Can I get a copy of the "right track"?

There are certain steps that society as a whole has decided to follow. You're born, you go to kindergarten, continue into junior school and elementary school, then it's off to high school. So far so good? After that, things get a little confusing. Some people (with less strict parents) tend to have more options open. They can travel for a year, join the workforce right away, work to raise money to go to school, the list goes on. Post-secondary wise, people can go to university, college or a trade school to get a degree and/or diploma and/or certificate. 

Ugh, then they can get their masters or doctorate. The point is, there's a lot out there.

After school, or even during school, life starts. You have more responsibilities. When do these responsibilities start, though? When am I supposed to get married? When am I supposed to move out of my house? When am I supposed to have children? At what age should I be fully established in my career? 

Sure, the general answer is that everyone is different, everyone goes at their own pace. That's hard to grasp when in a group of friends, one is engaged, one is graduating from college, one is starting her masters, and the other is a grade school teacher; half of us no longer live at home...and we're all the same age. W-T-F, right? So how can we not compare ourselves to one another? This us actually one of those blog posts that doesn't have a neatly wrapped conclusion or heartwarming "feel good about yourself" final word. I honestly believe people feel this way into their early 30s. If we're happy doing what we're doing now, should we automatically think we're on the right? Or we just coasting? Settling because it feels comfy? 

I'll get back to you on this one when I actually figure it out. 

There may be such thing as a dumb question

One of the most common questions people ask me when I say I go to York University, aside from "Doesn't that school have a sexual assault like every week?", is whether or not I know a friend of theirs. Seriously? 

Well of course I know John, and Jill, and Jane. Really? 

No. There are more than 50,000 students who go to York. Before even asking what program I'm in, people have legitimate hope that I know their friend. It's a commuter school. We only stay on campus as long as our classes last. My first class had 500 students in it. Late students had to sit on the steps. 

How does that question even make sense? I'm from Jamaica, so does that mean I should know your random Jamaican friend? Sound ridiculous yet?

I've actually heard of people who go on vacation, and when they tell people where they're from, the locals ask, "Oh, I have friend from Canada. Do you know so-and-so?" No, you know what, surprisingly, out of the more than 33 million people living in Canada, I actually don't know your friend. 

Surprised? Yeah, me too. 

Here we go again

It's not really a new year. It's pretty much the same 365 (or 366) days all over again. The same resolutions, the same dreams that never get fulfilled. I want this year to be different. 2013. How though? How can I make it different? I blogged my new year's resolutions for 2012 and I pretty much achieved half of them. I gained weight. I spent more time with my sister. I saved money from my summer job. My room has two more components in it and way too little space. I went to the Dominican Republic with my family and Montreal with my dragonboat team.

I'm going to plan 12 resolutions. I want to achieve something I'll be proud of at least once a month. It has to be original too. Losing weight is so 90's. The problem is all the things I want to do are things I want to achieve all year long, not just for one month. So I've chosen a handful of cool jobs to do, whether it lasts one month or two. I'm not even going to list what these things are because what are the chances I'll always be checking back on my blog?

I'll just update this along the way.