Pages of My Life

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That's a true fucking fire right there.  She's probably 12 or 13 feet tall. Can't wait for more of these this summer

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Today we should not only honor and recognize the tragedy of April 15th one year ago, but we should celebrate and be proud of the unity of this city and the good it has displayed through such a hard time - I don't think there is any better way to define the camaraderie of Boston than through this video.

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Jake Owen - Anywhere With You

Watching this video gets me so hyped up for summer. Concerts, late nights, being outside, I can't wait.

I'm going to see Jake Owen with Eli Young Band and The Cadillac Three in May which will be a great way to kick off the summer!

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The beautiful simplicity of Bowdoin, ME.  

The experiences I've had here are more important to me than any vacation or trip to some picturesque dreamland.  I would choose to be here even in the worst of weather than to be at a mansion or a nice beach somewhere in the tropics.

Appreciate the good things in life.

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These last seven months have taught me so much about myself. I've questioned who I am, what I want and what is important to me. I'm happy though because I'm finally beginning to answer those questions. This first year at college has been a life changing experience for me, but not in the way that most kids experience it. I've learned things about myself that I never knew before. I've learned not to follow societies norms just because people say I should. Educations are important, and the college experience is wonderful, but not for all people. I want to dedicate my time to other things over the next year, which is why I have chosen to take a gap year. I have truly discovered the importance of my family and the importance of appreciating life for all the little things it has to offer that many people take for granted. Going to college has shown me that I don't want to live the life that I had planned when I graduated high school. My mind has changed, my priorities have changed, my attitude has changed, and I learned that it is okay for that to happen. I no longer feel like I have to make everyone else proud of me, because the greatest form of success is happiness and I am finally pursuing what is making me happy. In turn, people shall be proud of me for that.

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Typical spring break in Maine with snow on the ground. What better way to enjoy it than to pretend it really is spring time, grilling ribs with shorts on! Of course you have to add the boots and jacket because it's so fucking cold.

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Brantley Gilbert - Saving Amy

Favorite artist and one of my all time favorite songs, all that needs to be said.

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I was talking to a buddy of mine the other day and he told me, "The best decision I made in my life was to pick up a guitar and learn how to play it." Just within the 3 months that I have been playing, I can completely see where he is coming from. I love playing so much that I look forward to practicing every day.  When I'm bored, instead of wasting time like I used to, I pick up the guitar and strum away.  It's a new release for me, something to do to free my mind, but I enjoy it at the same time. It makes me look at music differently and respect it so much more than I already did. I can't wait until I get good enough to be able to learn songs by ear. I've already learned Saving Amy by Brantley Gilbert, most of Sweet Home Alabama and I've come up with a few things of my own.

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Really looking forward to summer this year.  It's been a big transition to college, being away from home and all, and it'll be good to be back home with my boys and family.  Not to mention all the good concerts coming to New England this year.  If all goes well I'll be seeing Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice, Cole Swindell, Jake Owen, Eli Young Band, Cadillac Three, Jason Aldean, FGL and Tyler Farr. So pumped! 

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Tyler Farr - Hello Goodbye

I love when I come across new music. Not new necessarily in terms of release date, but new as in the first time I hear it. Tyler's Redneck Crazy is one of my favorite country songs, and just last night browsing YouTube I discovered this song. I have to say, this is one of the most brilliantly written and beautifully performed songs I have heard in a while. I’m a huge fan of artists who write songs about things they have been through, and Tyler puts so much emotion into this one. Give it a listen!  

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Late Night Thoughts

Darkness has such an strange effect on the human mind. A friendly street can turn into an eerie, quiet place as soon as the sun sets. The scenery doesn't change, the people don't change, but the atmosphere changes. The darkness, with the exception of living in a big city, casts silence among everything. But strangest of all, is how much the darkness makes the mind wonder. My head races at night. I think about things with so much detail, things that I would pay no attention to in the day. At times I lay in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling, or looking out the window, thinking of anything and everything. My entire mood is different during the night. Recently I was laying in bed, and all of a sudden I began to think of old friends from high school, or even middle school, who I never talk to anymore. While I was in bed, I contemplated reaching out to those friends in an attempt to rekindle friendships. When I woke up in the morning, sun shining through the window, campus bustling with students, I had no interest in pursuing what I thought about the night before. This one example holds no significance, but it illustrates how differently the mind acts when overcome by darkness.

