Don't be so serious, but take everything seriously

"We're all good when we want to be, otherwise we're fucking animals. There is no VIP room in reality, and there is no reality in this city (LA). You can't Google the answers. People talk about being on the ride of your life--- THIS IS YOUR LIFE.

Whatever it is you need to know, you already know. Imagine what it is to be in another country, another landscape-- heat, insects, fear. Imagine watching someone right in front of you trip a wire, step on a mine, blow their body to shreds, in mid-sentence, mid-cigarette. Imagine yourself splattered with human flesh. Imagine talking to that boy for the five minutes when he is profoundly conscious of the fact that he is not going to make it home. Imagine the difference between that and being in upstate New York, drinking beer, trying to get laid, and spending the summer as lifeguard at Lake George. Imagine zipping your friends into body bags. Tell me why anyone ever thought this was a good idea."

-- Excerpt from This Book Will Save Your Life by AM Homes