{"id":27013,"date":"2016-01-31T15:10:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-31T23:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=27013"},"modified":"2016-01-31T15:10:00","modified_gmt":"2016-01-31T23:10:00","slug":"28-lessons-ive-learned-from-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/31\/28-lessons-ive-learned-from-life\/","title":{"rendered":"28 Lessons I’ve Learned From Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Prague,
Prague, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

Today (Jan 31st) I turn 28 years old. I wanted to use this opportunity to reflect on the past, and also share some life lessons I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learned (so far) in my short, yet loving, and fulfilling life:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be afraid of fellow human beings<\/h2>\n
\"Prague,
Prague, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have a very vivid memory as a child: I was around 10-12 years old, and I was in the passenger seat of my mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s car. We were driving around, got lost, and ended up in some shady neighborhood.<\/p>\n

My mom saw a guy on the side of the street, and pulled up to him and asked him for directions. At first, I told my mom, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No! Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ask that guy for directions, he looks like a thug! Black hoodie, baggy jeans, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s black! (as a child I was taught that African-Americans were to be feared).<\/p>\n

My mom slapped me silly and told me straight-up: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Eric, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you ever dare judge people based on their appearances, and whether they are black, white, or asian. They are human beings, and deserve our respect. You receive the energy you give out.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

My mom then pulled down the window and she said in a very nice and courteous voice, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Excuse me sir, do you know how to get to \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcX\u00e2\u20ac\u2122?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The guy turned around, looked scary as hell, and then his frown turned into a smile and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes ma\u00e2\u20ac\u2122am, you can just go down that street and turn right.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d My mom smiles back and says: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thank you!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He responds, smiles, and says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No problem!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

This experience has stayed with me my entire life. No matter how scary someone might look, no matter the color of their skin, or no matter what (bad) things you might have heard of them, they are our fellow human beings. They deserve our respect, our compassion, our love\u00e2\u20ac\u201d they deserve to be treated how we would like to be treated.<\/p>\n

One of the things that street photography taught me the most was that you can never judge people on their cover.<\/p>\n

I am quite fond of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153street portraits\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (approaching strangers and asking to take their portrait). Often I meet people who I assume will say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and my presumed notions are totally false. Often the scariest looking people are actually the nicest, and vice versa\u00e2\u20ac\u201d sometimes the nicest-looking people can be the meanest.<\/p>\n

My lesson is just give people benefit of the doubt, and trust people. Often by untrusting people, we teach them to also not trust us.<\/p>\n

I also try to imagine every other human being as a brother, mother, father, uncle, or friend. Every single human being (no matter how mean or shitty they may seem) were once a helpless child, have loved someone, have had their heart-broken, have dealt with death, and have a family that they love.<\/p>\n

So why waste our short period of time on earth judging others? Judge others as ourselves.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t buy stuff, buy experiences<\/h2>\n
\"Prague,
Prague, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I love buying shit. I love technology, gadgets, toys, cars, money, and consumerist culture. I love hitting up the mall, looking at stuff, and fantasizing about how cool I will look wearing certain clothes, and how other people will admire me.<\/p>\n

A lot of my consumerism-loving nature is because I am (of course) an American. Also part of it is that I grew up pretty poor, and anyone who grew up from a lower socio-economic status knows\u00e2\u20ac\u201d wearing expensive clothes is a way to (not) look poor.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve fantasized having certain things in my life, many of which I have ended up buying or obtaining, which include:<\/p>\n