, there’s beauty all around you. whether it’s the mountains, or the plains, a stream or a pond, or something as simple as a smile on a child’s face. and to be surrounded by all of these things and events and moments every day, i can’t help but stop and think about how lucky i am.

so, sure, i have made the choice to live near the beach, and sure, i decide where to spend my time, but there are still countless things to be thankful for that are totally and completely out of my control.

so when all is said and done,… do i believe in God? well, when i look all around me, at every little thing i am surrounded by every single day, and when every single moment and every little happening makes feel nothing but utterly thankful,…

…i feel i like i have to thank Someone.