"Now, I return to this young fellow. And the communication I have got to make is, that he has great expectations."
- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Don't we all? One of the fundamental goals of a child's (or adolescent's) life is to answer this question: "What do I want to be when I grow up?" The younger you are, the grander your answer will most likely be. A child under 10 years might wish to be a movie star, a super hero, or maybe a even president? And adolescent might settle for being a famous musician, or being a billionaire. Yet many adults just have a few things in mind, something along the lines of a good marriage, job security, or not being flat-out broke. Do people change so much in the span of ten or twenty years that they give up on their dreams? Or are we just seeing the gradual change of our own definition of 'grand'? Is the fact that we hold our simpler desires dear such a bad thing?

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?"
- Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

What would the world be like without new discoveries? I'm sure that the human race would survive if we suddenly just knew everything about the universe, but would it be worth living? Even though we have learned so much, the amount of things that are still mysteries far outweighs what we do know. Isn't it better that way, though? Sure, some things would be extremely useful to know (like a cure for the common cold). Yet the unkown factor is what makes life interesting. It's what inspires us, makes us think, and gives us the motivation toget out of bed in the morning. If there was nothing new then the 'what if' scenarios that pop up in books wouldn't exist. Maybe we would get used to reading about things that we know all about, maybe even enjoy it. Or maybe without a twist in the plot, an unexpected element, we would die of boredom.

Our Story

"Everything's a story - You are a story -I am a story."
- Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess

The real question is what will happen in your story. How will it turn out? I think many of us would like our life stories to be like that of a television show: a daring adventure neatly wrapped up in about 30 minutes. I think, however, that this ideal may be the actual farthest thing from reality. Whether we know it or not, in the course of our life we will play almost the entire cast of characters: the hero, the sidekick, the villain, the damsel (or gentleman) in distress, and the bystander. I know I have been all of these at one time or another. What makes a good story? Variety, for one. Yet as many teachers will tell you, one of the most important parts of a story is the conflict. Why? Because that's life. It makes a good story because our own stories aren't tidily pre-packaged. So maybe we shouldn't worry so much about how amazing our life should be, but instead think about the fact that the more problems we have, the more interesting our story will be.

Perfection?

"The knack of flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss"

--

The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy

There is something deeper in this quote than what most people might think. Flying is (and probably always will be) something that human beings dream of being able to do on their own, without the assistance of mechanical devices. Of course, that's all well and good, but to mention 'missing' as a thing to be desired? Why on earth would anyone want to miss? In most every culture perfection is something greatly sought after, so much so that the Spartans of ancient times would cast aside their own children because of imperfections. Has this human obsession gotten any better? There are varying answers to that, but ultimately perfection is what people desire. Magazines show perfect people and places (that most of us will never see), commercials claim that this product is the best, and of course no one is satisfied until they can get the house, or job, or car of their dreams (whether they can afford it or not). Or at least until they have something nicer than what the neighbors have. Yet in a world that accepts nothing less than the very best, sometimes we just don't realize that maybe a little imperfection is good. That blob of paint that an artist might be shamed of could lend a whole new dimension to the viewer, or maybe the word that's just a tiny bit too long in a poem doesn't send the whole thing crashing into ruin, but makes the reader stop and really think about what they're reading. Flaws appear even in nature, but we see them as perfection because they are natural. In reality, imperfections are in our nature as well. They make us who we are. Original.