Into the Wild

After waiting for over a month, I was finally able to see Into the Wild... and it changed my life. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you may think that I'm exaggerating-I'm not. The movie, based off the best-selling book by Jon Krakuer, and inspired by the true story of Christopher McCandless and his great adventure to find himself, was written and directed by Sean Penn. The movie started off a little slow, and I was worried that it was going to be a disappointment. Especially, after having thoroughly enjoyed the book, literally, not being able to put it down once I picked it up. Needless to say, I was not disappointed by the movie; on the contrary, I think that the movie might actually be better than the book- that never happens.

Jon Krakuer, in the book, did an amazing job of investigating the cause of McCandless's death and the motives that he had for disserting his family and hitchhiking cross-country. He showed the similarities between Chris's life and those of other young explorers, including one of his own adventures. In the movie, Sean Penn followed every detail in the book and did a great job of capturing the nature of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) and all of his adventurousness, ideology, and the unforgiveness that led him to his ultimate, and fatal, adventure in Alaska; the story of Christopher is a classic all by its own merits but Penn did a fantastic job of capturing the true story behind a troubled adventurer.

Emile Hirsch along with the rest of the cast does a great job of portraying Chris' life and his adventures. By the end of the movie, you might be crying but you will definitely be questioning who and what's important in your life; the movie challenged me to forgive a few people in my life that have injured me and to try and love... everyone.

Watch this movie if you like adventure, epics, humanity, and traveling or if you have come to the realization that people make honest mistakes. Watch this movie if you believe in spiritual journeys and challenging the norms of society. Watch this movie (mom and friends) if you want to understand why a little about me and why I do the things I do; though the comparison to McCandless is only minimal. Do not watch this movie if you are judgmental and think that if someone hitchhikes cross- country and backpacks into the wild to survive off the land is deranged freak. Do not watch this movie if you think that just because someone dies in the wilderness that he is an idiot and did not know what he was getting himself into. That's the nature of the wilderness and that's why we go, if we didn't want a challenge, or a thrill, of something new and challenging we would stay in the box where it is "safe".

Do You Know What You Are Getting Yourself Into?

Do you know what you are getting yourself into?

—Matt Thiessen
The theme song for my trip.
I don't know how this one line got stuck in my head but it has remained for two months.

Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.

—Alexander Solzhenitsyn

22 years of existence and all I have to show for it is a damn backpack, a bag full of everything that I don’t need. Most of it is unimportant, quite burdensome, yet I carry it mile after mile scared to leave it behind – it’s all I have. I also have this journal, full of the most monotonous days, shadowed by terrible ones, only to be followed by a single beautiful day, finally worth writing about.

4000 miles, across 7 borders, and countless road signs, bus stops, and pot holes, and for what? For an experience, or a journey? Do I dare call it a vacation? Do I do it so I have a tale to tell? But I won't tell a single story, no not a single word of what happened here. Ya, I'll send a few postcards and show them a couple of pics, but for what?

I just want go home. But when I get there, I will get sick of the blank walls and the familiar roads, then I will spend my days dreaming about leaving that place – and what my next adventure will be.

Why do I do it? Is it too hard to just be content with what I have? Why must I travel for miles and miles to see a mediocre sunset or a mountain that is hardly worth writing about, or to make another friend just to watch him walk away the next day? Another unpassionate kiss, a bland meal, on a back breaking bed with mosquitoes for sheets, and loneliness for a companion. I lie, I cheat, and I steal to make it through the day and down the road. I watch every corner and cautiously cross every street, suspect of every evil by-passer, with their empty pockets, stomachs and hearts; but they’re eyes, oh, their terrible eyes –bloodshot and full of lust.

To every corner of the earth I fear my selfish, untiring, and ruthless feet will carry me. I will never sleep. I will never stop. I will never die.

Foolishly, I Search

When you look long into the abyss,
the abyss also looks long into you.

—Nietzsche

And the world’s got me dizzy again
You'd think after 22 years I’d be used to the spin
And it only feels worse when I stay in one place
So I’m always pacing around or walking away.
I keep drinking the ink from my pen
And I’m balancing history books up on my head
But it all boils down to one quotable phrase
"If you love something, give it away"

—Conor Oberst

Like a child, startled after being woken from a deep sleep, I search the darkness for something familiar and safe— something sacred; longing for luminosity and reality but all I find are temporal thoughts and emotions.

For I believe that there is something more to life, something greater than what my lustful eyes can currently perceive, my conceited heart can comprehend, or my faltering feet have achieved; and foolishly my eyes search for it, my proud heart thinks it will find it, but constantly, my careless feet slip away, exposing the dangers of this harsh journey. But still I will travel this land, learning all that it will teach me, and loving the people I meet; for I am certain that this is the only way to find what it is that I am looking for, and maybe, hopefully, this will be the first thing that in a short life full of narcissistic events that I do for something other than a materialistic, temporal, and selfish incentive.

Kiwi!

This is one of my most favorite videos of all time. Enjoy...



A lot of people think this is sad but I completely disagree. The Kiwi is a flightless bird and this particular Kiwi must have spent a hell of a long time, most of his life, trying to achieve something that is impossible for him–flying. Not only am I intrigued by this video but I also find it inspiring. In fact, on a list of my life goals, one of the rules that I have for my to-do list is "Die attempting to complete one of the things on my list." To see this list click here What I've Been Dreaming About.

This Silent Smile Speaks

glimpses of those precious eyes and the world that they contain
a million stars ahead with tiny foot steps to reach them all
this beautiful face is full of life and this silent smile speaks
only simple desires here, to be held and touched-loved
hands that reach for the unknown with no fear of this world
no pain or hatred do you know but only the love of a mother
protection is wished but not granted, as you begin to cry
these heartbeats, and tiny gasps of life as you grow and change
don't grow to fast. don't change.

