Lessons

My name is Ryan Timothy Bish. I am exactly twenty-four years and one month old. This is some of the stuff I've learned in that time:

1. "The truth is important, but so are your friends. And if you can have them both, then it's a good life." - Harriet M. Welsch

2. I am a lot smarter than anybody gives me credit for (which, in all fairness, is already a lot).

3. My dad died in a really nasty car accident -- over and over and over into a ditch, miles and miles and miles away from anywhere near home -- when I was seven, AND THAT WAS NOT MY FAULT.
     Okay, it wasn't my fault. If that sounds like just a big "duh," you've probably never dealt with depression. To which I can only say, fucking congratulations.

4. Spelling is important.

5. "Fall down seven times, get up eight." - Marco the Animorph
      He got that from a fortune cookie.

6. Here's the thing to remember about high school: Unless you are either unusually pathetic or unusually lucky (or, you know, Buffy and Xander and Willow, who were unusually pathetic and unusually lucky -- oh yeah, and I suppose they were also, um, fictional characters), you and your best friends are inevitably going to start drifting apart within two and a half years of graduation.
      College is another story.

7. Life is a lot less scary if you have a sister.

8. Never go anywhere without your camera.

9. Give yourself a pat on the back, and not just for "the big things."

10. Lying is wrong.
      But people do it.

11. Listen to your instincts.

12. If your boyfriend is able to look you in the eye and say, in full-on Serious Face, "I wish I had Ke$ha's life," that's probably a sign that THIS IS NOT GOING TO END WELL.

13. Forgiving is easy. Forgetting is hard freaking work.

14. Once upon a time, I flat-out saw the future -- or, rather, felt it (refer to Lesson #11). Despite taking three pictures to try and get myself to see what I was feeling, I didn't put the pieces together in a way that made sense (or, rather, didn't -- seeing the future doesn't make sense) until fourteen months later.
     So . . . that happened. Believe it or not, but I got the better deal. I learned things and I took notes and I am stronger now. The other guy? Not so much.

15. Real friends tell you the things you don't want to hear.

16. Subtlety is for other people.

17. Sleep is important, but it's not that important.

18. "Fall in love whenever you can." - Alice Hoffman

19. If you "just can't stand the thought of" gay sex, don't have gay sex.
      Why is this so difficult for some people?

20. Winter is awesome. I like being cold because it reminds me that I'll get warm again later. (And yes, I adapted that from Granny Weatherwax's opinion on rain.)

21. Escalators are stupid when you think about it. "Man, the stairs could be so much more convenient if we didn't have to freakin' walk." BITCH, PLEASE.

22. Almost everything is hilarious.

23. Writing is hard. But worth it.

24. "You are not consumed by the darkness because you are full of light." - Robin McKinley
      Interpret that as you will.