Jon Peacock

Graduation

My church did a thing today where they recognized the upcoming graduates. I thought it was really cool.

I’ve always been attracted to graduation robes, graduation ceremonies and just anything to do with graduating, in general. I think its an integral part of any journey. It marks the end, of sorts. Not a true end, but more of a near palpable transitional phase.

Whenever I see anyone graduating, I am filled with pride for them. I get really stoked for them. When I was at my high school graduation, I was filled with the same feelings. Now that was several years ago, but I remember how I felt. I looked around and saw all my friends, and all those familiar (yet nameless) faces that had gone on this journey with me. And what were we all there to commemorate? A brilliant transition from one part of our life into another. We all knew that we had completed something really amazing. I remember listening to one of my fellow classmates give a speech during the ceremony. She told us to be proud. She told us that no matter what happened in our lives, this graduation was something that nobody could take from us. We earned it.

And as I’ve moved on from high school, and as my graduation from college looms near, I still feel the same. When I hear talk of graduating, I am met with happy thoughts of people learning, and doing, and thinking and moving on. Its a really awesome thing.

Easter Island

If I could go anywhere in the world, it would be Rapa Nui/Easter Island. For years this place has fascinated me, and I keep telling myself to go there. I’m going to look into the cost of a trip there, and see if I can make it happen. Hopefully before the year is through I can finally see this place that I’ve admired for so many years. There is no other place like it.

Two Weeks Into UWF

I have to say, I really like it so far. My professors seem really cool, and I’ve met a few cool people in some of my classes. I think I’m doing pretty well too, as far as the grades go. I’m pretty stoked, really. I still need to explore UWF a little more, though. The nature trail is really awesome, and very peaceful. I’ve been there and a few other places. I guess since all my classes are in the communications building I’ve yet to really branch out too much. It is a great school though, that much I know. Very few people that I’ve encountered have been rude in any way. I feel pretty proud of the fact that I go here, really. I didn’t know when I applied that they have won all kinds of awards for advertising (my major), and that they are nationally recognized as a great advertising school. But yeah, I really dig it so far, and I’m thankful I get to go here.

Languages

Here is something that I think about often. It may or may not be that profound, but I find it interesting. About three years ago, I started realizing that everything life is nothing more than a series of languages.

What do I mean by that? Basically, just that. When I go to a foreign language class, everything feels impossible to comprehend. I feel like there is so much information to learn before I can be proficient in understanding and speaking that language.

But the more you think about it, EVERYTHING is a language. Literally. When I took a trigonometry class a few years ago, it was it’s own language. The terminology was unique to that subject matter, and failure to understand it would lead to you not being able to communicate. If you didn’t know what a tangent was, or what a derivative was, you would not be on par, and wouldn’t be able to speak the language.

I’ve also mentioned in the past that I unicycle. Among unicyclists, there is a language. We all know what each trick is called, who the top riders are, what all the different unicycle components are called, etc. We speak this language, and if people overheard it, they wouldn’t be able to decipher it.

But you get the point. Ever since I realized this about three years ago, it has changed the way I look at things. Like even at my classes now, I don’t look at them for what they are. I think of them all as foreign language classes. Essentially, that’s what they are.

Teeth

I learned today that I have to have four of my molars taken out. Late next week is when we are thinking. Its crazy. I have a hole that developed in my gum a few days ago. It became unbelievably painful, so I’ve been on some antibiotics for it. I’m ready to just get these teeth taken out, and have my gums repaired. Its super annoying. I had a lot of health problems leading up to this that were unrelated, and then this came along as well. I just want to be healthy. Seriously. On a side note, too, its going to cost me between one and two thousand dollars just for the procedure of taking out these four teeth. I have no dental insurance, so I’ll have to cover it myself. I guess there is a fixed rate per tooth, combined with the cost of sedatives that they’ll use and what not. Its funny though, the more and more I’ve been having things wrong with my body lately, the less I care about money. I’m at the point where I hardly even care about it at all, honestly. I just really think health is something everybody should appreciate.

