Life of Lawrence

“No, look...harder.”

Phil Collins - Son of Man

In learning you will teach // And in teaching you will learn // You'll find your place beside the ones you love // Oh, and all the things you dreamed of // The visions that you saw // Well, the time is drawing near now // It's yours to claim it all

I’ve been in a bit of a holding pattern since finishing Elon Musk’s biography the other week since I was waiting for my roommate to get his copy of Aziz Ansari’s Modern Love from his friend, so for the past week or so I’ve enjoyed reading to very popular novellas that have been on my list for a while: The Alchemist and The Little Prince. For how short and simple both these stories are, they are now two of my favorite books.

The Alchemist is a story about a shepherd from Spain who, after having recurring dreams of a treasure at the Egyptian Pyramids, embarks on his Personal Legend. While fairly simple, it brought up some very interesting themes, such as finding what you’re meant to strive for in life and follow that as closely as possible, no matter what stands in your way. A lesser but just as equally interesting theme in the book is how some people give up on achieving their dream because they are too afraid to actually do so - they fear they will have nothing once they achieve their dreams.

As for The Little Prince, this one really got me. Again, it’s a simple story, this time told from the perspective of an aviator who crashes in the Sahara and meets a little prince from another planet “scarcely bigger than him.” Throughout this simple story though are anecdotes that tackle themes such as love, loss, and growing up - my favorite anecdote was when the little prince met a fox and wanted to play, but the fox told the little prince that he could not play because he wasn’t tamed, and went on to explain how taming something (or someone) makes them special to you (and you to them) in a way that no one else is, and once you tame them, it’s your responsibility to take care of them, though this part is often neglected, according to the fox.

Jamestown Story - Falling

So fall // I'll be behind you // I'll be there to guide you // When you've lost your way // Yeah, forever's long time // But far from enough time // To spend with you

Trevor Dahl - When You Come Home

I'll pass my time at the old mill / Maybe stop by the lavender fields / I just wanna see your face / You look so cute in that white dress / But we should undress and get in your bed / It's too hot in here anyways

Rob: ...so if you want C-grade ice cream, go to Ben and Jerry's, but if you want A-grade ice cream, go to Penn State.

Me: Yeah, and the dairy used in the ice cream is so fresh, it takes three days to go from cow to come, or as we like to say, from moo to you!

Nico: Are you serious with that line.