Hookah, Cars, and Conversation.

I went out with my friend Justin, his friend Tasha, and her boyfriend Aaron (spelling?). Since Tasha is an interesting character fit for her own blog all on her own, I assumed she'd have an equally off-kilter but good-natured boyfriend. At first he didn't seem like it but he opened up a very interesting topic of conversation that I soaked in pretty well.
Building off of a conversation about college, he made a more generalized statement about how the past and the future are totally insignificant when it comes to the things that really matter, for several reasons. The past should obviously be kept in mind somewhat as to learn from one's mistakes but it must not control your thoughts. The future will work itself out if you focus on how you live your life in the presence.
The part that really hit home for me was the part about the past. He unknowingly brought all my past relationships and the regrets and emotions tied to those relationships. He mentioned something about how it's not the events or situations in the past that create the problems, it's the emotion that's tied to those events, and how one relates to those events. I realized that it had taken my something like two years to get over one of my ex-girlfriends all because of my lack of understanding of this concept. My regrets about my academic decisions and lack thereof has also been influencing my negatively. It's all a process. Life is graded on a curve so there's really nothing to worry about but the present, and life's easy to handle moments at a time.
In essence, this stranger opened a lot of doors for me, and shut a lot of doors that have been been open far too long. So thanks Aaron, you helped me more than you know with a few sentences. It's been a long day, I'm going to bed. Cheers.