Yeah, Our Bodies Age...So What?

Sooo, it's been a while. I know. I'm sure you, my loyal readership (ahem, my mama), have been aching to no end waiting for the latest from the gibberish spewing depths of my mind. Surely the past few weeks have left you feeling empty inside. So here goes...this is what's on my mind...RIGHT NOW.

So many people have been telling me recently, "Tara! Live while you're young!"

Live while I'm young? What comes after young...? What age serves as the dividing line between living, and just going through the motions. Maybe it's just me...but I fully intend to live while I am ALIVE...not just while I'm young. My body may age, and I may mature, but I don't ever want to stop reacting to life's wonderful moments like a little kid:

I recently made an impromptu trip home to State College. Like an 11pm Thursday night decision to come home on Friday. Looking back it feels a little like fate made that happen. My grandma has been pretty sick, I found out my brother was going home too (mind you I found this out after already deciding to make the trip), and something just literally compelled me to make the trip. And it ended up being a fulfilling weekend with family and a chance to reconnect with with some wonderful people. I needed that.

It just so happened that it was also THON weekend at Penn State. I admittedly have never been too involved in the THON scene, but for some reason, this year in particular had me mesmerized. The people who waited in line for hours in the frigid cold, the families I met from all over the country, the passion emitted when I heard friends talk about the THON beyond individual Penn State groups wearing bright colors and competing with one another. Maybe being separated from the Penn State community for a little after having spent my whole life engulfed in it...and maybe because I my perspectives, outlooks, and priorities are evolving daily...maybe that is why for the first time it truly, completely, hit me. One friend in particular said it best, "You go up for those last few hours and you will cry. There's no avoiding it. You will cry. But you will feel more love and inspiration that you can imagine." Not only does that make me even prouder to be a Nittany Lion, but sweet baby Jesus, I'm proud to be lucky enough to know so many great people involved in so many great things with so much friggin' love in their hearts. The chance to be surrounded by love is an irreplaceable and unexplainable thing. In other words:

People: You rock.

Penn State: You rock.

Life: You rock.

On another note, I also recently had the privilege of living as a hipster for a day (check that off the old bucket list). I ventured to Brooklyn, NY with some wonderful friends to see Mumford & Sons. Brooklyn + banjo wielding band + flannel attire...we owned our 24 hour case of hipsteritis. Whether you're a fan on Mumford or not, they were hands down the best live performance I have ever seen in my life. They go hard, sound better than any recording, have a stage full of instruments, and most of all, the music they make combined with the lyrics they write is straight up phenomenal. One song in particular has nested in my head recently...to the point where it's painting the walls and laying down hardwood floor in my mind.

"Do not let my fickle flesh go to waste
As it keeps my heart and soul in it's place
And I will love with urgency but not with haste"

Those few ending lines are just friggin' invigorating (no, not in the Neutrogena face wash sense). That notion of "letting things go to waste" just ain't cool. And there is something about that last line in particular...something that just makes me nod my head and think, "Damn. Yes. That." So yeah, I'm gonna do that.

This past weekend brought its own set of lessons (and fun) as well. That whole "work hard play hard" thing has merit to it, folks, I think we all would admit that. But it's exhausting, yeah? In my humble opinion (well, maybe not so humble), the ratio of work to fun is rarely 50-50...and I don't know that it necessarily should be anyway...I personally would push for more of a 40-60...but I digress. We all preach how GD short life is all the time, right? There are only so many hours in the day and we spend the vast majority of them working, thinking about work, and stressing about work. Don't get me wrong, work is good (for lack of a more eloquent phrase). Work spurs inspiration, motivation, dedication (all the 'ations') and that is a damn good thing. I honestly don't even know where I am going with this paragraph, but the meat of it is that what matters most...what really counts in the grand scheme of life is: personal fulfillment, emotional connection, people, hugs, high fives, living in the moment, seriously considering going to IHOP at 3 in the morning and not feeling guilty about it, love, cognizance of the beauty around you even if that beauty is merely the way the light reflects off of your phone as you sit in your 9-5 cubicle...we often get so caught up in the big picture that we forget about the little details that come together to create that big picture.

I know I preach a lot in these things, but I am truly, truly, truly, trying to live up to this whole living thing. I may not have balls in the most technical sense, but that won't stop me from going balls to the walls. While there is no avoiding the aging of our bodies, and while mature development is a good thing, there is no reason to let the notion of 'maturity' prevent you from letting yourself have fun...letting yourself really live. Being straight-laced and politically correct all the time is overrated anyway. Sometimes embracing weird and letting go is the catalyst to a FULL life. 

Sincerest apologies for the rambling and all over the place post...but I figure it's only appropriate to ferociously type up exactly what was on my mind this past hour and click "publish" without rereading it. I'll post something more coherent and clean next time. 

Until then, embrace the weird, y'all.