I know Jack

Today's post is going to be a little different for today is my birthday(which I happen to share with my triplet cousins). So today you're not going to see me as Ninth Batter the machinimast and blogger. You're going to see me as Jack. I hope I can make an accurate representation of myself and give you some insight as to what makes me, well me.

In the short life that I have led I have seen love, joy, friendship, deception, cruelty, and a truly horrific act that still haunts me after 8 years. Most of my friends think I'm a brave person. I don't run away from my problems nor do I hide from the unknown. I have stood up to a man with a gun and have prevented a girl from having someone forced upon her, yet I have never considered myself brave. I act brave because people expect it from me when in reality I've always been afraid. People in my life seem to put me on a pedestal and have always expected great things. Yet I can never seem to see what everyone else sees in me.

I see a lot of people my age that think that they haven't accomplished anything in their life but most of the time that's the farthest from the truth. People seem to have this thought in their mind that just because a lot of people don't know their name they aren't successful. Success isn't measured by how many people know you but rather by how much that people that do know you care about you. I envy the father that is teaching his child how to ride a bike or the mother that never misses a soccer game. I wish I had such a influential affect on someone. When it gets down to it odds are that no one you know is going to change the world. The most one can do is shape their own world.

Life is hard for everyone whether you think it is or not. Humans naturally find conflict in their lives. If we are not fixing a conflict we are looking for one. If we can not find conflict we make conflict, it's just who we are. One of the greatest mistakes we can make is thinking that our lives are any worse that anyone else. Life is only as bad as your mind makes it. Try to not focus on the bad and instead fully enjoy all the good that is in your life. Life will always be a struggle, that's how it should me. It's that struggle that makes us stronger and teaches us who we are.

So then who am I? I am: a joker, a friend, a hopeless romantic, a person who fakes bravery, and someone who is unsure. I don't ever claim that I know all there is in the world, I just try my best with what I have. I have had many fortunate things happen in my life, all of which I am grateful for. But my luck isn't because I'm Irish, it is simply because I believe I'm lucky. I know that is a strange concept but if you believe in yourself and believe that good things happen to you, you stop noticing the bad and see much more of the good in your life.

So happy April 7th everyone. There is nothing anymore special about today than any other. Yet on this day I'd like to wish everyone well. Smile and enjoy yourself, I know I will. But then again, it is my birthday.

~Jack