#4 Try Honesty

I was a little over 3 years old, standing in line to Disneyland. We were going there on one of our annual vacations, and as far as I could remember, this was my first time going to anything Disney.

“2 adult tickets, 2 child tickets, and this one is still under 3 years old.”

“But Daddy, I’m already 3 and a half.”

I remember my father briefing me beforehand, telling me not to say anything as he was going to try to get my admission for free. I don’t recall whether my father ended up having to pay for my admission or not, but I do remember him being quite upset that I spoke honestly. For a long time, I remember that I was always very honest with everybody. When checking out at the store, if the cashier typed in the wrong price, I would correct them; if somebody asked me for my age, even though, back then I looked older than I actually was, I would answer truthfully.

However, somewhere while growing up, I started learning how to fib to get the things I wanted. Maybe it was because I wanted to get away with buying a pack of cigarettes or a 6-pack of beer. But somewhere along the lines, the thrills of deceiving to get the things I wanted took over, corrupting the boy that was just a little too honest. I made new friends, I went to big parties; I was living life. I’m not too sure that version of myself stayed around for, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that the people I was hanging out with weren’t true to themselves. At school, they would be a totally different person than the ones attending those parties. An unrecognizable persona which I can only describe to be as stark a difference as Bruce Wayne and Batman. I didn’t want that. I wanted to be myself. From there, the honesty started seep back into me – I wanted to be true, I wanted people to like me for who I was and to get an uncensored version of myself.

It was a few years later, well after high school, but I still remember the day when somebody close to me told me that trust is the foundation for a lasting relationship. It’s what binds friends, families, and lovers together by opening the door to the inner comfort zone that sits in between two people. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but as time has passed, and as I’ve watched friends and relationships come and go, those words have left a lasting mark within me. Looking back in life, during the times of my party days, I feel that a lot of my friendships were false and built on a fake persona. Unsurprisingly, most of those people are no longer a part of my life.

Good friends stand by to support each other. They listen with open arms when you need somebody to talk to, and willingly share the details of whats bothering them in their personal life when they are in need of a good venting. But this only happens when you build that foundation of trust between one another; built upon girders of honesty, these are the friendships that you’ll look back on and cherish forever. Be truthful, be honest, and life will reward you with something much more meaningful.


#3 Violence is Never the Solution

It was the fall of 1998. Partaking in the high school morning ritual, we sat in Laidlaw Hall, listening to readings and announcements of the daily happenings. Feeling a tap on the shoulder, I turned around to see what the commotion was. Not him again. He was a younger student, a grade below, known by


#2 Try Your Hardest

Lately, I’ve been finding myself telling other people “it’s possible, you can do it.” Rather than “I can’t,” why not try your hardest, put in your full effort, and if you don’t hit your targets, at least you can sincerely tell yourself, “I tried my hardest.” I wasn’t always this way. Looking back, I spent


#1: Be Yourself

Back during my teenage years of rebellion, I spent most of my weekends out partying, doing the things that parents around the world hope their children never do. Back then, it was basically weekend routine; we would pile our big group of friends into the house of the child of some unfortunate parents who were


Rules to Live By

The other day, I was talking to a friend and reminiscing about how crazy we get when we’re together. Sure, we say and do ridiculous things together, people look at us in disgust and talk behind our backs, but the truth is, it’s all good. As long as I’m living the way I want to


One of Those Days…

It has been one of those years, where everything that could have went sour did exactly that. Like a bad Chinese cookie fortune, or a mismatched horoscope, it just seems that luck never went my way since January 1st, 2010. But as with everything in life, you just have to put it past you and


Waterfalls

I stood there watching as the water danced around in the fountain. From there it cascaded down the shallow inclines and finally emerged out into the large wading pool in the center of the square.


Carpe Diem

There was once a time in my life where I lived carefree. I carried a air of nonchalance around with me, and whenever something bad arose, it was quickly responded with a quick shrug of the shoulders and an expression on my face which spoke the words “c’est la vie.” Looking back at my academic


Random Thought of the Day

Back in third year, while living in the broken, run down house on Lester street, my roommates and I, along with my girlfriend at the time, made a trip to the grocery store. Standing in the produce section of the store, I was picking out avocados from the neatly stacked pyramids. “All these avocados are


Random Thought of the Day

In recent news, a picture of a naked man was taken while the Google street view cameras were roaming the streets. Some people claimed that this was an invasion of privacy with threats that Google should not be allowed to freely roam the streets taking pictures at it’s own expense. I beg to differ. If