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The law of self-destruction and the law of self-preservation are equally strong in mankind!
— Fyodor Dostoevsky; The Idiot, page 375

I stumbled across that quote a year ago. It instantly became one of my favorite quotes mostly because it was such a wonderful parallel, and with the story, it made perfect sense. But I’m finding more and more that the sentiment applies in multiple arenas, and quite frequently at that.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately on attitudes and outlooks. It wasn’t all that long ago that I was easily (and correctly) categorized as a bitter cynic, often pessimistic. These days, however, I am keenly optimistic and enthusiastic about the future and my life. And, oddly enough, I think the catalyst for this change was my parents’ decision not to cosign my loans for college.