Ok, so maybe this wasn't the best advice I've ever been given, but it's certainly up there. And it made me really think:
When life gives you lemons...
Make apple juice and confuse the heck outta life.
That's exactly what I'm looking to do this year. I have so much on my plate and I'm already so stressed about it, even though school hasn't even begun. At the end of the year, I want to look back and ask myself "how the heck did I do it?"
I'm no Superman, but with the right dedication, time management, and support, I know I can do everything on my 27-page to-do list for this semester. I've talked about it enough, and as I like to say: The only thing left to do is to do it.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Short and Sweet
Anyone else ever feel it? Like there's just something you're meant to be, something you're supposed to do no matter what? Or maybe it's a calling. Not even necessarily something you want to be, or do. Even something you resist with everything you have.
Much to your dismay, no matter what you do you can't escape it. It follows you, no- it chases you through life. Stepping with you everywhere you go. So close that you know it's always there. You know it's there too. Only you try to ignore it. Usually you can, but it always comes back, during your darkest hour.
Lie to yourself all you want, but it will always be there. Over and over again will it haunt you until you confront it. Very few have the courage to do so. Even those who seem to have it all together might even struggle with this. You know you can't get anywhere until you face it, but it's just so hard. Or maybe if you just keep pushing it deeper and deeper, it'll go away. Under everything you pile on top of it, maybe it'll just go away.
Congrats if you've got it figured out. Because I certainly don't.
Much to your dismay, no matter what you do you can't escape it. It follows you, no- it chases you through life. Stepping with you everywhere you go. So close that you know it's always there. You know it's there too. Only you try to ignore it. Usually you can, but it always comes back, during your darkest hour.
Lie to yourself all you want, but it will always be there. Over and over again will it haunt you until you confront it. Very few have the courage to do so. Even those who seem to have it all together might even struggle with this. You know you can't get anywhere until you face it, but it's just so hard. Or maybe if you just keep pushing it deeper and deeper, it'll go away. Under everything you pile on top of it, maybe it'll just go away.
Congrats if you've got it figured out. Because I certainly don't.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Imagine Me Rapping This:
Roses are red, violets are blue.
Freshman year's over, now onto year two.
It's gonna take pain, it's gonna take trust,
And with more than three jobs, hard work is a must.
Last year was a test, one I think I did pass.
Although I just about lost it in every single class.
But now college stepped up its game, as I must do as well,
Oh by the way, I have two textbooks to sell.
I'll start off the year, before it even begins,
Teaching freshmen all day, until NSO ends.
But don't forget about training, in three different ways,
That's how I'll spend each and every of my next seven days.
And then it's onto the classes, and onto the work,
You can bet I'll do it all, with my *ahem* "special" quirk.
It's a good thing I'm done with all my room arranging,
I'm just glad to be finished with all of IWU's "world changing."
And then I'll start both my jobs, or continue, I'd say,
Working for the radio station, and Sojourning all day.
I'm the new sports editor, and news director also,
You can bet your bottom dollar that Elder's where I will go.
There will be plenty to do, this I know for sure,
But I'll do it all with a smile, 'cause I have much to smile for.
And I'll make time to be with people, this is without a doubt,
There will be so many good times, when I'm just hanging out.
This will be a year of growth, this will be a year of change,
By the end I'll be different, I might even act my age.
But when I'm through I'll be better, for the things that I've done,
And the people I've met, and because of the fun.
Well boys and girls, that's all the words I've got,
Will I get sleep this year? I'm thinking I'm not.
So with my laptop in hand, and my fingers all steady,
Just one thing to say: get 'cho popcorn ready.
Freshman year's over, now onto year two.
It's gonna take pain, it's gonna take trust,
And with more than three jobs, hard work is a must.
Last year was a test, one I think I did pass.
Although I just about lost it in every single class.
But now college stepped up its game, as I must do as well,
Oh by the way, I have two textbooks to sell.
I'll start off the year, before it even begins,
Teaching freshmen all day, until NSO ends.
But don't forget about training, in three different ways,
That's how I'll spend each and every of my next seven days.
