~Do Hard Things~

-by Alex and Brett Harris

My sister first recommended this book to me about a year ago...but I can't remember exactly. I put it off and put it off. Just recently, I got a copy of their sequel, Start Here, knowing that I would have to read the first, but taking the second ahead of time. Start Here is still sitting there unread, but I am to deal with that problem soon enough.

First of all, even though it is non-fiction, I was surprised to find that it read like a novel; every page was eagerly turned over.

The thing that gets me most psyched is that everything that I had been thinking about before was being put into words right before my eyes. I had previously mentioned in a different post that I was going to leave the public school and go back home to be home-schooled and learn at a faster pace. Unfortunately, our public school does not allow anyone to play sports for their school unless they are a full-time student.

That means me. And that means I cannot play golf unless I stay. So I have to stay. But I am planning on graduating early in December, getting a job during my "second semester", and learning on my own during my free time. That way, I get the "best of both worlds".

But, back to the book. One of my favorite parts is the Myth of Adolescence. Did you know that before 1941, the word teenager never existed? A term that has probably has caused many stereotypes to start swimming around in your head. It has such a negative connotation, and personally, it disgusts me.

I don't want to be someone caught in between childhood and adulthood. I want to grow up. This verse is often quoted in the book:
"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." - 1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV
There should be no time in between to goof off and kid around. We are meant to man up (or woman up) and face the world. We need to do something with our lives before it is too late. We need to join the rebellion against low expectations and set higher ones for ourselves.

I have much more to say, but I am leaving that to a future, more planned out post... :)