Build A Life. Don't Just Live One

I don't quite know how it happens but apparently The Teen Choice Awards are the only awards [okay, maybe other than The Oscars] that I end up watching every year. It's not about The Academy, a panel of judges, etc. It's just about the fans. And I think that's pretty darn cool.

So, last night, after tearing up while listening to Lea Michele talk about a precious life that was lost and rewinding the part over and over when the Pretty Little Liars cast accepted their award for Best Drama, I was pretty moved by another speech. It was Ashton Kutcher's speech. He shared three points about what he's learned regarding:

1. Opportunity
2. Being sexy
3. Life

And in his last point, he said something that really resonates with me:

Life is a mix of acting and allowing. While you can't force things to happen or dreams to come true, you can start to live a life in harmony of those things and dreams. It takes courage to make your dreams come true. But the way I see it, wouldn't life be more worthwhile if you build the way to your dreams no matter how many falls it takes rather than to just live along the line of the status quo?

Nowadays, I see so many peers of mine settling for the life they think they're supposed to live instead of making the life they truly want to live a reality. Mainly because it's what everyone else is doing. Don't fall into that trap. If you want to take the road less traveled, do it. Now. Start today. Start building.