Coloring within the lines

I first wanted to start off by lamenting how fast summer is going by. It is almost the middle of June now and I haven't done completely nearly as much of my "summer goals" as I initially had hoped I would. My days seem to be busy and filled with obligations. While there is room for fun here and there, I find it mostly in unplanned things - going out for ice cream, playing tennis with friends, or just gaming. However, I do think there is a certain satisfaction from crossing out a book from your "to read" list or finally cracking open that textbook for that course you said you'd study for - in a way, accomplishing planned tasks can be more rewarding than just "spontaneous" fun. Though, like so many others things in life, there should be a balance between the two.

I wonder if I even care about these lamenting posts when I go back and read them in the future. The posts I seem like re-reading the most are the ones about specific moments in my life. Since, I try to capture that as best and genuinely as I can. Just the other day, I was reading one about high school and geeze...was I ever indecisive and insecure or what?

The real topic I wanted to address in this blog was about coloring within the lines. This is a metaphor that just floated in my head about society one day when I was...probably walking to work or something. It is perhaps a metaphor I hope a decent number of people can relate to - coloring books seem to be a pretty common past-time in childhood after all. Anyway, in a coloring book you are basically  presented with a predefined shape whose outline is pre-printed and you proceed to color it however you please. There is a lot of versatility with color, however, and not everything makes sense. Just last weekend, I remember seeing my little cousin color in pink leaves, for example.

The point is, society, religion, family are all reminiscent of those lines that are already there for us in the coloring book. They dictate the guidelines that we follow. There are two major problems when using color books.

1.) You color outside the lines. This is equivalent to just  blatantly disregarding any rules set forth by society. The picture ultimately makes no sense and well...you just picked the wrong page of the book to start coloring on, I guess. But that can't be helped. No more than being born into a poverty stricken, geographically isolated family can be.

2.) You color the picture in a way that is unconventional and doesn't make sense. The picture is still there, and you can still recognize what it is. But you've added your own unique flair to it. Some say its unconventional, others say it makes no sense at all. This is how I feel most of us live. We don't stray outside the lines of society but color in the picture according to "loose" guidelines. Some of us are more brazen than others. Some of us restrict ourselves to merely different hues - a navy blue when a sky blue is required. Some of us throw caution out the window and color the leaves pink and the sky purple. The question is - how do we strike a balance between individuality and an expected coloring scheme?

The question is - how will you color the page you've turned to?

I've answered this question many times before to myself. I don't want to just follow the lines even if I have the artistic ability to do so. Similarly, I don't want to do have a career that will secure me a "safe" life in society - even if I had the potential to do so. If everyone who could do more settled for what was safe, the human race would never evolve. And it is sad, because some people do settle for what is safe and secure even though they could do more than that. And I'm not just talking about jobs, I'm talking about thinking and ideas. Be open-minded. Look to explore new ideas. And above all,  try to do something more than worry your moment on the stage away with whether or not you are coloring within the lines.