Growing Pains...

August 22nd, 2010.

One year ago, a good friend passed away.
Up until this morning, I hadn't even realized how important this day was.  When I had remembered, I felt terrible that I could even forget this day.  How could I be so careless? Could I be so self-absorbed that I completely forgot about something so important?

No.  I wasn't being careless...and I wasn't being self-absorbed.  I forgot because time had closed the wounds that had opened one year ago.  Everyone always says "time heals all wounds"...and I even say it - but I never truly believed it up until today.  What happens in the present will still matter to me in a year but I'll certainly look at it differently.

When we remember Dave we shouldn't be saddened by what happened, regretful of what we may not have done, or fearful of what the future may bring.  Dave's passing has taught me a few things that I've probably mentioned in the past but find so important to reiterate now:

A) One year is a lot of time.
B) One year brings so many opportunities that if we don't open our eyes to them, we could miss completely.
C) One year could mean doing so many things I've always wanted to...but never had a chance to.
D) Life's too short to sit around and dwell.  It's okay to spend a day, or a week, crying.  Eventually, though, we have to pick ourselves up and see what else is out there.
E) The mistakes we make in life - and the times things seem to go horribly wrong - are the points at which we can say we're becoming better people.

This past year, I've felt different.
Few things seem to have gone my way in the past year.
I began to realize my own mortality.  I started to accept that I'm not a kid anymore - and I felt like running from the whirlwind of responsibility that was about to hit me in the face.  I began to worry about things I've never worried about before - money, friends, medical school, and so on.

Then...today...I found out what it was.

Growing up is about experiencing imperfections...and then accepting them.  Growing up is about realizing those imperfections mold your character to make you someone even better - more outstanding - than the person you already are.  Growing up is realizing that you're changing...but that the people who love you won't care...and neither will you after some time.

R.I.P. David Yang
10/22/88 - 8/22/09


Thanks Dave, for helping me accept things I was too naive - or, perhaps, too innocent - to understand before.
I will always miss and remember you.

- Nileems


Current Song?: Late July - Side Swept

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