And then it's onto the classes, and onto the work,
You can bet I'll do it all, with my *ahem* "special" quirk.
It's a good thing I'm done with all my room arranging,
I'm just glad to be finished with all of IWU's "world changing."
And then I'll start both my jobs, or continue, I'd say,
Working for the radio station, and Sojourning all day.
I'm the new sports editor, and news director also,
You can bet your bottom dollar that Elder's where I will go.
There will be plenty to do, this I know for sure,
But I'll do it all with a smile, 'cause I have much to smile for.
And I'll make time to be with people, this is without a doubt,
There will be so many good times, when I'm just hanging out.
This will be a year of growth, this will be a year of change,
By the end I'll be different, I might even act my age.
But when I'm through I'll be better, for the things that I've done,
And the people I've met, and because of the fun.
Well boys and girls, that's all the words I've got,
Will I get sleep this year? I'm thinking I'm not.
So with my laptop in hand, and my fingers all steady,
Just one thing to say: get 'cho popcorn ready.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
One Step Back, Two Steps Forward
I get stuff done early. It's kind of my thing. For instance, during my first semester at college, a five-page paper was assigned in English class one day. We had more than two weeks to work on it, but I decided to stay up until five o'clock the next morning... finishing it.
Over the last month, I've written 40 pages of jock talks (one-minute monologues to be read on my weekly radio show) that will last me almost all of this semester. Don't believe me? I have a 10,000-word Document that will back me up.
Another thing I've done this summer is write six editorials for the sports section of the newspaper this year, way ahead of time.
The main thing that I try to do ahead of time is get experience. I started working for a newspaper at age 15. I was on staff for my college's newspaper before I was even a college student. I was hired as the sports editor for that same paper before I turned 19.
But you know what Peter Parker's uncle says: "With great power comes great responsibility."
Not all of this experience has been something I enjoyed writing in my journal though. There have been several times where I have been humbled as a journalist and a writer. And some experiences where I have just been outright wrong.
One thing I have always told myself is that I'm just paying my dues. I said this mostly on the cold, rainy nights in high school while covering soccer games or track meets.
Now I say it on the all-too-frequent occasions when I mess up.
But, as I always try to convenience myself, better to learn now and get those mistakes out of the way while I'm still young.
Is it ever good to make mistakes? Normally, my knee-jerk reaction will be a resounding "hay-eck no." But after I think about it, maybe it isn't so bad. Especially when you're young.
Personally, I learn more from my mistakes than I do successes. Because I remember them more. I taped a less-than-stellar research paper I wrote to my door last year so I would see it every day. It reminded me to work harder and do a better job in the future. Simple as that.
If you think this is just about my career as a sports writer, you obviously need to read my blog more.
I'll say one final thing: I know I make mistakes, and I make them often. But you will never meet anyone who wants to become better after making those mistakes than me. It may take time, but I will right my wrongs, and I'll be glad for my mistakes in the end.
Over the last month, I've written 40 pages of jock talks (one-minute monologues to be read on my weekly radio show) that will last me almost all of this semester. Don't believe me? I have a 10,000-word Document that will back me up.
Another thing I've done this summer is write six editorials for the sports section of the newspaper this year, way ahead of time.
The main thing that I try to do ahead of time is get experience. I started working for a newspaper at age 15. I was on staff for my college's newspaper before I was even a college student. I was hired as the sports editor for that same paper before I turned 19.
But you know what Peter Parker's uncle says: "With great power comes great responsibility."
Not all of this experience has been something I enjoyed writing in my journal though. There have been several times where I have been humbled as a journalist and a writer. And some experiences where I have just been outright wrong.
One thing I have always told myself is that I'm just paying my dues. I said this mostly on the cold, rainy nights in high school while covering soccer games or track meets.
Now I say it on the all-too-frequent occasions when I mess up.
But, as I always try to convenience myself, better to learn now and get those mistakes out of the way while I'm still young.
Is it ever good to make mistakes? Normally, my knee-jerk reaction will be a resounding "hay-eck no." But after I think about it, maybe it isn't so bad. Especially when you're young.
