My reflections on the semester I have just completed (five down; three to go...)


- Life is full of surprises, good and bad, big and little; there are LOTS of them.


- The answer to the question "what is love?" will never have a complete answer that any mortal can supply. Even if Norton were to collect all our thoughts on love into an anthology, it would still be incomplete. Love is more than any song we could write, any words we could say, any decisions we could make, or any feelings we could feel. It's comparable to nothing and evident in everything. Love has no synonym, no equal, no exhaustive definition that any of us could ever hope to provide.


- Hair has a mind of its own, maybe even a life of its own; and sometimes it just needs to do its own thing.


- Reciprocated affection works wonders on a would-be broken heart.


- It really is possible to be best friends with a member of the opposite sex.


- La vie est belle...


This time last year, I would never have predicted that I would be here now, having just watched Danielle walk across the graduation stage, dating the boy, having not cut my hair the way I intended to, having just come from making dinner for the McGuckins, and, most of all, not really wishing that I could change the way anything happened that led to my being here now.


Landslide could have been the story of my life then, and now it's something a little closer to this:
"I will rise.
I will stand.
I'm getting off of my knees and my hands.
I will walk as you lead
and look beyond what I can see.
I will speak from my heart
and not let pride tear truth apart.
I won't fear another man
cuz he is dust just like I am.
I will learn as I go
and test the things I think I know.
I will love without return
and light my fears on fire and watch them burn.
I will hope in unseen things
and I will dance when my heart sings.
I'll believe just like a child
and let my fondest dreams run wild.
I will rest for a short while
and then I'll go another mile.
I will be what I believe
and I will give as I receive.
I will choose without regret
cuz rollin dice is a coward's bet,
and I will seek for what is real,
and not let pain teach me how to feel.
In this journey when the night is done
I will set my face toward the sun
and I will not look back.
No, I will not look back." - This Journey, Matthew Perryman Jones