Second Chances

Watched 17 Again earlier today. It's one of those feel good with a side of popcorn kind of films (Who am I kidding? Any movie merits popcorn). Perhaps it isn't box office gold, but I like it. I like most movies that involve second chances at life, the kind that throw the protagonist in the midst of what his life could have been or has become to refresh his perspective. Re-start films.

Why are these so darn popular? Why do they always rewind to high school or college? This time line should scare the younger of us. It means we're making the decisions right now that impact the rest of our lives. And we don't get a do-over. We're defining who we will become through our actions today. Sure, we can realize mistakes down the line and pinpoint where we made them, but no one hands us a fresh slate. We have to admit our wrongs and pick up the pieces from wherever reality hits us.

So why not train to be who we dream we will become now? Because it will take training; it will not simply happen on our twenty-eighth or thirty-fifth or whichever-is-the-magic-number birthdays. Now is the time to learn the balance between wise decisions and risks, realities and dreams. That faith you hope you have when you're all grown up? Pursue it now. That book you want to write? The fitness level you highlighted in Self or Men's Health? That move you wish you made? Pursue them now. Second chances are a rarity and, sometimes, simply the stuff of screenplays. Don't expect them. Live today as the person you hope to be ten years from now. Ask for encouragement when you need it.