How To Live

I love Kate's writing assignments....definitely. Needless to say, Kate does not, but seeing as we agree on virtually nothing, who is surprised by that?  Kate was to write her own "How To Live" piece, following the template of Charles Webb's How To Live. Excerpts from Webb's writing spoke to me....

Go fly fishing every chance you get, with friends
who'll teach you secrets of the stream.

Read Dostoyevsky, Whitman, Shakespeare and Twain.

Snorkel with moray eels and yellow tangs.

Try not to lie; it sours the soul. But being a patsy sours it too.

Have kids if you can afford them,
but don't make them your reason to be.
Spare them that misery. Take them to the beach.

If you get sick, don't thrive on suffering. There is nothing noble about pain.

Listen to Elvis....and Bach.

Own Perlman's ""Meditation from Thais."

Don't be too sane. Work hard. Loaf easily.

Have good friends, and be good to them.

Be immoderate in moderation. Spend little time anesthetized.

Smile for the camera. Don't say "Cheese."

So, what was Kate's perspective on How to Live?

Eat Jamaican chicken, cheese ring, and peach cobbler. (the latter two being the only things her mom can cook)
Dive from the cliffs in Negril.
Visit Atlantis Paradise Island.
Soak up some sun on a Jamaican beach.  (I'm sensing a developing theme)
Soar above the clouds on an airplane. (relieved that wasn't some other high)
Go on a no budget shopping spree.  (She is her mother's daughter)
Meet a famous person.
Take a picture with the Hollywood sign.
Surf some waves in Hawaii.
Scuba with sharks if you're not scared.
Own a Lab, they'll be by your side through everything. (love to Ella and Marley and Bart and Bailey and Sunny and Footsy)
Drive a sportscar and reach maximum speed.
Kiss in the pouring rain.
Ride a rollercoaster and don't hold on.
Read The Bible; it'll teach you about life.
Learn right from wrong and left from right. (Extremely important before upcoming driver's road test)
Try to learn algebra, even though you'll probably never use it.
Trust yourself more than others because in the end you're all you have.
Figure out who you're meant to be regardless of others' input.
Watch The Proposal, The Blind Side, and Finding Nemo.
Remember 9/11, Michael Jackson, Whitney, and fallen soldiers.
Remember that you're perfect just the way you are.
Don't stay stuck in the past; it'll only hold you back.
Don't waste your breath arguing with mom because she will make sure she is always right.
Don't mourn.  You'll meet again one day.
Don't look back and wish you had done something; life is too short to live with regrets.
Be a friend, a sister, a girlfriend, and a child of God.
Be yourself because you're youer than you, and there's no one alive who could ever be you.

Yes, Charles Webb spoke to me.  My daughter spoke to me even more.....