Hashtag Footprints

Five months later, and I think it's time to start the hashtag train running again. Gotta shovel some coal into this bad boy, because magnet rails weren't exactly in the budget ever at any point and, to be honest, I'm not totally convinced magnets aren't just witchcraft. Make me a little uneasy, those magnets. Now if you'd be so kind, please allow me to find my writing fingers.

Oh, there they are. On my hands. Duh (writing fingers, check; rudimentary observational skills, check; everything seems to be in order, so let's get this train on the tracks so we can immediately derail it again).

Now we all probably know the classic story about the man walking along the beach with Sasquatch. There's something about how the man looks back and sometimes there's two pairs of footprints and sometimes there's only one? And then I think Sasquatch says something along the lines of "HHUURRRGGGEERRRHUUU! AAAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" What an inspirational story. Just beautiful, really. Such imagery in those words.

Sasquatch's sage words of wisdom aside, however, the only thing I'm really trying to pull from this story is the footprints metaphor. What better way to represent where you've been in life other than a literal trail of footprints? That was a trick question. There's nothing better. Don't even try to think of anything. No, seriously. Just... just let me have this one, okay? Please?

I've recently re-discovered an electronic album that I used to listen to back in 2008 or so, and what a blast from the past it is. Made me remember that the reason I got into electronic music in the first place was because of someone I haven't spoken to in years. That's kind of a crazy thought. It's like there's always some small part of any inter-personal relationship that will persist even if the two people grow apart.

I guess really who I am today, then, is a sort of culmination of every relationship I've had so far, platonic or otherwise. I pick up phrases and preferences from just about everyone, as the nature of my being is generally to observe and process. Kind of really cool to think about, especially when you realize that everyone in the world is interconnected in the same vein. We all mold and are molded by each other, the result of which is a sort of ever-shifting gradient of the human condition along uncountable axes of personality and behavior.

What I think might be the most interesting thing I took from listening to this album for the first time in about seven years, however, is the fact that what used to be my favorite track is still my favorite track, even after all this time. I talk so much about how humans are changed and sculpted by the passage of time, and yet certain preferences and traits we have seem to remain static, regardless of everything else that appears to change.

But maybe "change" isn't the word to best describe what happens to the human mind. Perhaps the word "accumulation" is better suited to convey the metamorphosis we undergo over the course of our lives. As a person who relishes nostalgia and sentiment, I'd like to think that we never really lose any part of our selves. Would a sorcerer forget the most rudimentary spells upon learning that one spell which is better than all he previously knew? No. He just wouldn't use them anymore because they don't kick nearly as much ass as the new stuff. Okay, maybe that metaphor isn't totally relatable, but I think you get the picture.

The moral of the story is: HHUURRRGG--wait. No, not that, sorry. The moral of the story is that we never stop growing. Learning new things and making new memories is what we're all about, but that doesn't mean we lose where the old knowledge and memories brought us. This game called life auto-saves your progress when you sleep, so just keep moving forward, and maybe you can even go back and take a look at some of your weaker spells every now and again. Or footprints. Either metaphor works here, honestly.

Just grab Sasquatch's big ol' hand and enjoy the walk.

--J