Wondrously Normal

First draft of the novel goes up tomorrow for those who requested it! Can’t wait, although sadly I can’t remember all of the people who wanted it. So sad. For those who didn’t, look up the Facebook page sometime.

I have to admit something. Nothing extraordinarily epic, awe-inspiring, or even really worth writing a blog about actually happened today. But that’s okay! Because some days are indeed, quite ordinary. And that’s quite all right, honestly! I think the simple fact is… that sometimes its the ordinary moments in life that can leave an unordinary print on the dirt road of our own lives. So let me tell you about one of those footprints that was made today.

Today I got the chance to babysit my little five-year-old niece. It was totally awesome. It makes me want to be a dad all the more than I already do. I do, a lot, but I’m all about the no-sex-before-marriage thing (not that I’m going to demonize those that aren’t). She’s a little darling, but like every little child her age she can be a rascal. That’s okay, though, that’s just kid stuff. Every kid has to play in the mud a bit, knock over breakable furniture, jump on the bed, because that’s part of being a kid! I hope I can appreciate it almost as much should I become a parent.

I say should, because I live with the realization I could die at any second. Who knows, maybe I could go to sleep and not wake up in the morning. Anybody could! Those worried about that are either in a bad spot or just not living life the right way. Carpe Diem, my friends. Spend your life wisely, you’ve only got one shot at it.

I know, perhaps I refer to my book too much, but this is a writers blog as much as it is a personal one. To be honest, I think I hit it pretty well in one section of the book in particular. (There’s a scene from TFIOS that says something similar, but I do not own the book nor do I think I could find the scene it on Google if I tried.)

“Are babies who die in the cradle less than lords who rule over cities? No. Are the lame worse than the walking? No. I was equal, even if no one else saw it, maybe even something more. Life is life, it all matters […] no matter whether you do something grand with it or not. So I’ll still believe in you, even if no one else does.”

-Zenti, Dark Soldier

And so do I also believe in you! Call me ignorant, call me naive, but I have a faith in people that perhaps most people don’t. I see potential in even the darkest of souls because I know that it’s not what you’ve done, not what others have done to you, but what you do with your life now, in the present, that defines you. We don’t all have the chance to be a change the world, but we do have a chance to change ourselves, because we’re just wondrously normal like that.

So take hold of your own pen. Write your own story. In the words of Confucius, “every journey begins with a single step”. Take it today.