Midnight.

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You know what I'm excited about???
The movie TWILIGHT that will come out this December!!!
...and the fourth book of the series, Breaking Dawn!
You have no idea...

The other day, I thought I could get a headstart at getting the book before it comes out. So I went to my library and requested a book (you can do that nowadays) so that when it comes out (which is August 2nd...*gasp*...the countdown begins), I can be one of the first to borrow it...
Smart right?
Except, it turns out that I'm like, the 348th person on the waiting list.
What luck.

Some people have asked, Will Twilight become the next Harry Potter? That's bold. Personally, I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan.....But then again, I'm a big Twilight fan, also. The series draws the attention of teenage girls and women of all ages...It's just fantastic. One fictional story can hold only so much imagination. The plot and characteristics of it all is so interesting and intriguing.

But then again, I've felt inspired by many books before.
...Let's just say, I didn't know it was possible to fall in love with a fictional book character ;D *Dreamy sigh**Sa-wooooon*
(J/K!...but not really...in a way...You know what I mean...)

Anyway, back to my point...
I don't really have a point, but since the theme is about expectations, I hope my expectations aren't too high for the upcoming Twilight movie...I've been keeping up with the new updates, watching the trailer (more than once, I might add), and stuff like that...It's rare that a movie is as good as the book, with detail and descriptions, but it's possible that a movie can come close...And I hope it does. (Although I don't expect it to be.)

Expect nothing,
-my.great.ESCAPE.

Expectations –The Absurd and the Feasible

Yes. We’re all familiar with expectations. Everyone has them, everyone’s seen them before. For now, let’s look at them a bit more in detail. There are three different kinds – ones that are ridiculously high, ones that are doable, and ones that we could surpass without effort. Out of these three, the ones that give people the most trouble are the ones that stray between the border of reality and chaos.

At least once, you’ll see someone who assumes your capabilities are greater than they truly are. Maybe this is your insane math teacher that gives out impossible tests and expects you to be able to maintain an average of at least 99%. Perhaps it’s your parents, who want you to become a surgeon despite the fact that you have hemophobia. It’s even possible that the one with high standards is none other than yourself, stressing out over your latest 10 point essay.

So, what would most people do if and when this happens to them? Let’s look the situation with the teacher first. If asked, the average person would probably reply “I’d get really mad at that teacher and request a change in classes from my counselor.” Now, consider what you probably would do. Although there would be much whining, not that many people would probably take action. Why? Because most people don’t have the nerve to tell the teacher outright that they couldn’t teach someone how to open a file on Windows XP, let alone teach their class geometry. The idea of a teacher holding a grudge against you is simply too intimidating for most people.

If a teacher holding a grudge against you is that powerful, the thought of having a close person dislike you even slightly is just as, if not even more stressful. Telling your dad “I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can be the perfect prosecutor you’ve always wanted me to be. It’s all just too boring. I’m going to be a stunt person,” is pretty bad, but they’re also your parents. They’ll probably understand, unless they’ve been manipulating you for the past ten years. Not to mention, it would really suck if you were stuck at law school thinking about skydiving.

Thinking about all of this, isn’t it clear why most people hold their tongue and suffer instead of going and doing something about it? Well, if you really need it clarified, let me spell a few out.

A. They’re scared.

As mentioned in the example with the teacher, there are negative side effects to trying that people might not consider worth the risk.

B. They don’t want to hurt the other person’s feelings.

Imagine you had a good girlfriend/boyfriend. Unfortunately, you both disagree on where to live. Do you really want to deny them a life in the city that they’ve grown familiar with?

C. They don’t want to admit that they can’t do it.

Try putting yourself in this situation – You’ve spent your entire summer training to make the cross country team. Guess what, you made it in. Congratulations. The coach announces that you will be training by running 5 miles nonstop every day. Even though you’ve been training all summer, you’re not that great at running. You know you’ll fail and be dropped, but you don’t say anything. Just because you don’t want to admit your entire summer’s been a waste.

D. Other.

What? You can't seriously expect me to list everything here. It's long enough as it is, and I can't think up every situation that exists

Either way, it's time for this old man to end his ranting.

Sendak

The Unplanned

(credits to Community 4:12 at typepad.com for the image!)

Thanks for voting in this week's poll. Now, I finally have something to write about :).

Nothing ever goes as planned (at least for me). It's really hard not to get excited about something you really like. But every time I do get hyped up about something, it turns out to be a huge flop—most of the time. I mean, what's the fun in life if we don't have expectations?

But then, when I "least expect it", something drastic happens (in a good way). I don’t know about you, but this always happens to me.

So, is it better to expect things in life, or should you not have any expectations at all? It all depends on the situation. Sometimes, expectations are your motivation to keep on continuing. It's the source of energy that pushes you to carry along. What use is persisting if you have no expectations to work to?

