My life, and my outlook on life, have changed significantly in the last two
or three years, to the point where I would barely recognize the person I was
then. I still remember how desolate I felt, how empty. I felt that I had
nothing, and indeed, I had very little, although I was too filled with my own
misery to realize the precious few blessings I did have.
  But today I face new problems, problems which are less obvious but more
bewildering. All my life I have longed to have "a good life", things to enjoy
and be happy with. All my life, I have lived with a mind to the future,
always feeling that someday I would be able to gain things, to achieve goals.
I put all my hopes in the future, hoping that someday I might be able to own
or do something I'd want.
  Today, I realize that the surest way to break your dreams is to have them
come true. People rarely give up on their dreams. Even when it seems
hopeless, they continue hoping, for without a goal, what is there in life?
The only time you ever truly lose hope is, in most cases, when you get what
you want. You enjoy it for a while, it makes you happy, then you forget about
it. I longed for many things, some of them material, some of them immaterial
(peace, love, confidence). I enjoyed some things for a while, got bored with
most of them, and now there is nothing I want. I have everything I have ever
wanted. It is strange, and perhaps a little sad.
  But I cannot just sit back and relax. Although I do not yet know what I
will do with my life next, it would be a shame to just do nothing and bask in
my own pleasure. Besides the fact that it would be unreasonably boring, it
would also be a waste. And so, although I don't know what I will do now, I
feel I ought to speak to the people who are still striving for something.
(And most people are, some very hard.)
  To everyone still journeying down the road of life, laying out plans and
goals for yourself, I caution you: *Do not* put all your hopes in things
which will pass away. As someone who has lived the dream and gotten over it,
I know that things which bring us pleasure endure for all too brief a moment.
Having things is nice, and it can be beautiful, but to make it the focus of
your life is to sabotage your life. Our lives are short. As such, take the
time to think how you can influence events that will pass even after your
life is over. Each of us should leave a legacy. Indeed, whether we want to or
not, we *will* leave a legacy; People will remember us, and they will have
been influenced by us.
  What will our legacy be? How will we affect the world? Someday we will
know.