“My fault, my failure, is not in the passions I have, but in my lack of control of them.”

As you probably have noticed, I'm a huge fan of Kerouac. To me, he's a demagogue. He probably never realised that the things he wrote are to me, didactic. Maybe it's just a phase I'm going through, maybe it's not. Maybe I'll eventually find out, maybe I won't.

Before I begin, hats off to all the Americans out there, whether you be a Democrat or a Republican, on Obama's inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, and the first African-American president, too. It's change. It's proof that anybody, anyone, can make a difference. If the largest most globally dominating country in the world can make such a big transition, so can you. His speech, in ways more than one, instilled optimism into me. I know many have criticised, analysed, commented and what not on his speech, so, I won't say much. The delivery of the speech was fucking excellent. Full of promises, ideals, and advocated not what the government itself can do, but what the people of the country can do to achieve greatness. The message of going back to your roots, treating people in a disciplined manner, and noticing the suffering that occurs around us. There was something about the manner in which the speech was delivered that injected hope into me, despite the fact that I'm not even American, and because of that, Obama, I salute you.

Okay, so fuck, that's that done. Back to the mundane subject of my daily life. I think that SATs are a stepping stone for every aspiring teenager; the single test that enables you to get into the college of your choice and pursue your dreams. However, there's something that bugs me about it. America is so keen on producing and promoting the freedom of thought, and the freedom to express and follow your dreams, that the test seems to foil this whole idea. Life isn't about multiple choices. Yes, we make choices everyday that ultimately put us in different places, make us end up somewhere different. It's so fucking black and white though. Does academic excellence really determine your worth? I realise that every step I make now alters where I end up. But you know what? Fuck where I end up. Fuck where I end. Fuck where I begin. The one thing that matters to me, is what I see along the way. The path is what matters. People in this society only care where you end up...but no one cares how you actually got there. We spend so much time thinking about the end that we forget that the true meaning of experiences and life lays exactly on that path we took!

You are not your SAT score. You are not the college you get into. You are your confusions. You are your dreams. The only thing to witness all of this is the empty sky that looms above us...and that is the only thing that will not judge us. Dare to follow that dream. Dare to live everyday to the hilt. Dare to lose control over everything you were tentative about. And remember...remind yourself about the good and simple things in life, whatever they may be to you...it's good for the soul.

“Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.”

I just realised everything I tried to say could've been said in these more-than-condign 16 words. That's why Kerouac is a legend, and I'm not. Ah wells, fuck it.