The Introduction

Hey!

Okay...so you know that thing where out of nowhere, you suddenly realize that you're 20/30/50 years old? And your life is steadily slipping out from between your fingers? And you have all these dreams and big ideas, but you've not actually done anything to achieve them? And you've let all these people tell you that you can't do what you want, that you have to do this, or that, or this other thing?

So you realize this, right? You get it. You're like, "well, crap, I'm growing older every second and I haven't done even a fourth of what I really want to do." So what are you going to do about it?

Well...I don't know what you're going to do about it. I mean, I barely know what I'm going to do. But I have a vague idea. Let me tell you.

Okay, so first I should introduce myself. I'm Jordy Branam (my real name is Jordan but I've gone by the family nickname for a while now). I'm a twenty-year-old guy living in the glorious city of Norman, Oklahoma. And for the past two years, I've been attending the University of Oklahoma. On the surface, my college record looks pretty freaking slick: 3.9 GPA, member of the Honors College, recipient of several prestigious scholarships, blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong--I'm pretty proud of my accomplishments. I don't mean to knock the hard work I've put into achieving those things.

However, about a month ago, I officially withdrew from OU, with absolutely no intent of returning. I'm sure some of you have just gasped in horror and spilled your beverage dramatically. "What?" you shriek in dismay. "You...you dropped out?"

My answer, of course, is a resounding "yes."

"But...why?" you ask, incredulously.

Well, that is a post for another time. I have a lot to say about the so-called "college experience," and believe you me, I intend to say it. But not now. Right now, I'm still letting you know what I'm doing. So, as I was saying, I dropped out of college (for a multitude of reasons, upon which I will elaborate in the near future). Now, it's the summer of 2012, and I am going to spend the rest of my life trying to achieve my dreams.

The thing is, I have a very acute sense of my humanity. I know quite well that I could die any day--any second, really--and that my time here is limited. I absolutely have to take advantage of the time I have left and do what really makes me (and hopefully others) happy. All around me, I see people just plodding through their lives, living paycheck to paycheck, wishing desperately that they could be doing something else. But why?

Seriously. Why all the misery? Why all the unhappiness? You say you hate your job, your major, your life, whatever. Why not do something about it?

You have a million answers, of course. "The economy is horrible right now." "The major I really want will never get me a job." "This is what normal people do." And the list goes on...

Do you know what all of that really boils down to? One word. I'll give you a clue: it's four letters long and starts with the letter "f." (No, not that word--although I have to say I'm a big fan of that one, ha ha.)

The word is fear. We're all scared. We're afraid to try something new, to quit our jobs, to move, to change our majors, to drop out, to give something else a try for a while. What are we scared of? Well, that differs from person to person. Maybe you're afraid you're not smart enough to do something else, or that you don't have the right set of skills. Maybe you're afraid of what your friends/family/demon overlords will think. Maybe you are just afraid that it won't work.

Guess what, my ducklings? I am done with fear. I'm done letting it rule my life and dictate my actions. I'm doing what I really want to do. I have a lot of dreams, you know. I want to sing and write and illustrate and make money and build a paradise on earth, for starters. And that's just the beginning of a long list. But the point is...I'm getting started on these things now. One of my dreams is to have a blog with thousands of visitors, so today I sat down, made an account, and began working.

I would like it a lot if you came along for the ride.