Got in touch with my friend Michelle, a fellow screenwriter who moved to Jersey and just had a baby girl in December. Wanted to find out how she’s doing and to get her to send some pictures of her kids.
In her email, she wrote:
You’re an incredibly talented, driven, creative, and courageous person. I miss having an adventuresome friend like you nearby. Despite all the things and people in your life that can tie you down, you continue to fly by the seat of your pants. I admire that because it’s the only way to truly live.
That’s a nice thing for her to write. But it makes me wonder…if someone flies by the seat of their pants, are they approaching life ass-first?
Perhaps those are the trade-offs I’ve decided to make. I sacrifice ties and stability for freedom and to feed my appetite in curiosity and inquisition. I would prefer a short and fulfilled life than a long one where I barely stirred the surface.
It has been exhilarating, rewarding, and rich with colors, tastes, feelings and textures. As Blair once said, he believes I experience emotions he didn’t even know existed. I have touched so many people’s lives, and they have touched mine. But underneath it all, the sacrifice. My closest companion has always been loneliness.