This, my dear friends, is life.

So, I'm sitting here in my local coffee shop in the town I was born and raised in. I've been back home for a couple of weeks now, and I've answered the question approximately 2 million and 7 times at this point. You know the question. The "So, how is college? How was your first semester?" question. Please, don't take this the wrong way. I am so grateful to have such an incredible support system here at home that cares so much about me that is willing to take the time to sit and ask me about first semester. The reason for this post is that if you were one of the people that asked me about first semester, you know that my answer was one that went slightly like this "College is..uhh..well...amazing, difficult, confusing, etc." (among a few more words that completely conflict each other.) Now that I've had some time away from college, I've been able to process a little here and there. First off, I was slightly nervous to go to college. For the

I'm speechless right now. Where do I begin? Man, have I been blessed here recently. And I do mean beyond blessed. Things that others tell me I deserve have been happening to me, and I sit here in awe just wondering how and why I, Ashton Mason, the person that has caused so much heartache in this world, deserve this. I know Jesus provides redemption, but man, it's still difficult to accept. I'm at a point where everything amazing that is happening, honestly scares me senseless. One thing that college has taught me (or is in the process of teaching me, at least) is when to sit and think, and when to react on the spot. (Thank the dear Lord for this skill!!!) So, thank goodness, on a few different occasions, I have stopped to think before acting on impulse, and I'm convinced I have avoided much pain and trouble in doing so. Especially whenever life throws me things that absolutely put me on my knees and tears in my eyes, in the joy sense. When those things happen, I star

"Wake up, drank. Pass out, drank." Wait wait wait..wrong lyrics. Uhh..let's try again. "And Iiii, Iiiii, Iiii, will alwaaays looovee youu." No no no, that's not it.  "It's the Circle of Life." Lion King. That's what's up! If you're anything like me, music moves you in such a way that cannot be explained and the lyrics lay heavy on your heart. (Not all songs. Just some.) So sometimes, I will just analyze different songs and pick apart bit by bit different songs and see how the phrases apply within my life today. Lion King is a movie that is absolutely incredible, and the songs make me want to move to Africa, so OF COURSE I would analyze the songs! (#NerdLife) So "The Circle Of Life" was up first. First off, we must define life to see what we're circling...oh crap. ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSION!! I mean, I guess I could define some subcategories that lead up to what life is...life is: crazy, wild, fun, fantastic, confusin

Socrates once stated “Wisdom begins in wonder.” Sometimes, I think we become so complacent with the standard rules and regulations within society today, that we fail to recognize the unexplainable creativity that is within mankind today. I mean, there is wonder that will eventually be explained, such as I wonder if I'll ever have a family, I wonder where my life is going, I wonder how previous events effect the future, sometimes I wonder if I'll even live to see the age of 20. Some of the deeper wonders that I hope and believe will eventually be fulfilled is who is God? Are these promises and desires about the beauty of heaven and God true? I honestly think it is extremely healthy to just sit and wonder about certain topics of life, rather than just accepting the black and white that is the norm that society states today. For me, I believe I became so complacent and made the silent statement that “music is just music” and it is truly all the same. For me, my fav

“ Let us run with endurance....” Lungs bursting. Legs on fire. Anger and hatred are overtaken by joy and love. That's right, you're running. You're running HARD. What happens when you run? Well, obviously what I just listed, but some other stuff. Let's just do a quick rundown (get it, RUNdown? Alright...no more.) of everything. First off, the overall start is difficult. Make an overall, realistic goal. Such as a 5K within 3 months. Maybe make your overall goal a half marathon within two years, and work up to it. Next, making yourself get into your running clothes, and get yourself to your road (or treadmill) is flat out difficult!! For me, if I'm having a difficult time with motivation, I try to not take much time to stretch, otherwise the run won't happen, because I'll just sit there and think about it rather than taking action. So, you begin running for the first time. You learn some stuff along the way, such as what length of shorts

Many of you have been asking what all I did in Alaska, and my response is typically "What DIDN'T I do??" Flight there:7 hours. Painfully long to sit still :( The guy I was sitting next to either didn't speak English or didn't like me..either way, he wouldn't talk to me! Day 1:Found a quaint coffee shop in Anchorage called Kaladi Brothers Coffee that was the best coffee I've ever had. I was then walking around by myself and I couldn't figure out why all the shops were closed. It was still light out, so I asked someone what time it was, and it was about midnight haha. Getting used to the long days was pretty challenging. Day 2:Went on a 5 hour train ride. Again, painfully long, but saw some BEAUTIFUL sights, including a sweet lady that I started talking to. Her name was Betty. She was retired from General motors and has been on about 15 cruises, and plans on traveling until she dies because "Life is too short to do anything other than wh

Well, here I am. I just completed my last final in high school. The moment that I've been working up to for 15 years now (I went to 2 years of preschool.) is here, and I'm sitting here in disbelief that it's actually happening. The feeling is surreal. Honestly, I'm just sitting here thinking that I'm going to wake up and do this whole "school thing" again tomorrow. I think what makes this so bittersweet is that anything that you spend time on, you value. 15 years is a pretty large chunk of time. Senior year was the BEST year of my life. Just to recap: I started out the summer before senior year deciding that I would no longer drink because we had just gotten a new soccer coach that was STRICT on alcohol. So, I stopped drinking, which proved to be a very difficult battle, but it was a war worth waging. As senior year underwent, I was blessed with an amazing second family that truly turned my life around. I had intended on either graduating early or droppi

At some point in life, I gained the unique ability to step back, and truly see what was happening. As in, I would completely remove myself from the situation, and view it as if I were a new person walking in. Now, this ability is somewhat difficult to explain to friends, for the sole purpose that it is, indeed, a unique ability. Most people my age get so caught up in the moment, that they are not able to do such a thing. Psychologically speaking, it's just how we're wired. Here recently, it was applied to my life. You see, I was so caught up with all the typical "Senior stuff" that I wasn't allowing myself to enjoy things. The things I've waited 18 years for were passing by my eyes. I was so incredibly stressed and burnt out on life itself, that I was just ready to be done and out of here. The things I once loved such as my job and youth group were now tasks that I grumbled all the way through, and actually considered quitting. It wasn't until I had a c