Expectations

Expectations make a lot of sense to me.  As humans we have this annoying habit of believing in things we can't see, whether that be some convoluted concept or an intangible future, and we cling to it.  Having expectations is akin to this in that we believe something will happen and plan around it as if it's set in stone while the truth of the matter is that all we really have is hope.  Expectations can turn out either way, they can pull through and work out all according to plan or they can fall through and only offer up a void where those hopes used to be.  I expect every song Lea Michele sings to be unreal and she never dissapoints, however, I also expect there to be granola in the pantry in the morning which is not always the case given I have an older brother who eats anything he can get his hands on...  Expectations to me are a lot like making a souffle, you spend a majority of your time doing the prep work, fastidiously measuring out the ingredients, pain-stakingly folding it all in and then you wait and hope that when you take it out of the oven it doesn't sink like the titanic.  When it does it's heartbreaking, but unlike expectations at least with the souffle you have a decently tasting if not oddly shaped dessert to eat still.  I've reached a crossroads when it comes to expectations because this past year really messed with my beliefs on this very subject.  It's in my nature to have high expectations for myself and others.  Lately, these expectations or rather I should say the unfulfillment of these expectations has been a real bummer.  I'm at a point where I'm beginning to start planning things to look forward to in the upcoming years, but because of my long-running streak of let downs I'm hesitant to do so.  Do I forge on and set expectations for the future or simply decide to have no expectations at all and therefore never be dissapointed?  On the one hand, not having any expectations means that I'll never be setting myself up for rejection, but on the other hand all that means is that I'm simply existing.  I think I would rather be more of an active participant in my own life than that.  Plus, a majority of our lives are spent expecting things while we only spend a brief moment in time fulfilling those expectations or experiencing their demise.  It seems like a fair trade-off to spend most of our lives clinging to Pandora's last contender for a few moments of dissapointment every now and then.  Interestingly enough Pandora's box is really Pandora's jar in original myth because it's supposed to symbolize femininity and fertility which is super ironic considering Pandora was created to destroy all of mankind through womanhood... yeah the ancient greeks were kind of mysoginistic pricks (my Ancient Mythology professor would be so proud right now!) Basically, I'm going to continue to have expectations and hope I don't get burned in the end so if you've experienced something similar recently take note that we have expectations every day without even realizing it so even though you may be upset over something that didn't quite turn out for you I'm sure there's something new you're already looking forward to without even knowing it!
Have a RUN-believable day!
Song suggestion: Spring- Fortune Family