9.58!

DAAAAMNNN!!! That's the first thing that came out of my mouth when I saw that Usain Bolt had crushed the 100 meter-dash record. 9.58 seconds?!?! I mean, how is that even possible? It's insane, it's other-worldly (It's Jamaican), it's...any and every glorifying, terrifying adjective you wish to use. Kanye said it best: It's Amazing! But for me, this was also a moment of self-reflection.

After my shock waned, I started thinking about time - time really flies by fast. Even when we look at the history of the "World's Fastest Man," we realize that time doesn't even let the men who broke the record enjoy it. Since 1960, the record has been broken over 20 times, with each man mercilessly blazing his way into the record books, and stamping his torrid spikes into the heels of history. Each man wants to be remembered, wants his ultimate achievement of athleticism and youth to live on forever, but it never lasts long.

I started thinking about how time has passed me by. I mean, I'm young. I'm 21 years-old and have so much life still left to live, God-willing. But it's hard to believe how fast things have moved. I remember certain stages in my life when I looked forward to a milestone. I reminisce:

I looked forward to my 10th birthday because I would be a decade old (WOW!!). That just felt unreal to me, and Nov. 2, 1997 couldn't come soon enough. That day, my dad gave me a $100 bill, and although I saw it and felt it for only a day, I knew that in some bank account in time and space I had a Benjamin waiting for me - I felt so proud, and there no better feeling to a son than to be entrusted by his father with a huge sum of money at such a young age.

The year 2000 was another period that is etched in my memory. The world was entering a new era, a new millenium, Y2K was on everybody's lips...and 2000 would be the year of my 13th birthday! This was the year that I'd become a teenager - no more pre-teen woes for me, buddy, my voice would finally stop cracking. I remember so well the anticipation for 2000.

Turning 20 was yet another big deal. I would be out of my teenage years, and suddenly be more responsible for myself than I'd ever been. My dad promised me a decade earlier, that every ten years he'd multiply that $100 by 10...he lied.

But now I'm 21...and I don't really have a milestone to look forward to, yet I find Father Time whizzing by me in his Lamborghini, with two hot girls in the back, chuckin' deuces. And although this image sometimes (shoot...many times) worries me (why can't I be in that car?), I know I'm going to be alright. I believe that we're put on this Earth for a reason, and every day we are given opportunities to do something with ourselves, to make something of ourselves, and to influence somebody positively through our words and our actions. Those are the things I live for, and those are the things that make life interesting. It's all a matter of how you use your opportunities, and about whether you choose to live by faith and not by fear.

I don't know about you, but I'm gonna try my hardest to take hold of those opportunities, and run as fast as I can. Yeck, maybe one day I'll break 9.58. If you don't believe me...ask Kevin Garnett: "ANYTHING IS POSSIBBBLLLEEEE!!!!"