Christmas Cards

Everyone loves getting mail. For some reason, us humans love it when letters and cards come to our little mailbox. Letters from familly, cards from long, lost friends. Mail is the last form of communication which we really treasure alot, and the last form to show someone we really care.

This winter, being foolishly ambitious, I decided to send christmas cards out, to my good friends from camp, and other friends that I usually don't see over the course of the year. And there I was for four weekends slaving away, writing witty letters, running to the post office, collecting addresses.

It was a long journey, but I finally finished the week before christmas, and that was the magical weeks that cards started pouring into our house.

It is a nice thought to send out cards, but you feel even better when someone has taken the time to send you a nice card, or to write something funny/an inside joke/or just a signature.

But what really warmed my heart, was a homemade card I recieved from a friend in Texas. She obviously put some time into it, with homemade origami on the front, and a long note in red crayon inside.

These gestures are what the holidays really are about. Not presents or material goods, but an homemade card with origami, is what made my christmas.

My hair

My hair is like most teenager's hair. It is unique, it is one of a kind. And it reflects me. Most days, I wake up, and my hair is a mess. I don't how, or when it happens but sometime in the night my hair starts having a mind on of its own. As a guy, however, I don't pay that much attention to my hair.

You would think that I would be mad that I have such uncontrolable hair. But I am quite okay with it. Despite the mornings waking up and seeing a monster in the mirror, I just shrug it off. Je suis comme je suis. I am who I am. And I quickly comb it down before realizing (usually) that I'm late for school, and then I drop everything for a quick breakfast, etc....

My hair is part of the story of my life. It is a very unique part of me. Even after the bad hair days, and the even worse hair cuts, I am confident of myself as a person. Je suis comme je suis. I am who I am.

Shiny objects etc...

Alas it was the start of a new day. It was just another holiday day...Somewhere between sleep and the computer lay me...So suddenly, my family decided it was time to clean house. No it wasn' t your ordinary new years resolution done early, or a guest showing up. No it was really a "CLEAN HOUSE" type of day.

You see, I moved to a slice of surburbia about six years ago, and my family has never finished unpacking. Our basement was a monument to boxes, scientific papers, old first grade projects, and most of all the unfinished state of our lives. And it was there, sandwhiched in between macroni paintings and cursive worksheets lay a small mirror. It was there from some science fair project long, long back. And it still had never been used. The paper backing was still there. It was waiting for something to happen.

And I realized at that moment that the mirror was like a button. No it is not supporting a party, or saying something fashionable. But it reflects something. I was thinking about walking around school with a little mirror button, and letting everyone see themeself as a statement. The more I thought about it, I realized that in this world people are so worried about what others think about them. We worry about it not because we trying to find some mate, or trying to show off to our friends, we worry because its hard wired into our brains. Thats life. Until we find ourselves, we can not be confident.

So I decided to stow the mirror on my nightstand. The world may never be able to see itself. Ever.

This is the story of my life

I've been looking at this blog, and what I have written about in the last three years, and I realize that this is not about "the middle school life" or "life is beautiful". This is truly the story of my life. Every so often I post online about life and everything else in our world. It is the story of my life and it is our world's story blended into this very blog. As I type these words, I hope that you, the reader are having a wonderful holiday, and I would like to tell you once more, Life is beautiful.

Another year...

We are, suprisingly almost at the end of 2006. 2006 for me was a wonderful year, and a year I will always remember and cherish.

In 2006, I lived my life to the fullest extent. I went to CTY (nerd camp), I started the new and improved MSTnetworks.com. This year is also a year that I have contributed to this wonderful blog, and the renaming to "Life is beautiful."

But what makes this year amazing was the people that I met. Everywhere I went, I met the most wonderful extraordinary people. Nowadays I have friends everywhere from Taiwan to Texas. What makes life worth living are the people that you truly cherish and love.

We must always look to the future, and I hope that 2007 will be an even better year for me and the world. I wish to all of you a merry christmas and a even an happier new year.

-Mstcn