Confrontation
Sometimes in life, a lot of things converge on one night.
Tonight: I participated in the ritual of the NHL playoffs, and traded off attendance at one game for watching another. I went to a birthday party and had my future roommate defend my wearing his team’s hat by saying “he’s my roommate” proudly, and traded off coming home and doing some studying. I went to the local bar after the birthday party and say some more friends, and traded off coming home, relaxing, and getting some sleep.
I also met a cab driver who is from Sierra Leone, where I will be spending the summer, and got his brother’s information—who happens to run a Sierra Leone peace NGO. I also stepped in between a friend and a girl another friend is very seriously interested in, just subtly enough to stop anything serious from happening but not subtly enough to be noticeable. I also watched the last three episodes of Friday Night Lights as I sobered up (from what appears to be the most drunk I’ve been in a while), and got to thinking.
The only thing I really want out of life is to live a principled, dignified existence and to raise a family that will do the same. That television show is filled with principled, dignified existences that will affect no one beyond their immediately families or communities. It is also filled with young people making challenging and real decisions about their futures—like I have made in the past.
Confrontation comes in different shapes and sizes. It’s not always a fist fight. Tonight it is clear to me that confrontation is as much private as communal. I don’t know what I will end up doing in life, but if I accidentally continue along my path I think I will likely have an impact greater than solely on my immediate family or community (not that I would be disappointed with that alone). I know one thing: I need to keep living for my values, for my purposes, for my dignity, for my integrity. Without that, I will be left with nothing but memories.