Two Things I Wrote Tonight

Stay

You cannot stay another day?

You told me that you would.

Why do you fear what others say,

When you know you never should?

Why do you faulter when you speak?

You mustn’t wither while you live.

Why does your confidence grow weak?

And can you never stop to give?

Me And You

Stay a moment. Lay with me.

And we can catch the tropic breeze.

We’ll talk about the way things are.

And bid farewell archaic scars.

Just a moment. Me and you.

And we can talk of things anew.

Grab my hand. Off we’ll go.

A waiting world is ours to know.

Suffering

Lately my mind has been on people who are suffering. This sounds incredibly broad, and that’s intentional. Reason being, I have been sick or in pain (with a variety of symptoms) for nearly a month now. I’ve lost between 15 and 20 pounds, and sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get healthy again.

Because this has been such a lengthy sickness, it has given me a lot of time to think. The thought I keep coming back to is that while I have been having a month’s worth of hardships, some people have lived two months worth. Or two years. Or a lifetime.

I think about people in other countries who don’t have the luxury of having medical tests performed, or access to medicine. I think about the people who didn’t lose the weight that I lost, because they have no more weight left to lose.

All these thoughts are driving me to do SOMETHING. I honestly don’t know what, but I want to reach out. I used to be more involved in charity and volunteering, but there has been about a two year lull for me, in that department. I hope this doesn’t sound self-righteous, and I hope you can sense that I’m being genuine here: I think we should all care more about each other, and help each other more. Does that sound corny? Absolutely. But its the truth. I think we turn a blind eye to everybody who is suffering on this planet, in all forms. Whether you lack food, healthcare, companionship or anything else, so many people are suffering. I really hate it, and I think the more concentrated our efforts become on alleviating suffering, the less it’s presence will be.

Written From A Drive

Wrote this on my way home from school. Very elementary, but its ok.

How could I have the proudest mind,

When I did not make the leaves?

How could I have a boastful gait,

When I did not mold the trees?

How could I say I love you,

When my heart beats not for thee?

How could you say that you love me,

When your heart does not beseech?

First Day Of Classes

So tomorrow is my first day at UWF. I got my Associate’s Degree last december, from Northwest Florida, and I took the spring semester off. I’m hoping it will be cool at UWF, though I really did feel a great sense of comfort at Northwest. It was a cool school, with great professors and just had a great vibe. I’m not someone who is going to put it down because its a local school; I think it has a lot to offer. I have great memories from there, and I really did learn a lot. I’m grateful for my time there.

I’m stoked though, for sure. I’m trying not to spend too much time looking back. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to learn, and just for everything right now.

Regarding UWF Housing Situation

So I was supposed to move into Village West at UWF today. I had all ready registered and got my room assignment and all that. If you would have asked me a matter of days ago, I probably would have said that the whole thing was a go.

I’ve been thinking a lot, though. The past 2-3 weeks I have been SUPER sick. I’m talking the sickest I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve been in and out of a nearby clinic, and had several things done. After urine analysis, blood work and a weird machine that made sure my heart pumped blood to my extremities proficientally, we still are not sure what is wrong. They initially though my thyroid was hyperactive, triggering my outrageous weight loss, recently. However, the blood work refuted that. We then did a CBC, which checks the blood more thoroughly. I wondered what that would reveal, but it also said nothing was wrong.

Recently, within the past two or three days, I’ve been feeling considerably better. Today was different, though. While I don’t feel necessarily as bad as I did, my stomach and intestinal area still seem off. I just want to be near my family in case my health worsens, and not locked into a lease somewhere, apart from them.

Some people have been telling me that maybe the thought of living on my own is scaring me, and causing stomach irregularity, but I don’t think so. I literally don’t feel nervous about the idea of moving, at all. At 18 years old I moved to New York City alone, and at 19 I moved to Miami alone, so I hardly think a college dorm could intimidate me.

