If you jump, I'll hold your hand.

Don't look before you leap, just do it. Jump.

Sometimes life gives you lemons. I say, make lemonade. There are tons of things out there for people to live for: money, success, winning, sex, drinking...but some things are better left lived, and not lived for.

These days, it seems like people are getting too caught up in the material things in this world. It seems like every day, everyone cares way too much about the future, way too much about tomorrow, way too much about what people think, and way too much about how they're gonna be judged in the morning when their small town wakes up and reads the morning paper. The way I look at it, you might not even wake up the next morning to read the paper.

So, yes, I'm talking to you right now. You.

Read today's paper. Fly 7,564 miles to see your boyfriend. Stay up all night just for the fun of it. Take too many days off. Schedule a trip to Miami on a week's notice. Drive above the speed limit every once in a while. Go swimming in the winter. Play a sport that you're terrible at. Be cocky. Have an extra beer. Go buy too many pairs of shoes. Take a cold shower. Eat after 10pm. Work a 15 hour shift. Tell a few white lies. Buy a boat. Fall in love. Take a leap of faith. Go with the flow. Shoot for the stars. Dream. Remember to breathe. Don't look back. Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present. Drive 500 miles to see her. Dance, even though you look like an idiot. Sing out loud, even though you sound awful. Send too many text messages. Talk on the phone for 7 hours. Laugh too much. Cry too much. Kiss too much. Go for the gold. Talk to strangers. Play the cards you're dealt. Love life.

Whenever you're ready to jump, I'll be there....waiting for you to grab my hand.

ME

Go.
i love life. i love playing with kids. i'm a workaholic. i love thunderstorms. a child's wisdom amazes me. i can't stand paying to park. i owe everything to my mom. trust and love go hand in hand. my faith in people is sometimes a weakness. i hate liars. i wish i could travel more; someday, i will. i don't like clowns. i could lie in bed and think all day. music soothes me. i can't waterski. everything happens for a reason. i hope i'm half the person my mom is when i grow up. i wish i was with you right now. i don't walk on the cracks. i love driving, anywhere, anytime. i doodle in class. i need to go to church more. i love making money. i have too many basketball shorts. my shoes are HUGE.

i hate rude people. peanut butter is awesome. i love winter. i love summer. i want to go to Australia. i will love my children unconditionally. i hate failing. if at first you don't succeed, don't go skydiving. i think a lot. i love big cities. i love the country. i wanna go fast. my ankles hurt. cruise control is ok, too. politics are over-rated. the woman that truly knows me is the one i want to be with. cracker barrel > IHOP > waffle house. life is bigger than you and me. i appreciate everything i have. surprises are the best. my hands get cold a lot. i love dressing up. i'm afraid. i love sweats. bills suck. i don't trust police officers. i can count the people i love on two hands. i can count the people i trust on one.

i save money. i like being on time. i love to color. i like salmon. hurricanes are cool only if they're on tv. wedding crashers = absolutely amazing. i love to text. i zone out a lot. what we do now echoes in eternity. i'm wondering. i look forward to the future. i know who my best man will be. family first. i have lots of patience. i can't do math in pen. i want to sleep. i notice the little things. i'm superstitious. i'm OCD about some things. i love clean sheets and a made bed. i'm not photogenic. i'm spontaneous. if you jump, i'll hold your hand. i want to jump out of an airplane one day. i want some sweet tea. if i can't wear my flip flops, i'm not going. i want to read more.

i could play Su Doku all day. i'm not bad at chess. i appreciate my friends. i love eating out. hoodies are cool. i've been attacked by a wild turkey. i'll destroy you at scrabble. dashboard confessional can go. i don't like nuts, unless at Texas Roadhouse. khakis are my thing. onions give me heartburn. i've been told that i smell good. i will be successful one day; by successful, i mean happy. i'll walk with you. i can't sleep when i'm hot. candles are the best. thank you for listening. i like to observe people. i'm picky when it comes to clothes. i LOVE carolina basketball. i love bread.


