life's a trick or treat

this wonderfully orange and scary holiday is sadly not as popular over here in South Africa as it is in the States... which is a shame, because it's something i'd dearly love to have fun with :D i mean, putting a little terror in people's hearts is always fun, right? ;) plus there's dressing up... and obviously all the candy. which reminds me of this... 

be still, my heart :D

while cruisin' around Tumblr the other day, though, i found this little gem and it begged to be shared here:

how true is this illustration? it makes me laugh, but SERIOUSLY... some of the scariest things in life don't come in the form of Frankenstein or zombies (although i won't lie and say i don't find them pretty flesh-creeping, too) but have more generic names. 

exams, for one - if it were up to me, they'd feature right in the middle of this picture. exams just sneak up and scare the living daylights out of you if you aren't careful. (i have this little suspicion they're doing exactly this to me at the moment... yikes.)

growing up, for another. talk about creepy! learning how to fend for yourself can be so tough, and it's so tempting to want to run back to easier days - when budgeting, cooking, cleaning and working featured a little less prominently in your life.

or how about the prospect of trying to find a job? so many of my friends and friends of my sister are finishing their degrees in a couple of weeks -- and then it's crunch time. i can't imagine the scariness of looking for the right fit, and the apprehension of not getting what you're looking for, or not getting a job at all.

and honestly, not knowing what to do with one's life... i can probably relate to that point the most! rather than moving from vague to specific, like most people do, i started out with an incredibly specific idea of what my adult life would be like - i mean, i knew which car i wanted to drive, down to the colour, by the time i was 9 - and have since gotten more and more general in my decisions. which might also be fairly normal... but which is still petrifying. ha!

all of these scary things i've mentioned, though, i'd wager to state, can also be viewed as pretty incredible challenges. so yes, exams are daunting and unpleasant, but with the right amount of hard work and faith in oneself, they can also be really rewarding. growing up can seem like an insurmountable and downright awful challenge at times, but there are also incredibly great things about independence. trying to find a job can be a harrowing experience, yet still one that grows and challenges you in positive ways. and not knowing what to do with one's life? well, i think it gives you the opportunity to have faith that although things might not be clear right now, they will become so eventually, if you continue to pursue things that you love and have a heart for - which, although pretty terrifying in the meanwhile, may very well end up far more beautifully than you could have ever imagined.

so, here's a summary of my little Halloween-style philosophical rant for the year - life is what you make of it, warts and all, and though it can be tricky at times, it can also really be a TREAT! (oh, that is so corny. like candy corn. aaaugh.)

now it's time for you all to go out there, find your own Great Pumpkin, and have a wonderful Halloween ;)