But at times, it's better not to have any expectations. You can't always expect things to work your way. When you expect too much, chances are, the odds of having disappointment are much higher. Think about it—if you weren't expecting anything, and it does turn out to be a flop, you won't be much disappointed at all. Hoorah! if I made any sense

All in all, I try not to expect too much out of anything. If it turns out great, then fantastic. If it turns out terrible, then too bad for me. Not much to lose either way, huh? Oh well, it's not like I'm expecting this blog to become super-uber famous or anything. -smiles innocently-

-the clam.

What happens next?

Life is so constructed that an event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation.
-Charlotte Bronte

When an event comes up, I don't know why, but I always expect it to go well. I can picture it going smoothly and great. But when it finally comes, and I am actually there, it suddenly all goes crashing down. Most of the time. Even though it's not a complete disaster, it's absolutely different. It just happens, and it's not at all how I expected. That kind of thing sort of bothers me a bit...not having everything go as planned. But that's how life works, right? I mean, what can you do about it?

Expectations are just...there.
Sometimes, it just sits there in my head. Floating around.
But other times, I just don't care :)

Some expectations are actually important.
Those are different.
Like.....your parents. and what they expect you to get in school.
Or...your friends. and the expectation that you'll be there for them.
And...yourself. how you expect life to be.

Should you live up to your expectations? Your reputation shouts out who you've been, so should you continue down that safe road on a balanced journey?
Or go beyond your expectations? and go on a whole new exciting adventure, that you've never been on before?

Either way, it's not the expectation that counts.
It's always the outcome.

This article didn't go as I expected.
-my.great.ESCAPE.

A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when at last it comes.
-Mark Twain

Erringly Straying

Hopes and expectations, in a way, are very different. Sometimes they’re extremely different, comparable, but nonetheless as different as peacocks and Gatorade. I’m sure plenty of people would like to become famous, make cruise-loads of money, and all that. But to be honest, do you expect to? Do you really tell yourself that in a few years, you’ll be rich and on top of the world. Even if your hopes and dreams aren’t exactly stardom, maybe just doing what you love, meeting someone you can love, and being perfectly happy with life, sometimes, you can laugh at yourself for things as simple as that. You don’t expect anything at all to change, but that doesn’t mean you’d sure like them to.

The funny thing is, those very expectations could get in the way of those hopes, those dreams. If you don’t expect much at all to happen, there’s a good chance nothing at all will. Just because something is improbable, that doesn’t make it impossible to do. If you never expect to achieve your dreams, it means you never really tried to in the first place. Goals are achievable, well, because if they weren’t, there wouldn’t be too many albums, movies, and T.V. shows going around know would there?

Too often, those expectations get in the way of those dreams.

Hopefully, those dreams are reasonable…but then again…that’d be a bit contradictory…

Or maybe…those people decided to become whatever they are because they couldn't figure out anything else they wanted to be.

-digital delay

YOUnique

In your life, you have two choices: to be a somebody or.....to be a nobody.
Who doesn’t want to be recognized and remembered for what they are and what they do? Even though many people are judge by their looks, background, clothes, people they mix with, or race, why can't we just accept them for who they are? The real individual can be someone very different...Someone very unique and significant.

Some quotes that I go like to go by?

• "Dying is the day worth living for."
  - Yes, it's from Pirates of the Caribbean. Duh.
  

• "I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they go right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart, so that better things can fall together."
  - Marilyn Monroe
  
  
• "All we need in life is a chance."
  - Tom Brady (I am NOT a Patriots fan.)
  
  
• "When things are bad, we take comfort in the thought that they could always be worse. And when they are, we find hope in the thought that things are so bad that they have to get better. "
  - Malcolm Forbes
  
  
• "What's life without a little risk?"
  - Indeed, this is from Harry Potter 5.
  
  
• "When someone hugs you, never be the first to let go."
  - Fortune Cookie???
  
  
• " God has a plan and everything happens for a reason."
  - (I have no idea.)
  

There's a lot great quotes out there. I can probably find another fifty that I like. All meaningful.

Expect the unexpected.

...Who knew. Who knew that I would be the first one to move across the country from all my friends? Who'd figure that I would meet new friends that are just as great on this "alien planet"?

...Who knew. Who knew that my parents, who seemed very much in love at one time, would suddenly get a divorce and ruin my life? Why couldn’t I be a normal kid like everyone else, with two parents? What did I do to deserve this?

...Who knew. Who knew that I would be the target of a serial killer living on my street? Being chased by a monster, afraid for my life!

...Who knew. Who knew that my life would be at risk after a tragic accident, and I would be disabled forever?

...Who knew. Who knew that my name would be picked to be drafted to the war on the other side of the world? Who thought that this could happen to me?


There are many brilliant life stories to tell.
What's yours?
-my.great.ESCAPE.