I love LEGOS. deep water scares me. i've jumped off a bridge. crunchy shrimp is heavenly. just do it. i can't draw. i used to know the books of the Bible, and all of the state capitals. i ate lobster in Martha's Vineyard. failing to prepare is preparing to fail. i once spit gum off of the empire state building. driving at night to techno is awesome. white men can jump. i want to hold you. spoons and scattergories at Christmas. i want to laugh. clouds are great. don't worry. cream cheese on my bagels. i think you're awesome. get your weight up. i miss my kindergarten class. i'm not afraid of commitment. march madness is better than the super bowl.


tell me something.......anything. i'll pray for you. thanksgiving meal is number one. i want to travel to europe. i love making faces. i hate wet socks. i'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. i'm very random. i'm very routine. you're not alone. don't eat the last cookie. go with the flow. i'm brutally honest. i seem like a jerk sometimes. i'm amused by the simplest things. i hate awkward silences. your word isn't shit if you're looking away. i hope you're as happy as you're pretending. i hate shakespeare. follow your heart. it's about that time. listen to your gut. i like my eggs over medium. i don't eat oats. i love doing laundry. i keep my car clean. i cut my own hair.


One day there won't be a tomorrow. a fairway's a fairway's a fairway. i miss you. i'd love to be an actor. coffee in the morning is bliss. i love the rain, unless it's cold. i have hot flashes sometimes. my heart beats abnormally hard. i can't help it. i love to shop. milk duds at the movies. tattoos are cool when they mean something. i love having someone to talk to. i'll listen to you. give me a pillow. hold me. please. be yourself. i love life. i love you.

Write a Letter to Yourself

Write a letter to yourself. Read it later. What do you think it will say?

Maybe.....I hope you do big things in the future....or you better be a bad ass when you read this in 10 years. Though, I'd probably say thanks. But not just to me. It would go a little something like this...

Thanks for saying I couldn't. Thanks for pushing. Thanks for being yourself. ...for never looking down...for telling me Yes...for always believing....thanks for those two-a-days in summer in 95 degree heat...thanks for hitting me in the face...thanks for screwing up...for pissing me off... for getting on my nerves... for making me finish my food before I go play...for taking me places...

Thanks for looking at me like I was stupid...for giving me motivation, a chance, a light at the end of the tunnel... for pressing play.. for screaming when it didn't matter, and when it did matter.. for crazy speeding tickets, on and off the road.. for taking me on the path less traveled... for making me follow someone else.. for letting me talk when I wanted...

Thanks for making me give that speech... for making me look like an idiot... for embarrassing me in front of the entire class.. for calling me out for being an ass... for listening...for speaking... for reading... for fearing...for paving the way, to failure... for being patient...for depriving me...for angering me...for showing me that happy is a real thing... for being a bitch...for not doing your homework... for jumping and holding my hand... for eating without me... for driving in the wrong lane...

Thanks for driving drunk...for believing that you could be anything you wanted, and giving up... thanks for hanging me out to dry...for holding that umbrella when I couldn't... for making me brush my teeth with words..for shoving that down my throat...

Thanks for loving...for caring...for hugging...for being an idiot...for letting me shoot....for letting me shoot and miss, badly.... for holding my coat while I run through the rain... for making due...for knowing I won't win...for leaving...for visiting...for being ridiculous and talking anyway...for giving me batteries...for kissing...for giving me that ticket...for making the goal unreachable...for trusting...for betraying...

Thanks for the card....for the advice... for the inspiration....for the drive... for the attitude...for the table... for the wheels under me... for writing on the paper... for showing me that... for everything you never were... for the flowers...for pointing...for whispering...for looking...for acting...for the telescope..

Thanks for the crying...for the confidence...for the humility...for this...for floating alongside... for the medicine... for the stories...for the experience...for living it up... for the flames....for cracking the shutters... for letting me in and shutting me out... for sitting on top of the roof... for flying away... for never trusting anyone... for f*%@ing with my head...for sitting on the branch with me... for the truth... for the ride... for saying all the wrong things at the right time...for the doubts..

Thanks for the tree...for lying when you had to...for heating me up...for being a big kid...for making me proud..for the silent music...for the motion pictures... for the art...for the pictures worth 999 words... for enjoying yourself...for having no regard... for not giving a shit... for getting away with it... for hitting with the big stick...for serving it up on a platter...for the will...for the whiskey...for the suitcase..

Thank you for you. For me. For us. For them. For her. For him. For it. For these.

Thanks for saying I couldn't. Because I did. I am. And I will.

Wow.

It's been a while.

