Literature and Life:
In the novel Of Human Bondage , the reader comes across a truly magnificent quote on page 627. This quote is: 'He had lived always in the future, and the present always, always had slipped through his fingers.' In and of itself, this is a very powerful quote. However, it can be given even more power and significance if a person can relate this quote to their own life and experiences. I myself, after reading this quote, was instantly able to identify with it.
This quote describes the middle school years and my early high school years almost perfectly. Many nights I would find myself staying in, watching TV, doing one thing or another around my house. I would almost never leave the house and I had nothing that could even remotely be called a social life. My reason for doing this to myself was that I spent most of my time thinking about my future and wishing for it to come.
future
Portrait of William Somerset Maugham
English: W. Somerset Maugham early in his career.I had almost no kind of happiness for where I was or what I was doing in the present. I cut myself off from the outside world. I was rather shy around other people (I still am, admittedly) and I had very few friends.
It was not too long before I discovered the faults in my erroneous living. I finally realized, and truly not a moment too soon, that if I did not start living for the present, my future would soon become my neglected present. I would have wasted my life doing meaningless things and I would have no experience to share with anyone who may be interested in the uneventful life I had led. After I came to this startling revelation, I grew even more apathetic in my depression. I truly felt that...