DEPENDS WHO YOU ASK
Who do you want to be exactly like? Is there anybody in this world who’s laid down a template for your dreams and goals that you’d copy and paste over your own life’s story? Maybe you want to spend your nights after work in south LA at Wingstop or traveling the world hoping that these little moments will last. One half of the control group will tell you it's not worth it, that you might as well just live the single life and hit the road. The other half will tell you that it was the flash point for their entire life and that they'd be nowhere without their significant other. The answer depends on the experience had be each person you talk to. Maybe the "Nos" spent their days curled up in a ball fighting with their boyfriend or girlfriend on the phone and never applied themselves to making the most of their time. You'll never find the answer you want, just information with which to build your own idea and chart your own course.
Take my friend, I called her tonight in LA and she answers while driving the 110 home. Talk about a juxtaposition; me on the phone and her fiancé in the car listening to every word. Her advice points out, "typical Carl, letting the good ones go and taking out the trash" the clamant flaws in my life that should go under a review board. Quickly I realized the impact that I've had on people's lives and I'm almost fearful to let go and move on. What if I regret this like I have in the past? If you’re not sure of what you love, that means you can be talked out of it, and that’s a slippery slope.
It all depends on who you ask.
Which is a pretty great reason to stop asking all together. Nobody’s life template will ever lay evenly over yours. And in those times when they clash completely, you have to walk alone, with confidence that you’re creating your own template, made out of your own instincts and your own dreams and your own goals. And if you do it long enough, maybe someone someday will look to yours as the life to model theirs after. Of course, some people won’t agree with them. It will all depend on who they ask.
CV
HONORABLE MENTION
I've always said, "If I didn't have a camera I wouldn't travel" I think deep down I have this sense that I'm a photographer and that maybe I'll capture those images that will put people in awe. Until then here are some honorable mentions. ENJOY
Image Gallery
25 FACTS YOU MIGHT NOW KNOW ABOUT CARL
1. I was obsessed with reading about airplanes when I was a kid.
2. When I was born I was already awesome. I think it runs in the family.
3. I flew an airplane by myself by the age of 18 at Muskegon Airport.
4. When I was young, I'd lock myself in my room and record my favorite songs from the radio on to tape and practice singing them. Then in the evening I'd drape my sheets over my bunk-bed to make it resemble a stage and would charge my mom a dollar to watch me perform.
5. I'm named after my dad's best friend who died in a plane crash and my grandpa died in a plane crash when my father was 12 years old. Hopefully there's no irony here considering I'm a pilot.
6. I am secretly in love with chicken and if she were a woman I would marry her. I would cheat on her with lucky charms but I am pretty sure I could convince them to have a ménage à trois.
7. I don't have many favorites, but my favorite game is hide and seek.
8. I didn't drink until I was 22.
9. I have an uncontrollable urge to steal things even though I perfectly capable of affording it, I like the rush.
10. I taught myself how to make balloon animals when I was little.
11. I had a horrible temper when I was a kid. I would clench my fists and turn red in the face as my whole body would shake. Calm down buddy.
12. When I was younger, my mom would make me sit at the table until I finished all my food... Never happened! My dad would always come to the rescue. What can I say I know what I like and what I don't.
13. Macgyver was my all time hero and the password to my first ever savings account.
14. I had my first girlfriend my junior year of high school.
15. I used to dress up like a police officer and help old ladies cross the street to church.
16. I almost always move to new cities with less than 3 weeks notice.
17. I plan on having sex at all 7 wonders of the world.
18. I made a promised to myself I would know at least one other language fluently before I have kids so they can be raised bilingual (I actually plan on at least 5)
19. Every Christmas and Birthday I asked for a power wheel and to this day I haven't gotten one.
20. I have already begun the floor plans for the coolest tree house ever. I always wanted one as a child and never had one.
21. I learn a lot about myself from my dreams.
22. My first cat never had a name and he was my "police dog"...
23. One of my 3 measures for personal success is starting a charity. It is already mapped out.
24. I no longer have my tonsils and almost lost my splene.
25. I would take a cute dorky girl over a super hot model girl in a heart beat.