Quite recently I took a moment to look back upon the events and experiences that have shaped me and placed me where I am today. I began to think about my own personal development and the way I've recently come to weigh what matters in life. It's like I've developed my own personal moral scale where I compare experiences and decisions and I've come to enjoy analyzing the outcomes of these comparisons. When I look back to the younger version of my still young self, I remember myself as someone who I wouldn't associate myself with today.

As sad as that sounds this is a normality for quite a reasonable amount of people because we all have our individual phases and stages we regret. When I look back I see a young man who is both so intelligent and so stupid at the same time. I say that because a couple of years ago I knew what I wanted as a future but the decisions I was making and the things I was valuing at the time were doing absolutely nothing to help me reach that future. I sat and drank my coffee and remembered how I made decisions based on how others would perceive me afterward.

I lived for the moment and I took every opportunity that I could to make myself into the person that people would constantly want to be around and talk about. Stupidity at it's finest! The things that mattered to me were the number of girls I had relations with, the number of people surrounding me, and how all these people thought of me. And in order for me to achieve this notoriety in school, I had to set my mind to focus on superficial and material things. My education began to matter less as the clothes and accessories I had become my top priority. I basically hit rock bottom in terms of how valued the things that shaped my life.

During this period of time, my father decided to yank me away from that life and put me on a plane to Switzerland to see his side of the family. During my time in rural Switzerland, I saw many new places and faces and I saw the genuine interactions between families and friends and I wanted that connection between myself and the people who were in my circle. Switzerland turned into Germany and Germany turned back into Tampa, Florida.

I came home from my time abroad and it's like the switches in my head flipped. The lights finally decided to flicker and turn on as I realized how much I enjoyed traveling and interacting with great people with great stories. These farmers and craftsmen that I met up with could care less about how many people you knew or what the brand of your t-shirt was. All they were interested in was talking about life and all the great things it had to offer and they did so with such passion and I naturally became envious of this. I wanted to be around people who weren't always expecting me to live up to a standard that was near impossible to uphold. I wanted to live a simple life full of worth and I started to do so.

I dropped out of big circles of friends and started associating myself with people who loved and cared for me. Family and friends became so important to me. Nothing was better than being with people who truly wanted to be with me and cared about my future. Friends who would go on adventures with me and swap stories over a good meal were the people I desired in my life and although there were few of them, the ones that were present were all I needed. These are the same people that I would go thrift shopping with and going from Ralph Lauren to God knows what random brand of shirt was such a funny change to me. Spending 50 cents on a shirt became the norm and it kept the wallet full and our skin covered. Watching material things fade from my life was an interesting change because it was so noticeable. I'd go to the mall with friends and department stores and not even look at the latest and greatest electronics or items because I could care less. Living simple with good people is all I could ask for.

I know I'm still growing and my outlook on life will continue to change and I welcome those changes with open arms. I've learned that other peoples' opinions don't necessarily matter unless they will help you grow and I've learned that people who only care about materials and popularity live essentially empty lives and I can say this because I've been there and done that. I've found that my favorite thing to do nowadays is to travel and listen. I love to explore new areas and just listen to the locals tell me about their lives. It's so interesting to hear how people have walked through life and all the advice they have for you and I'm always open to new stories because one day I want to be the guy telling my stories to young adventurous people. I've really learned to love life and cherish the moments that make my life what is with the people I care for. Growing up for me was a wild ride and I regret a lot but I love where I am now and I wouldn't wish for anything else.