Why is it snowing at the end of March, here? The weather has gone crazy I tell you!

I just read about the planned film “Journey”. On IMDB they say that Daniel Radcliffe is scheduled to plan Dan Eldon. I could not be more excited for this film, they better do a world class job.

Dan Eldon died when I was very young, and I didn’t hear anything of him until I was about 13 years old, but his life has had a huge impact on my life. I came across The Journey Is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon at a point in my life where everyone was constantly in my face about how I needed to live my life. I had skipped the 7th grade, and I had teachers wanting to set up meetings with people about going to Harvard, and leading a very practical and exceptional life that would lead me right through paths that were beaten down for me. And EVERYONE, including people my age, were confused about “how a person so smart could be so dumb” when any of my life plans didn’t lead me down these paths.  The thought of Hardvard left a sour taste on my tongue, and I came to the conclusion that life was doomed. There was no interesting way to go, and my best possible life path would be to get drunk and stay drunk, be like Hemmingway and write crazy strings of consciousness novels. And to top it all off, I hate alcohol!

Dan Eldon’s journals made it clear that the only paths I’ll take are the ones my own brain makes. That Robert Frost poster in my guidance counselor’s office held meaning for me once again, and I truly believe that if I had never found that book, everything I’ve done since then would have been different. Maybe I’d have lost my ideals, maybe I’d have lost my undieing hope and faith and I’d never have found my childish excitement and wonder at the world. Maybe I wouldn’t have survived my parent’s house, my eating disorder, or my chronic illness. Maybe I’d be someone I wouldn’t like very much, and be someone who believed in regrets.

So, thank you, Mr Eldon, for helping me discover how I’d like to live my life.