DramaLit Blog 1.0: BU School of Theatre

1. Have a firm handshake.
2. Look people in the eye.
3. Sing in the shower.
4. Own a great stereo system.
5. If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.
6. Keep secrets.
7. Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.
8. Always accept an outstretched hand.
9. Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.
10. Whistle.
11. Avoid sarcastic remarks.
12. Choose your life’s mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 per cent of all your happiness or misery.
13. Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.
14. Lend only those books you never care to see again.
15. Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.
16. When playing games with ! children, let them win.
17. Give people a second chance, but not a third.
18. Be romantic.
19. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
20. Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems.
21. Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for our convenience, not the caller’s.
22. Be a good loser.
23. Be a good winner.
24. Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.
25. When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.
26. Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.
27. Keep it simple.
28. Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.
29. Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.
30. Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets
31. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the one’s you did.
32. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
33. Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.
34. Take charge of your attitude. Don’t let someone else choose it for you.
35. Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; you need only stay a few minutes.
36. Begin each day with some of your favorite music.
37. Once in a while, take the scenic route.
38. Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, ‘Someone who thinks you’re terrific.’
39. Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.
40. Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.
41. Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.
42. Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.
43. Make someone’s day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.
44. Become someone’s hero.
45. Marry only for love.
46. Count your blessings.
47. Compliment the meal when you’re a guest in someone’s home.
48. Wave at the children on a school bus.
49. Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.
50. Don’t expect life to be fair.

This is one of the more powerful things I’ve read in awhile. I use stumbleupon a lot and I generally glaze over a lot of pages I see, but this post caught my attention and I immediately read through each of the 50 life reminders in full. I don’t know. There’s something so amazing about all these things. And I know its not so directly related to art or theatre but something hit me so hard about it all. How do we keep all these lessons alive in our lives? Its so hard to keep them at the forefront of our brain. I read this post months and months ago and I still think about it. I still think about how I am not giving people second chances and taking charge for yourself and thanking those that help me along the way and simple things like just be the last person to let go of a hug and sing in the shower. I don’t know. All my posts here have been mostly inspiring things that I have seen in theatre. This post just jump-starts me in ways I can’t really explain. Do people feel the same way? Does this list hit hard for you? I want all these things to be true in my life. And its impossible to maintain all of them but we have to try. We have to try or else we’re wasting away our days. I mean this is just a silly post i found on stumbleupon but I think it has so much merit and weight in our lives as artists and human beings. I’ve read these sort of lists before but I never get through them and they don’t seem to sit with me the way this one did. Maybe its the period of my life, where I’m at with being in college and doing what I’m doing and having the power to spread stories to everyone. These are the things we need to be spreading to one another and to strangers and to loved ones and our families. The list just holds a lot of power and I desperately want to use it.