Into the Wild

Never thought I'd keep up with this...but here I am on my bed once again with nothing to do and another five pounds of Swedish Fish.


This post is dedicated to my favorite movie and book I'm reading, Into the Wild. The story is about this kid, Chris McCandless, who leads a pretty normal life, graduates from Emory, and then decides to donate his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and take off for Alaska with nothing but a backpack and the clothes he's wearing. He leaves because of problems with his parents that make him come to resent them and feel that close human relationships only bring trouble and pain. He meets a myriad of people along the way and makes an impact on all of their lives, but leaves before the relationship can really take root. Finally he reaches Alaska, where he braves the taiga alone, with only the beauty of nature and an abandoned bus for company. My summary doesn't do the story justice at all, but I encourage everyone to see or read it for the full impact...the ending is puh-rime (prime), so much so that I can't even describe it.
Here's my favorite passage. Read and reflect.


"I'd like to repeat the advice I gave you before, in that I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. 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. If you want to get more out of life, Ron, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty."


I don't usually have the patience to see movies twice, or much less to go out and buy the book/READ it, so the fact that I did is really saying something. I'm not saying I would ever be brave enough to run off to Alaska...but if I can take even part of this passage to heart in my life then I'll be content. Plus, if it gives you any motivation, Emile Hirsch is the main character in the movie, and my oh my is he looking bangin'.