Did you know that for pretty much the entire history of the human species, the average life span was less than thirty years? You could count on ten years or so of real adulthood, right? There was no planning for retirement, There was no planning for a career. There was no planning. No time for plannning. No time for a future. But then the life spans started getting longer, and people started having more and more future. And now life has become the future. Every moment of your life is lived for the future—you go to high school so you can go to college so you can get a good job so you can get a nice house so you can afford to send your kids to college so they can get a good job so they can get a nice house so they can afford to send their kids to college.
I met Charlie McDonnell when he was, to use the language of his native land, ‘but a young lad’. But even back then, I remember thinking: this kid - aside from being outrageously handsome - is kind of a genius. Ever since, Charlie has been proving me right, but never more than on his new album “This Is Me”…it’s the only thing in my iTunes. I have “Bread” on repeat and I’ve listened to it…six hundred and twenty-one times. This raises the alarming possibility that I might technically be a fangirl.
The Fault In Our Stars — John Green
Hank I hope you had a very good birthday
We’re a species of sentimentalists. The only reason we have pennies is because people like pennies, and they grew up with pennies, and they like Abraham Lincon.
Almost everyone is obsessed with leaving a mark upon the world. Bequeathing a legacy. Outlasting death. We all want to be remembered. I do, too. That’s what bothers me most, is being another unremembered casualty in the ancient and inglorious war against disease.
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John Green (The Fault in Our Stars)
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Lonely, Vaguely Pedophilic Swing Set Seeks the Butts of Children
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‘The Fault In Our Stars’ by John Green (via just-jayk)
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But I did get to see the sunrise from 36,000 feet above the ground, and it occurred to me that until a century ago, no one in all of human history had ever seen that.
Nothing was happening, really, but the moment was thick with mattering.
Why Hank Green Matters to Me
opaul:
thatlittletentofblue:
The vlogbrothers came into my life during a very dark time. My parents were freaking out because the school counsellor had told them about my depression and bulimia. I was still battling those things with the “help” of a phycologist who I didn’t think I could trust. I was alone, I was sad, and I hated myself.
I saw “Nerdfighter F.A.Q.” in late 2010. And I couldn’t explain how, or why, but it really changed EVERYTHING for me. I watched it and I was laughing, really LAUGHING. Because Hank and John were people like me, nerds, outsiders. Watching them made me feel like I was a part of something, and that just because other people didn’t understand it didn’t make it bad. I know it sounds stupid, that two guys just talking in front of a camera, most of the time about stuff that most people wouldn’t consider important or worldly, could mean so much to me. But it did, and it does.
I love John’s honesty about sadness, and his writing is awesome. But there’s something about Hank’s optimism that really REACHES me. His videos always seem to be posted right when I need them, and he always says exactly what I need to hear. I’m proud to say that I owe these two amazing brothers everything I am.
Hank, you’ve instilled this confidence in me that I never had before. I’m not saying my life is perfect now, or that I never feel depressed or sad anymore. But you’ve given me friends, a monthly meeting to go to in the city with people just like me, awesome songs to listen to every day, epic videos to watch. Before you I was just a sad, lonely nerd. But now I’m a nerdFIGHTER. So thankyou, for putting the fighter back in me. Happy Hanko De Mayo, and here’s to many more years of hankiness to come.
P.S. I’d love it if you came to Australia, so I’d have an opportunity to thank you and John in person.
Because I was asked to post this story, and I like these kinds of things. And it is a special day.
![renkris:
USS Enterprise FTW
[Headless Monarchy]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2ygxbQBo11qmc15do1_500.png)
