Photo Stories Day 4 Videoblogging Week 2007
Looking back on old images brings back mixed emotions and memories. I find it is often difficult for me to look back on my high school years with fondness for very long.
Those years marked a bit of a turning point for me. One in which I have often said to myself that if it were possible to go back and do it again I would do so in a heartbeat.
With all that said, and even though for whatever reason it was emotionally difficult for me to look back on these images I am thankful that I have been taken to the point I am at now. I am glad for the lessons learned and for the grace given me even in my foolishness.
I originally thought I was going to talk about my long hair or my experiences playing hockey in Brooklyn in this video but instead I thought that I should tell the story that was most prominent in my head. The story that for me is most powerful. I tried to record other stories tonight, but if I am true to myself, true to being completely known, if I put aside what I think others might think or say, this is the video that I have to post.
Some may think I am being negative, some may think that I'm too hard on myself....think what you might.....I look back and am spurred on to better....I look forward with hope. I know that my life in the past has had both good and bad (much like anyone else's life)......and yet the best of my life has yet to come(a possibility that exists for us all). Each day is a blessing, each day is a step forward, each day is a day closer to the Lover of my soul. That is the story behind each image, and each memory: they all lead me Godward. And for that I am very thankful.
videobloggingweek2007
4 Comments:
Just finished the class of ROMANS it was good. To be a servant, minister and fellow-worker made me think of you.This video is so truthful and honest it makes me proud of you. Remember it all happens for a reason.
I'm glad you make these videos.
You know, Anthony, I used to live with some regrets too, but for me, I finally decided - kind of like you said - that it all brought me to where I am today. I also stopped blaming myself for things that just weren't my fault, especially when I was kid (and I say 16 is still a kid, for all practical purposes).
I think it's really cool to share a video like this and hope it helps you make some peace with yourself. You seem to be really living the life you want now, the way you feel you should, and I think that's wonderful. That's just the best feeling.
I've been looking at old pictures lately too, and I just see it as the past. I can't change it now, and so I move forward. You do a great job of doing the same, I think :)
Always moving forward is so important, and it seems to me that you have that locked. I can't lie, though: I'm one of those folks who said "Man! he's being so hard on himself!" after watching this.
The kind of truths you didn't want to deal with as a teenager were more a factor of (I believe) not possessing the ability to do so, as opposed to willful disregard. Only a mere handful of teenagers have the capacity or maturity to make those decisions on their own: they may walk the walk, but when they talk the talk it's mainly by rote. As an adult who has lived through questionable decisions (pretty much all teenage decisions fall into the questionable category anyway--I made some doozies) you have become the man you are today. Making mistakes in youth and learning from them are as important to personal growth as food and water and air and music and whatever else.
It's unfair to fault yourself for not finding your God sooner. Without that "foolishness" you may not have gotten where you are now. And you seem quite happy now--living the way you want! Not everyone can say that.
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