New horizons

"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things might get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things might get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."

In spirit of the new semester, the changes and the challenges, I've decided to write down my goals, both short and long term. This way, when I feel overwhelmed, I can look at this list and put into perspective the trials that I may be faced with. It's going to be a tough year, but I want to succeed, I am driven to shine.


What do I want in life?
What are my values, my goals, my endeavors?

Today and in the future:
Financially secure
Successful
Confident
Healthy
Happy
Classy
Compassionate
Thankful

1 year:
Be more organized
Dean’s list
Responsible in all my roles (student, friend, leader)
Secure a summer internship in the business or law field
Think innovatively and creatively
Thank each and every individual personally who helps me along my way

3-5 years:
Secure a challenging career
or be enrolled in a top ten business or law school

10 years:
Secure a career in a challenging, satisfying field of work, while working my way up the corporate ladder.
Gain respect and knowledge as I advance in my field, never settling for second best yet approaching each task, regardless of its importance or difficulty, with dedication and passion.
Live comfortably and perhaps even luxuriously yet giving back to others less fortunate and giving thanks to those to have helped me along my way.
Spend time with those I care about, enjoying life to the fullest, and living in the moment
Family-oriented and in happy, loving, long-term relationship



I've got my eyes set far beyond the horizon. The world is open to endless possibilites. It's a beautiful life.

Infinitesimalm perhaps, insignificant not.

"The tiny space I occupy is so infinitely small in comparison with the rest of space, in which I am not and which has nothing to do with me and the period of time in which it is my lot to live is so petty beside the eternity in which I have not been, and shall not be....And in this atom, this mathematical point the blood is circulating, the brain is working and wanting something...Isn't is loathsome? Isn't it petty?"
-Ivan Turgenev

paradise is a state of mind.

I believe that paradise is a state of mind.
I believe that passion is what drives you in life.
I believe good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.
I believe the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
I believe in taking chances and facing my most indomitable fears. Besides, life is full of risks anyway, why not take them?
I believe we write our own stories and each time we think we know the end - we don't.
I believe there is good in every situation.
I believe in the sand beneath my toes.
I believe the four right chords can make me cry.
I believe that music can set you free.
I believe that people care too much about the wrong things.
I believe that everything perfect is flawed.
I believe there are no coincidences- everything happens for a reason.
I believe everything we do has an effect on the world.
I believe that life is only what you make of it.
I believe that there is truth and love is real.
I believe in me.

Israel

I am deeply saddened by the war going on in Israel, destroying the beauty of such a sensational place. It angers me that extremist, fundamentalist, Islamic-fascists deny the existance of the Holocaust and wish to wipe Israel from the map. Israel has been trying to make peace with its Muslim neighbors and the Palestinians since its birth as a country. Now, in the face of unceasing hostility, Israel must inevitably defend herself. I am sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians but dedicated to the right of Israel to exist and thrive as the only open and free democracy in the Middle East. It provides a model for future democracies in the region. I experienced firsthand that Israel is really a beautiful, breathtaking place with so much history and a love for freedom and mankind. It must survive. I stayed in Israel for 2 weeks last winter and really discovered the meaning of life as I traveled through the ancient cities on the Mediterranean Sea, explored old ruins, meditated at the Jordan river, hiked in Galilee, trekked in the Golan Heights and observed the abandoned Syrian city of Kuneitra and the United Nations outpost, visited Safed, explored the grottos in Rosh Hanikra, rode camels in the desert, climbed Mt. Masada, stayed overnight in a Bedouin camp, swam in a waterfall in Ein Gedi, floated weightlessly in the Dead Sea, climbed Mount Scopus, prayed at the Western Wall, went to an Israeli rock concert and rave, explored Tel-Aviv, and spent time with Israeli soldiers and guards. This was not just a vacation, not a mere trip outside the States. I saw life through new eyes. I found my soul on the highest peak in Israel.

An excerpt from my journal:

"It was then, at that moment {on a cliff in Rosh Hanikra}, with the wind in my hair and the sun on my back that I realized, this whole world, there's this incredible benevolent force behind it, a beauty behind everything, behind you and me and the earth and the skies, within the desert and the seas, there's something spiritual in life; I don't know exactly what it is but I don't need to know. And whatever it may be, it reached out to me, it touched me, it made me feel more alive than I've ever felt before. This is when I realized there was this entire life behind things.. There was this electricity in the air, I could hear it. It was screaming life into my face. It wanted me to know that there was no reason to be afraid, ever. The wind almost knocked me over which this rush of adrenaline, more adrenaline than the hardest run has ever given me, more than the most ridiculous roller coaster I have ever ridden. Only being in that moment, in that time, did I ever feel so alive. So symbolic. So real."

Another entry, later in the week:

"I'm learning to look into my shadows, to reflect on who I am and why I am here. What is my purpose in life? What are dreams? My desires? My secrets? I have flaws. I am not afraid to see them. But can I change? I want to be a better person, to love more and listen more and take time to know more people on an even deeper level. Maybe I’m selfish, but I want to know the world I live in and all the different people who make it up. I want to capture moments of people. And I want to embrace all these moments, all these differences. It is when we can embrace others that the world will become a better place."

When Israel kills Lebanese civilians, they deeply regret it. When Hizbullah kills innocent Israeli civilians, they see it as a victory. Israel is just defending itself. It wouldn't have to if everyone would just learn to live with each other. We aren't that different, after all.