Dare to Move.


In the fall of 2010, I found myself at the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I found out a lot about myself and the human race those three weeks.At the end of those three weeks, the band Switchfoot played this song. I was able to release all the stress that had built up inside of me and get lost in the song.

Here are the lyrics.

Welcome to the planet

Welcome to existence

Everyone's here

Everyone's here

Everybody's watching you now

Everybody waits for you now

What happens next

What happens next

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout

Welcome to resistance

The tension is here

Tension is here

Between who you are and who you could be

Between how it is and how it should be

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened before

Maybe redemption has stories to tell

Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell

Where can you run to escape from yourself?

Where you gonna go?

Where you gonna go?

Salvation is here

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor

I dare you to move

I dare you to move

Like today never happened

Today never happened

Today never happened

Today never happened before

In 6 days I will be a high school graduate. 


In 8 I will be flying to Elevation in the canyons of Southern Utah. It will be the keystone of my educational experiance. It makes my heart heavy to know that next fall, I wont be returning. Its much like the last chapter of the seventh harry potter novel(if youre into that kind of thing) 


Ill be moving across the country from the frozen iceland of Alaska to the balmy beaches of Florida in just 30 days. Another change, another fresh start. 


Yes. Life holds its mysteries and adventure. Williamsburg Academy is part of who I am. I think, I hope... that it will continue to be a part of me even after I leave its embrace. 


I think I finally understand what parents mean when they say "it goes far too fast." Life is so, so short. We will always want to do that one thing or be that one person. We need to stop waiting and just do and be.


I dare you to move. I dare you to lift yourself off the floor. Forget the past. Forgive yourself. Pretend today never happened and that today is really your "tomorrow"


Live. Laugh. Love. Learn. 


Thats my muse.


Jacob

Directions: Americas Future

East, South, or West? Since the end of the Bush administration, the foreign policy question that every American politician has asked is: “In which direction do we go?” The future of America lies in that answer. They have four choices.

The Middle East lies to the west. Some argue that America should steer clear from the Middle East. They say that is was a future for America in the early 1990’s, but not today. Others say that America will always have its place in those countries. They use the Arab Spring as a prime example of how the Islamic Nations are not ready for the “NATO Countries” to leave. They claim that democracy must be spread. And even if it Democracy isn’t a priority, safety of millions of Arabs is. With the Iran tensions, the U.S. is carefully watching to see what play out in the west.

To the east are China, Japan, and North Korea. China is becoming an ever-increasing threat to America. Its economic centric government is succeeding in its goal to become the largest economy on Earth. Japan is in a prime position. For the past two decades they have been smashed. Numerous times. With the tsunami in the spring of 2011, Japan received, perhaps, the blow that will give them momentum to swing back into the game. North Korea suffered the death of its renowned leader, Kim Jong il in December of 2011. His son, Kim Jong un could help open up North Korea to the world. Or he could follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him.

Central and South American: The United States sisters in geography alone. In the 2011 State of the Union address, Obama said he wanted to “forge new alliances across the Americas.” With Brazil in alliance with Russia, India and China, The U.S. needs to be careful how they proceed. With the Mexican drug wars just across the border, and unlocked potential in the south, many think that the U.S. should focus in on the Americas. Others claim that South America is just a subcontinent of the west and doesn’t need much attention; that Americas foreign aim should be east or west.

There is a final direction. Less talked about and written off to the extremists on both the right and left. That direction is home. It is a choice to pull back and focus on America and leave foreign policy at the wayside. This choice undoubtedly has its problems. Most moderates say that the U.S. is too engrained in world affairs to pick up and leave. They believe the world will crumble and fall to pieces without the red white and blue. Others say that unless America pulls back and heals itself that the United States will be the one falling to pieces. 

Regardless of what choice America makes, it needs to make one. For the first three years of the Obama administration, foreign policy didn’t have much of a direction. Since 2011, they have been aimed toward Asia and the pacific. They continue to keep an eye on the Middle East but are trying to pull the troops out and let the Middle East figure out what is next for its civilization. Now that elections are underway, America may need to make another choice relatively soon. Will it be East, South or West?

Twelve Days

Twelve days until I graduate from Williamsburg Academy! After that... More posts.

*excited*

((:

Ideas, Lenses, and Ultimate Truth

The world is shaped by ideas. Every day, six billion people make decisions that affect the world in very small, and extremely large ways. These decisions are based on ideas. History, courage, peace, war, literature, and revolution are just some of those ideas.

Today more than ever, we need to view our world. We need to see it for what it is. We need to know the ideas that shape it.  The question is, how can we observe these ideas? Often, when we try to view the world, we box ourselves in with our own prejudice. We cannot just look through our own eyes at the world or we will become so narrow that viewing the world for what it is becomes nearly impossible.

As human beings, we can overcome our prejudice with lenses. We see differently through these lenses. They shape our world different colors and give us fresh ideas.
We can see the world through billions of different lenses; a lens of race and ethnicity, a lens of science, one of truth versus fallacy, a lens of symbolism, religion; even a lens of hate.

Once we put on these lenses, we ask questions such as “How do things appear to be? How should things be? What’s right and wrong with how things are? And, What, if anything, should be done about it?”

Those very questions help us step beyond ourselves and become objective thinkers. 
We come to realize that through these lenses, we can extract truth and ideas.  No longer are we the small-minded man who just lets himself be dragged around by the current of life. Now, we are objective thinkers.  We see the world in different ways and have the ability to change it. Now we are seeing in relative truth, through a differently colored lens.

But not all lenses see things equally. What a lens of war would see as truth, a lens of peace would see differently.  There is only relative truth with a lens. How do we know what ultimate truths lie hidden in the world?

We combine lenses.

Our goal as objective thinkers and visionaries is to take all of these lenses and combine them to extract the ultimate truths. We extract those truths that shine through prejudice and the erosion of time. We extract the kinds of ideas that remain true no matter what kind of lens we view them through.

The world is shaped by ideas. Every day, six billion people make decisions that affect the world in very small, and extremely large ways. These decisions are based on ideas. Are you going to be the small-minded person, or the visionary? Will you rely on your eyes of prejudice or will you put on a lens and become the master of world truth?