FYI: I'm writing this at night

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The Fray - How To Save A Life 

I always forget how much I love The Fray. I listen to a wide variety of music, and sometimes The Fray will just drop off my radar for a long time. They released a new album this year. I found it on Spotify and here I am listening to them again and I rediscover how good there music is. Isaac Slade has such a unique, distinctive and passionate voice. 

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So I'm sitting in class today and out of the blue our teacher looks at a student and goes, "Oh my gosh, Connor, are you okay? I can't believe that happened to you!" Obviously they had a prior conversation about this event, but the teacher asks him to share the story with the class. I'll paraphrase is from his standpoint:

"So my friends and I were walking to a house to drop off a few girls late at night. I don't know if it was a frat house or what but there wasn't anything going on there, no parties or anything. As we're walking, guys behind us are taunting us and trashing the girls I'm with. We get to the front steps of the house, I turn around and say "Alright guys cut it out." Before I know it, one of the guys had walked around behind me, pulled my shoulder back and slugged me in the face with his fist. He knocked me out. I woke up and my jaw was broken, the upper part of my mouth was displaced and bleeding. I was driven home to Maine because our next door neighbor is a surgeon. He fixed up my face but I was awake the whole time. I was numb but I could feel stuff going on."

I was totally shocked but outraged at the same time. Like what kind of low life douches have the nerve to kick somebodies ass, without an prior altercation, and run off to leave him laying in the snow with a broken jaw? And the thing is, I never would have guessed he had gotten jumped because his face was totally fixed up. It's currently Tuesday evening and he has surgery just this past weekend. Goes to show you really never know what individuals have been through at a first glance.

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“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”

—  Christopher McCandless / Into The Wild

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Poor video quality because it was filmed on a phone but these are my buddies Dylan and Wiley singing Overkill by Colin Hay at our resident hall coffee house tonight. Dylan's actually using my guitar, I'm nowhere near that good though!

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My advice to those who feel down about things not going their way, for those who complain when something little goes wrong, or just for those who are sad about something: be grateful.  We may not get a good grade on a test, or we may lose service on our phones every once in a while, or go to a restaurant that doesn't have wifi, there's even a chance our car may break down on the side of the road. In the big picture, those are such minute problems. One of my buddies lives in a trailer and doesn't have a good paying job. He said to me one day, "Dude, my life is so shitty." Well, I looked back at him and said, "You have a roof over your head." It may seem dramatic that I'm implying he should be happy just because he has a roof over his head. Yeah, it would be nice to live in a house. But the point I'm trying to convey is that some people live in dirt huts. Even worse, some people don't have a home at all. So may I say this..next time you run out of hot water in the shower, be grateful you have a fresh source of water to clean yourself off with, even if it may be cold for a day. Be grateful you have clean clothes to change into each day, or the opportunity to get an education and pursue your dream. I'm not trying to undermine the fact that people have bad days, because we all do for varieties of reasons. What I'm getting at, is that if you appreciate the blessings of all these little things, it can better your mood so easily. Our society takes so many things for granted these days, so it's a good reality check every once in a while and account for the all the things we're so lucky to have. Many people can't imagine the luxuries we have at our disposal. Be grateful.

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This photo is a throwback to this past summer in Harpswell on the coast of Maine, about 20 minutes from my dad's house. Often times while I'm at college I find myself thinking back to all the drives I've taken, sunsets I've watched, and shitty moods that have turned to happiness all because of this place. Harpswell is my escape when I feel pinned down. It's close but at the same time it's so far away from everything in my life. I feel as if I'm alone, it's so peaceful. It's one of the most beautiful places, in my opinion, in the world. Simple, but beautiful. Many people may not appreciate it like I do, which is understandable. But here is where you'll find me on many summer evenings. I come out here to watch the sunset while lobster boats come in after a long day of work. I come out here to observe all the tourists, coming from all over the country, while I appreciate that I have it all in my backyard. I come out here to reflect on life, or to forget things.