The Wise Words of Merica

[Ramicus 147]

I have spoken to a great many people on this site. There are some with whom I have spoken many times, while others have been one time occasions. One person with whom I particularly enjoy conversing is Merica. We have a grand time. He's pretty cool, and very patriotic. I will now share some words of wisdom given to me just for this little article.

 Merica did things a little differently, giving me a little essay instead of tidbits. I'll give you the essay, then comment at the end.

 “My advice to someone entering the real world, or adulthood, whichever term you prefer, is to never become complacent, set your goals and strive to achieve them, never quit, because if you quit once you will do it again, and again and again, it is not a path you want to go down, because it’s a hard mindset to get out of. Surround yourself with people who will be honest with you, friends who will tell you the truth and won’t lie to you because they don’t want to hurt your feelings.

 Always be aware, never allow yourself to fall into the all too current fad of ignorance, because ignorance is the farthest thing from bliss and it isn’t an excuse to mess up, contrary to popular opinion. Be open to new things, because there is always something new to learn or discover, but don’t just take someone’s word for it, educate yourself, guard your mind, and don’t allow it to become polluted. 

Now, you might be thinking,”this guy is painting the world as a terrible place”, and that isn’t my intention…The world is full of amazing people and amazing things, but if there is one thing you take out of all of this, it’s that evil exists, and even though everyone wants to say ”oh, it’ll never happen to me”, remember that the people that it does happen to said the exact same thing. There will be plenty of people in your life who want to ignore what is going on around them, but I’ll never be that person. Enjoy life, but don’t be ignorant and remember the person sitting next too could be the next story on CNN because he shot up a local school, or the guy in front of you at the grocery store could be a rapist stalking his next victim.

I’ll end this on a good note: once you discover what it is that you love to do, the one thing that you wake up every morning wishing you could do, go after it. Don’t spend your life wishing and dreaming.”

 As I'm interpreting it, Merica is telling us to maintain a balance in the way we live. Live life to its fullest, and never settle for whet you don't want. On the other hand, we need to keep our wits about us, because the guy next to you on the 4 train might be a future school shooter. But I believe what he says at the beginning and the end is most important. Everyone has their dream, and most people go through life without ever reaching their goal. If I may quote Arthur O'Shaughnessy, an English poet (and herpetologist, according to his Wikipedia page that I checked for his name's spelling), “One man with a dream, at pleasure, Shall go forth and conquer a crown.”

[Merica 69]