So, since the last time I've blogged, I've improved my golf game by 10 strokes, received a degree from UT, traveled through 5 states (two more to come this weekend), been to a music festival, eaten authentic BBQ in Texas, went backstage and met 30 Seconds to Mars, bartended a wedding, seen more armadillos in the past week than in my previous 21 years, bought a boat, slept through dinner plans, seen a lot of people I wanted to see, seen a lot of people I didn't want to see, played two golf tournaments, driven over 2,000 miles, been blown off multiple times, seen my best friend shave his head, went turkey hunting, seen the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders tryouts, flown in an airplane for the first time in 15 years....and after all that, I'm still alive. Thank goodness. Now, that's a lot to have done in 3 weeks, so let's see a few pictures from the journey.

This is the awesome jumpsuit that my brother Casey, and his wife Kristin got me for the concert. The theme was military night, and it was absolutely amazing. 

Me with 30 Seconds to Mars.

 

 

Megan from work made Abigail and I a graduation cake!!!

Sunset from the bridge in Gulf Shores.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Hangout Music Fest in Gulf Shores. Seriously, one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen.

So you know you're in Alabama when they seriously serve a pair of Duralast pliers with a crab leg dinner. But it was a delicious, delicious feast.

So it was storming in Knoxville when I flew out to Dallas. After we passed through, this was the view of the storm from the other side. Pretty sweet.

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders tryouts. Yea, be jealous.

This is what draft beer is served in when you're in Texas. An enormous, glass, man goblet. 

So we went to this bar in Fort Worth where you can actually sit in a saddle. A saddle. Yea, I felt out of place due to the fact I left my cowboy hat and tight jeans in Tennessee.

More to come.

Skydiving.

You never really realize what you're getting into until you hop in that plane. You take the training courses, watch the videos, and sign all the papers. But nothing can compare to actually getting in the plane and jumping out of it. You can watch others take off, jump out, and land safely. They tell you their experiences while still gasping for air immediately after they land. Their words are broken, and you can tell by the look on their faces that the experience is unforgettable, life-changing, surreal, motivating, exhilarating. You want that for yourself. You want to experience that joy, excitement, fear, nervousness. You want to experience all those feelings that other people have.

Finally, your plane takes off. The tiny plane shakes so much during takeoff that you think it'll blow away with the wind at any minute. I'm strapped to the instructor, literally sitting in his lap like a child in the mall sitting with Santa.  "We're at 5,000 ft," he says. This is the moment I've been waiting for. This is the moment I've envied all this time. I've watched everyone else do it, and now it's my turn. "6,000 ft." I look next to me only to see my "big" brother with his eyes closed. "7,500 ft." I can see the sun outside slowly sneaking behind the horizon. My brother scheduled the last flight of the day for this very reason. "10,000 ft." I'm thinking to myself, "Should I be doing this? Should I want what others have had so many times? Am I going to be that tiny percentage of people that don't make it safely? Will my parachute malfunction?" Too late now. No looking back.

"11,000 ft." Only 1,000 more feet until we jump. Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. We're really doing this. People are going to be so jealous when they see our faces. People will finally want everything I have had in this moment. Can't wait. Let's go. Let's go. Let's GOOOOOO. Then we jump.

Everything is going so fast that you can't even think. You live in the moment like never before. My cheeks are so cold yet still on fire. I look over to see a guy taking pictures of us the entire way down. I see lakes, fields, clouds, the sun. I'm seeing everything from a completely different perspective than before. This is freakin awesome. I wanna do it again already. The ground is speeding up at us at ridiculous speeds. Everything getting bigger, bigger, bigger. Cars that look like ants become, quarters, then basketballs, then the ground is almost right there. The exhilaration. The nervousness. Everything I thought I ever wanted. Right in front of me. For only a couple quick minutes. Everything they had, everything I have. Blood pumping adrenaline pulsing through every inch of my body. I want this forever.

"Wait, where's the parachute?!" I yelled.

Then. I woke up.

Quote of the Week

"If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters." - Alan K. Simpson

First Blog

So. This is going to be fun. I've decided to start a blog. It will not be the typical, "Regurgitation of my daily activities" type of blog. Most of the time people don't care what you do throughout your day unless something exciting happens. For instance, I'm really intrigued about the daily routine of my best friend, Logan Monday, who is living in South Korea right now while teaching English. He also has a blog if you're interested: www.livinginsouthkorea.blogspot.com

However, for the rest of us, we are pretty much living our every day lives to the best of our abilities. I, for example, will be graduating soon from the University of Tennessee, and then will be entering the job market. That in itself is not very exciting to read about, but, all of the problems, struggles, ideas, observations, thoughts, wants, needs, hates, loves, laughs, questions, curiosities, secrets, feelings....That's what you want to read about.

That will be Living In Words.
Let's go.