It may be that the gulfs will wash us down It may be that we shall touch the Happy Isles, And though we are not now that strength which in old days, Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will: To strive, to seek, to find, and not too yield. This poem or part of a larger poem, Ulysses, has be come a new favorite of mine. It is so true to life, to me this poem is talking about risk, and the things we seem to regret the most at the end of everything is that chances that for what ever reason we decided to never take. Personally, I dont like to play things safe, Ive always considered myself a risk-taker, but there are some places I dont. Mainly speaking in the terms of relationships. But I am turning over a new leaf. We all must die at some point in time, our number will come do and the highest price of living will be called for. Since in most cases this debt comes at an unknown time, Ive decided to make the best of everything to come. Im not suggesting to anyone that they should do cocaine because what the hell, we are all going to die. Risk simply means that there is a possibility that what we want will not come about. One must play the odds, and sometime they may be favorably slim, .01% of a chance is still a chance. I am relatively young, but I have experienced more things than most people get to in a long life, not all of which is something to desire. However, in my short life I have collected a few regrets that I wish more than anything I could take back, not taking the chance asking out the beautiful girl in the chair next to me, saying I love you before it was too late, and sitting silent when I had some many things I had to say that could have changed the outcome of someones life. These are just three, all about three every different people but I am haunted by each of them often. In a short amount of time, I will be taking a large risk in going to a completely new place and will be leaving everything Ive ever known behind for 3 months. Once Im back, I have made a life changing choice, I am enlisting in the United States Marine Corps, I wish to serve the country that has given me an opportunity to become anything I wish to be. I accept that this choice, this risk, could mean that my life will be taken from be at the hand of someone who stand for everything I am against, both on a personal and moral level. This is a risk I accept because I love my country and want to give everyone I love the same opportunity that was given. To all and any who read this, take a risk, jump in the ocean of chance, submerge your head into the salty luck, and swim to the sandy beach of no regret. Even if taking the risk doesnt turn out how you wish, it will turn out that you will never regret taking the chance.

Saturday July 3rd, 4:47am - 5:21am I come home in the early morning, around 3:30am, when I get off work. I usually sit in my car and indulge myself in a smoke or two while I relax for the first time in several hours. Tonight I was sitting in my car and was looking for a number of a friend. I noticed that there were a lot of numbers that I do no longer keep in contact with. I went from 160 contacts to 113. There were some numbers of people that I do still know but, have no relationships with, but a lot were names and numbers that were no longer in my memory. I could not help but ponder who all's phones my contact information is in, and how many of them have no clue who I am. To me, this shows me how we all grow apart. It is a sad truth, but we do grow up and as we do we grow apart. We all lose friends to different roads in life, and for those who we wish to see again, all I know to say is that I hope all roads lead to Rome.