IF, on demand...
Apr. 17th, 2004 01:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mcgillianaireIt's not the greatest poem but my dad introduced me to it when I was young and so it has that father-son value kinda thing. :)
If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
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no subject
Date: 2004-04-17 12:31 pm (UTC)not the greatest...
Date: 2004-04-21 09:22 am (UTC)added you because good lord, there's hardly anyone from muscat on LJ. let alone on my friends list.
Re: not the greatest...
Date: 2004-05-19 05:59 am (UTC)sorry, it's taken me forever to get around to replying to you. thanx for adding me and glad to know there's another one of us muscatovites on lj.
where r u @ the moment and what do u do?
cheers!
Re: not the greatest...
Date: 2004-05-19 09:12 am (UTC)I'm currently studying at the University of Edinburgh, doing the whole semester abroad thing, loving every minute of it, dreading next week because I feel so unprepared for finals.
Otherwise, I study at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, tucked away in the valley full, full o' pioneer (Pixies reference). I am beyond that point where I can change my major every other week, so I'm stuck with Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Not that I mind- Econ was such a disaster. And I despise writing papers.
Re: not the greatest...
Date: 2004-05-29 05:17 am (UTC)Wow, that's awesome!! I've never been to Scotland but from what I hear and have seen it's very pretty. The weather during the winter must be pretty similar as it is in Montreal, perhaps not as cold. I suppose you're done with finals now. Hope they went well! :)
Otherwise, I study at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts
Now things seem familiar. I think bac when I was in Grade 11, or probably Grade 12 I received a post-card from someone who studied in Muscat and went to this school. I remember it was someone with an Indian name... might've even been you?
I dunno if I could study in a university outside of the city, unless it was closeby to some big one. I visited Cambridge and Oxford last summer and they're the only exceptions so far. Oh, and Stanford but that'll have to wait for Postgrad now. :P
so I'm stuck with Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Hardkore, wow!
Econ was such a disaster
Heh, that's what I'll be majoring in the next coupla years. ;)
Take care!
Re: not the greatest...
Date: 2004-06-03 07:49 am (UTC)meh. have the last one tomorrow. i really shouldn'tve taken that trip up north because now i got attacked by midges, and am tired and not in the mood to sit down with my books.
I received a post-card from someone who studied in Muscat and went to this school.
If that was any time after the fall of 2001, that would've very well been me. The postcard tradition is amongst my favorites, and I do write an obscene amount of postcards every year.
Oh, and Stanford
well, it might have it's own zip code and all, but it's actually closer to downtown palo alto than most places that claim to be in palo alto. palo alto is a big evil city that i completely despised. San Fran, on the other hand, is awesome, and is probably the only other place in the US (outside of western mass) i would even consider relocating to. and they've got free wi-fi and all that niftiness. if only the caltrain or the buses ran well past midnight.