Making a Home

It's good having the whole family together again, and by that, of course, I mean the whole family with the exception of my dad; he has been gone for so long it seems as if he was never part of our family and in many ways he never was. (However, I still wish my dad was around.) In fact, this may actually be first time that it feels like I am part of a real family. Now that Kenny and Hannah are back in town it feels complete when we all gather for dinner:

Mom's in the kitchen slaving over an absolutely perfect dinner, even better than the one last night, or the night before that. She floats, gracefully, through the kitchen, dodging the wild animals and children, every move like an intricate dance set to the music of bedlam, to create something miraculous. She is making more than dinner, she is making a home. This is what she has been doing for many years now-the majority of her life. She does it because she is unselfish; living every day to keep and provide for her family. She does it because she is unfazed by her own needs and desires. She does it because she loves us.

At the the cluttered table, two sit as one–Cherith is sitting down at the table talking about her new reason to life, the new life inside of her. She fumbles through mail and magazines, seemingly unconcerned, but proud, of the burden that she carries. She has changed so much in these past few years and I see my mother in her; I see greatness. I ponder many things as I watch her... How can life seemingly begin from nowhere (as it seems)? How will this new life change this family?

On the couch, where he always is, unfazed by this chaotic house, he sits, watching TV. He is more than Cherith's husband now, he is Tom, he is my brother—far different than the brother I already have. Older and quiet, there is still so much I have yet to learn about this man. Seemingly, he came out of nowhere, but he loves my sister and I see the joy on his face as he plays with his son; he is proud of his family.

Busily, Kenny runs about the house doing errands for just about everyone. He does a better job than I ever did as the man of this house and it is good to have him around. I don’t know how we ever got by without him. He is my best friend, and I am happier with him back and surer of myself. He is frustrated with school, finding a new job, and a new home. He looks unhappy as the pressure builds to provide for his family; he does not realize how much he does for his family.

In mom's kitchen, Hannah is shuffling back and forth trying hard to keep up with an angel. She is pure and sweet and wonderful but still in training; she is smart though and a quick learner. My brother is lucky to have found such a wife; she is great among women and I have much respect for such a young woman.

Tasha seems to wander about this house unfazed by all of the life that is here and how much she is loved—how much she is spoiled. To me, she is still 10 years old and needs me to protect her. I don’t think she knows how much I love her and the joy she brings to my life. She can still make me laugh uncontrollably when she tickles me and all I can do to defend myself is run and lock myself in the bathroom. We are both still kids.

And now there is one more to this family, unable to sit for more than a moment, Dylan is missing again. It is hard to keep an eye on this innocent little explorer, so curious about this big world around him. Looks like he´s into something again, hardly innocent anymore. This beautiful little creation has so much wisdom—he seems to grasp the simplicity of life. I watch him closely and learn from his adventurous and joyful spirit, he is so young but sees life so clearly.

Me, I ´m content as I sit at the table quietly observing the greatest thing I have in life-my family. Not so long ago, I tried to create my own family, but all it created was turmoil and it's so distant now, it’s like it never happened at all. Maybe one day I will try again, but for now I will continue to admire and appreciate the family I have. I couldn’t imagine a better family... or a better life.

I take that back, mom’s calling us to the table again... it just got better!

My Instict (also My Mission Statement)

This is a paper I wrote for an Eng 102 class a couple of years ago. The assignment was to write a paper to convince our classmates to pick (from a list) the subject for our first essay, and yes, I did win.

Definitly, read the whole thing-it's not very long.

Jonathan Dunn
English 102
1/27/06

Two years down and two to go; I'm half way through my college experience. I do not like college like I did high school. High school was this great experience; everyday was an adventurous mess of void. There were no responsibilities or pressure as I casually blew through high school. Being a Special Ed. kid I ditched when I wanted with no consequences and school came easy to me. High School was a four year celebration of my youth. When I graduated I decided to go for round 2 in this crazy institution mislabeled as education, so I applied at the University of New Mexico and couldn't wait to do absolutely nothing for four more years.

"The party's over slacker. Get out of bed and get to class," my mom yelled at me two years ago on the first day of classes at my Auschwitz, "Oh yeah, and on your way home why don't you get a job and pick up a gallon of milk." This had begun my four year (now looking like five or six years) celebration of confusion, responsibility and oldness (and some bad grammar randomly thrown in). I wanted women, parties and more women but instead I traded those in for homework, kids, and a 401K. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a little bit, but hey this is a paper and I want it to sound good.

What it all comes down to, is God created some people to be teachers or lawyers or women and lots of other boring things, but a few fortunate people in this world he created to be slackers, and that's me. This is my purpose in life. I'm not good at a lot of things but I am quite gifted in this field. My instinct (also my Mission Statement) on this matter, like on everything else in life is to do what's easier, cheaper, and faster.

What it comes down to ladies and gentleman is that if we choose to do our papers on the topic of the Death Penalty we don't have to read anything but only have to listen to speakers in class. You should trust my expertise on this; I've been in the field of slacker for 21 years. I mean you already have to go to class (they take attendance), so let's get our work done while we're in class listening to guest speakers instead of having to go home and do this modern method of torture-reading. I mean it's already saving me time. Everyone else in the class probably wasted like 15 minutes skimming through the book on the given topics. All I had to do was look at the Table of Contents and realize that there were no essays on this topic. In conclusion, whether you're for the death penalty or not, I know you're for more free time so choose this as the topic of our first essay. Ah, another successful mission completed, now I get to use all my free time thinking of more ways to make more free time-the joys of life!

To see the original posting of this click here This is Funny.