I’m going to tentatively plan to move down there in the fall, and spend the summer commuting to school. I just hope I don’t miss out on meeting people and what not, due to not living on campus.

Unicycling

Sometimes I miss unicycling. Its something that honestly kept me really happy for a considerable portion of my life. I started when I was young. I was thirteen when I got my first unicycle. I saw it in the back of a bmx magazine that I used to get. I was immediately captivated by it, and told my mom that I wanted one. I remember Christmas morning when I opened it. I was so stoked. I put it together, and some of my friends came over to my house (a bunch of us all lived on the same street, which rocked), and we tried to ride it. My first time stepping on it, I used the car to brace myself. Even with that though, I wiped out. None of us made great progress that day, but I stuck with it.

That was in december of 2003, so I’m fast approaching ten years that I’ve been with this sport. A lot has happened from then to now, in terms of unicycling. Yes, there was times when I got media attention and other things like that because of it, but that stuff wasn’t why I liked it. I liked the feeling I got of just riding, and having time to think. Unicycling was my therapy for so long. I generally would go on rides at like one in the morning, when the whole world seemed to have turned off. I would ride at my favorite spot, and I just relished the fact that I could be by myself, and do the sport I love, in peace. It was awesome.

And so from 2003 until 2009, I seemed to be inseparable from my unicycle. It was my solace, and my safe haven. But then I started dating this girl. I spent most of my time with her, and my love for unicycling got benched. I was with her until the fall of 2010. In the time we were together I probably rode my unicycle less than five times. It was almost like I gave up one love, in order to make room for another.

After me and her broke up, I’m not sure why I did not return to unicycling. It is now May of 2012, so it has been over a year and a half, and I still have not returned to it. I’m not sure why, but I think several variables are part of it. One is that I used to unicycle in my favorite spots, and it became very familiar. Right at the time I started dating the aforementioned girl, my family moved about an hour away, into the country. I don’t like country-living. It isn’t me. If I rode here, the spots wouldn’t have that familiarity that I found so comforting. The second reason is that I used to unicycle with several of my best friends, regularly. We all would check in with each other fairly often and film videos together, and what not. It was also motivation to learn new tricks, and make each other better. However, all the people I used to unicycle with have moved away. I miss riding with them. The third reason, which isn’t a good reason, is that I sort of plateaued, in terms of my skill level. I knew some really hard tricks, sure, but I hadn’t progressed in a while, before I stopped riding. I shouldn’t worry about that though, because unicycling was always fun, even when I was a complete noob.

I suppose there are many reasons why I stopped. But honestly, I don’t think any of these reasons are good enough. Unicycling was there for me at ALL times. No matter what life brought, or school threw at me, I knew that when I got home, I was going to be able to ride. I’m so thankful that I even get to be among the very small amount of people who ride unicycles, on this whole planet. Its an honor, and I really have a deep respect for it. I think I’m going to pick it up again.

If you would like to see a unicycling video of me, click here.

Or, you can check out my youtube channel here.

Tonight’s Writing

I wrote some stuff tonight. Certain lines I like, certain ones I don’t. Either way though, I do enjoy writing stuff. I’m thinking about publishing a small book of poems here soon. I’m not really doing it to gain any sort of notoriety. It will mostly just be for me. I’ll probably just go through a self-publishing company. It’ll be cool to have a hard-copy of something that I’m proud of, regardless of whether people understand the poems or not, haha.

Proud Tree

Falling leaves, falling down.

Paperweights, not fit to crown.

The mighty tree, so pompously.

Sheds old friends, for new abound.

Hanging branches, hanging ‘round.

Tributaries, far from ground.

Demand no mind, with stark resign.

The sullen pine makes not a sound.

Scent

The rainclouds push your scent to me.

Blown and strewn by easterlies.

That scent I’ve come to miss, my dear.

A faint reminder that you’re near.

But as it comes, it billows ‘way.

To greet me on another day.

Though for now, rejoice do I.

Your scent, the coyest passerby.