Juice

So I really love juice. It's pretty much the best thing ever. Welch's man. Grape, Apple, Raspberry, Cherry, even White Grape. The combinations are as sweet as they are cool. I make it from frozen juice concentrate. I can drink juice at any meal and with any food; I haven't come upon anything that isn't compatible with some kind of juice yet. Here at Colby, I often mix grape and apple from the tap, and it suffices fairly well. I don't usually have the right stuff to make juice in my dorm room, so when I do it's a special occasion indeed. And man is it rockin'.

At Tanner's house back home I like cranberry pomegranate. Each on their own is pretty intolerable (I *can* handle some cranberry juice if it's really cold with ice cubes in it, but usually only if I'm direly thirsty), but together there is some harmony that shows itself with a very respectable taste. I also like cranberry and some type of ginger ale/lemon lime type soda mix.

I've heard people speak of comfort food before. I think juice is my comfort drink. I don't drink wine, and from the smell of it I can't imagine it be anything but a bad version of white grape juice (which on its own is very difficult to handle). Does juice have any special significance? Well maybe not to someone who doesn't like it, but it's such a big part of my life I think it deserves some special mention. Little things that you don't think about or give any significance to in the ordinary carrying out of your day do a great deal in making up who you are. So basically, I'm a glass of juice.

Orange juice is okay and has its purposes, but it's not my favorite, and I especially don't like it with pulp. Fruit punch usually turns out to be really good. Lemonade (pink or otherwise) is also an excellent addition to the list. I'm sure there are some others, but I think you get the point.

Tomorrow is not going to be the most fun of days. I'll wake up in about 5 hours, go to physics lab (which probably won't be too fun, and probably a little tedious), then eat lunch sometime, come back, do homework, more homework, then some more, then probably a little more, then eat some dinner, come back, do more homework, keep doing homework, maybe take a nap, do more homework, etc. I may just take a nap right after lab, seeing as I might not be in peak thinking condition, and that would be disastrous for the amount of homework I have (read: it would be super annoying). I'm not exactly complaining - I take the work with the classes I signed up for, and I have expected no less all semester. I'm just tired and winding down my day thinking about it.

Today I've been curiously distracted by the notion of my maturity and readiness for the classical "adult" stages in life. Sometimes it seems like I'm really old and should be in a farther stage in life than I am, and other times I feel frustrated and immature in my emotions and actions. I don't think growing up is a very exact or predictable process; it's just different for everyone in different ways. And this makes sense and should be expected, but it still leaves me in the dark as to why I seem so mature sometimes and so immature at others. Maybe my immature areas just haven't had a need or haven't had the chance/ability to develop as quickly as or at the same rate as other areas. I dunno. Maybe I'm just a teenager. (I am, by the way!) I sometimes try to ascribe monumental decisions about life and ultimate meaning to myself and my actions but it usually seems to fall flat or become impractical almost immediately. I also don't find this very surprising; it just makes me curious as to whether or not I would have the clarity of mind to make such a decision if the time ever came.

I would like to and should say more on this, and I probably will sometime or other, but right now sleep and work are taking their precedence. So I guess I'll just leave with one idea for a future time - it seems like it's almost impossibly hard to be a gentleman or kind and polite person in the world today (I don't know if it ever was, really. I have nothing by which to compare). People either don't assume you're sincere, pass it off dismissively, feign ignorance of recognition, assume you have an ulterior motive or just get upset. It's gotten to a point in my life where all the nice and caring things I used to do for people (usually just small things, like compliments and nice gestures) I don't bother with anymore, simply to avoid a negative reaction. I guess I can be blamed as being lazy and just not trying hard enough, but being nice isn't something you should have to try hard at to be - you should just be nice and that's enough.

Maybe it's just me, maybe I've just had excessive bad luck in most of my affairs, maybe I'm just doing something wrong. But I doubt sincerely that I'm being that out of place. I dunno, maybe I just need to start with a smile and work my way up from there. Whatever the case, I don't think I'll stop trying completely anytime soon - maybe some chance encounters will prove fruitful in the future, and that will encourage a sort of revival of good spirits, so to speak.

At the very least, this week will end well, I have great hope for that. And, quite honestly, I will always have my juice. Maybe I just need to concentrate on some other little things to give me some perspective. Chin up, eyes to the stars, sparkles in your eyes. (Probably from hope!) Everyone have a great day.

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