Passion
The alarm rings with a disrupting ping that completely shatters the silence that once was when he was sleeping comfortably. No time is wasted before he is up and hurrying to the restroom where a quick five minutes leaves him ready for the day. Turning 25 last month, Alex is getting dressed for one of his all-time favorite activities that to many would deem slightly dangerous if not carefully done. The relatively new camera sits in the case on the chair where he left ready for tomorrow, along with his keys, wallet, and phone that receives the early bird text of "On my way!". While he never thought about the subject too much, Alex has always been interested in the wonders and profound greatness of weather. From fog that only allow one's hand to be seen close to their face, to the personal humbling feeling one gets when they view a tornado. From the eye-gazing scenes of overcast in the sky, to the magnificent sense of hope and livelihood one gets looking under the starry night. "We as humans tend to stare at objects or things that are greater than us, even allowing us to forget we could be in danger at times"; the sentence that Alex always thinks when weather crosses his mind. After feeding his almost two year German Shepard and making sure everything's turned off and doors are locked, Alex waits for a short time before his friend Chris picks him up.
In his high school years, Alex always had the great imagination of taking a drive away from the city in his compact crossover, with "just enough room for his drums", as he would say. He looked forward to not only taking beautiful shots, but also savoring the time that he got to enjoy something natural. Teachers, parents of friends, and mentors all reminded Alex of how he should do what he loves and love what he does in the future. This rang the ears of the humble senior, because no matter what schedule filled the week or how much down time he got, Alex would somehow always make room to go out and gaze upon the weather. He was even able to save a magnificent during the activities that he tended to, because weather is always there, and with a simply look up one can stumble upon something great. As the pastime became more involved and connections, weather gazing began to include weather chasing. The intense yet joyful act of riding through the patch of gray, with wind speeds up to 200 miles per hour, all with the comfort of knowing that the vehicle is more than capable of withstanding harsh conditions, is something that the young dreamer loved to look forward after hanging out with friends on Friday night. Seeing overcast more than 100 times, pictures of lightning, numerous night skies; to Alex, the day is brand new with the possibility of seeing anything.
Labels
There has always been a constant trend that expresses division between humans. The way in which we stand for a group; who we associate with and who we keep distance from and how we demonstrate our representation of such groups to the rest of the world. Politics, gangs, sports, academics, social class, gender, race, religion; some subjects that harness the capability to shed a significant influence for great or notorious motives. When we reflect on the ways in which pride, ego, and elitism pour in to the minds of many, the fact becomes clear that the noble perspectives becomes tarnished; through materials, social being, and representation. Significant theoretical physicist Albert Einstein once stated "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it". There's one common desire that every community, city, village, neighborhood, and country has; trying to progress in an ever-changing and intense world.
Stories on the news where a gang related shooting occurred and a by-stander was killed, or when the government is facing massive gridlock because Republicans and Democrats have yet to reach a confirming bill. Even the sour sound bites that come out of the politician who allegedly comes from a pure Christian background, when in reality digs a negative connotation to the rest who try to practice what they preach and learn, or the harassment dealt to the freshman athlete from the upper classmen. These cases are true for every society, community, and region in the world; ranging from tribal conflict to conflicting political parties. When the factor of representation takes over the motives of someone, it can truly block them from performing bold and honest acts. Governments with two party systems are those that constantly have difficulty passing regulations that are meant to provide solutions. One side working to pass their own legislation and soon being rejected simply the proposal came from the opposing party are cases that make one want to pause and question how effective it is to work separately when trying to better an entire nation under a single massive government. Putting aside differences for the sake of making the world a better place the solution that takes the humbleness and maturity of nations to combine and work together. However, false pride and affluence of such nations pours in to even the noblest of efforts down the drain. In a time of crisis, the situation that represents humans across the world surely foreshadows a conflict built and powered on pride and displaying to the rest of the world who's dominant. To those who have realized the foolishness of such mentality and see a greater conflict arising, the solution becomes overwhelmingly clear.
Should political perspective stop a person from helping someone in need? Will we allow race to define what we can do to help each other and better the entire world or put restrictions on saving someone's life because they're from a minority background? Can the wealthy and elite truly help a less-fortunate person without having to post to their social media, making sure everyone sees what they are doing for validation? Once we remove the titles, tags, and labels, it is clear we are on the same defense.