The Things They Never Tell You

Harsh Reality

Live.

A list of things to know before setting out into the world:

Anything valuable requires hard work.

If you are not willing to work hard someone else will be.

There is a big difference between the things you want and the things you need.

No one thinks about you as much as you do.

Few things are fair.

You will always have more to learn and will do much of that the hard way.

Unexpected and tragic things are inevitable; you will not be able to plan for them.

Most successes are built on the backs of failures.

You cannot make everyone like you, or even be pleased with you.

You will not be the same person in ten years that you are today.

You will be offered transformative experiences, but will not be able to predict in what way they will transform you.

You only get to do this once.

Other great lists of life lessons:

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/04/11/16-harsh-truths-that-make-us-stronger/

http://balletpages.blogspot.com/2011/10/15-truths-about-being-professional.html

  Photograph Courtesy of:

http://photosofbiblicalexplanations2.blogspot.com/2011/05/removing-veil.html

Curiosity and the Cat

Halifax

On December 6, 1917 the people of Halifax were drawn to their windows by a large fire on the river.  a French munitions ship had collided with a Norwegian ship and burst into flames.  When the munitions finally caught fire the resulting explosion was the largest ever recorded prior to the nuclear age.  Every building within a half mile of the blast was destroyed and over 2000 people were killed.  So much water was vaporized from the heat of the explosion that the floor of the harbor was temporarily exposed.  A tsunami related to the event destroyed an entire native fishing village.  Among the most common injuries to survivors and perhaps the most complicating part of the immediate response: blindness.  They had been drawn to the windows to watch the fire.  The shock from the blast shattered glass panes for close to a mile around the site.  How fragile we are.  What a delicate grasp we have on our tranquility.  The reach of our own innocence can be astounding.

Anita Shreve brings the events of the Halifax explosion to vivid life in her novel A Wedding in December

References/Photograph:

http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/reflections/halifax/eyeinjuries.html

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/atoz/HalExpl.html