Fact: Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

Be informed. Know the facts. We thirst for facts. We inhale information. We've realized that learning the facts is the surefire way to success. Memorization of body parts for a biology exam, comprehending postulates for a Calculus exam, learning conjugations for a French exam. All facts. School has not only taught us how to learn the facts but also how to interpret the facts. How to apply them to a diverse array of situations. And in the case where we might forget a fact here and there, a plethora of resources present themselves as trustworthy sources.

Facts are cool, but it's the gray matter on which a majority of our personal decisions and actions are founded. It's those emotional situations, those ethical dilemmas which always get you. No dictionary or encyclopedia that tells you what to do, now WikiHow to tell you how to do it. You just have to "trust yourself" a phrase that has me feeling as if I'm holding on to the edge of a cliff for dear life.

It's ironic. We spend so much of our basic training and education resenting facts that are to be committed to memory. And now, it seems that I'd much rather be taking a multiple choice-single answer exam than having to make choices and act in ways that only I can justify or explain.

I know that as I continue to undertake and experience, the outcomes and conclusions will form my personal reference book. So while I may not be dealing with facts, I'll have a reliable road map drawn from previous successes or repercussions.

The blank page is rather daunting right now...