Personally, I learn more from my mistakes than I do successes. Because I remember them more. I taped a less-than-stellar research paper I wrote to my door last year so I would see it every day. It reminded me to work harder and do a better job in the future. Simple as that.
If you think this is just about my career as a sports writer, you obviously need to read my blog more.
I'll say one final thing: I know I make mistakes, and I make them often. But you will never meet anyone who wants to become better after making those mistakes than me. It may take time, but I will right my wrongs, and I'll be glad for my mistakes in the end.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Blast From the Past
Today has been a Sojourn day. It's been a day to plan ahead for the fall sports section, and a day to kick off the year with an article that was just published today. In the midst of much planning and writing and worrying (oh, the worrying) I found an interesting piece I wrote a long time ago. At least, nine months ago seems like a long time.
I quite literally wrote the following editorial in the backseat of my parents' car on the way to my hometown of Cincinnati for Christmas break. It is so weird to read it nearly a year later, and see how much I've matured both as writer, student, and person.
Written on 12/15/10, between 5-9 o’clock p.m., while riding in my car to Cincinnati:
It’s been 108 days. No, this is not some obscure Lost reference. This is the number of days since I first stepped foot on the beautiful campus of Indiana Wesleyan University to be a full-time student. Since then, I have only left for the occasional midnight Wal-Mart run and a long weekend for Thanksgiving. But now, I’m in a green 2001 Chevy Prison Cell, speeding at 70 miles per hour to an extended vacation back to the place I once called home.
But IWU is my home now.
Driving off campus knowing that I won’t be back for 23 sunsets-over-the-student-center is a terrible feeling. As soon as the back tires hit Interstate 15, I am hit with depression like a coffee addict when McConn closes. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. I’m as clueless as a freshman on the first day of NSO.
Rest assured, tomorrow morning I will roll out of bed and start getting ready for my 9:25 World Changers class. Then, when I realize that class will not be taking place (hooray!), I will text a friend and ask if they would like to go to lunch at Wildcat for one of their legendary burritos. When night falls, my ping pong hand will start to itch and I will try to head over to the game room in the student center for a couple rounds. Finally, dejected, an hour before I remember to check in for curfew I will consider going to fatmeal and drowning away my depression in some lukewarm scrambled eggs.
Sure, go ahead, make fun all you want. Maybe I love the ‘WU a little too much. Maybe letting out a heavy sigh after seeing signs that said I was leaving Marion is a little extreme. Maybe the car ride “home” is a little too early to start the countdown to coming back. But maybe, just maybe, I’ve found my favorite spot, the happiest place on earth, my own personal Disneyworld.
I’m not saying that it’s perfect here by any means. It would be ignorant to say that even a place as great as IWU doesn’t have its flaws. Sometimes I just feel like dancing and chugging some Naked Juice, and this university does not quite encourage that. But despite its blemishes (which are not nearly as numerous or injurious as they are at other colleges; think about that the next time you complain about the puke tree outside Elder) I can honestly say that this place makes me happy. The people here, the faculty, the traditions and the overall atmosphere simply make me smile like a red package claim slip in my mailbox.
I’m almost “home” now. The roads are becoming more familiar, but somehow less friendly. I may be leaving behind classes, homework and stress, but the farther I get from IWU, the more thankful I am that I will probably be here all summer.
Graduating is gonna be tricky.
I quite literally wrote the following editorial in the backseat of my parents' car on the way to my hometown of Cincinnati for Christmas break. It is so weird to read it nearly a year later, and see how much I've matured both as writer, student, and person.
Written on 12/15/10, between 5-9 o’clock p.m., while riding in my car to Cincinnati:
It’s been 108 days. No, this is not some obscure Lost reference. This is the number of days since I first stepped foot on the beautiful campus of Indiana Wesleyan University to be a full-time student. Since then, I have only left for the occasional midnight Wal-Mart run and a long weekend for Thanksgiving. But now, I’m in a green 2001 Chevy Prison Cell, speeding at 70 miles per hour to an extended vacation back to the place I once called home.
But IWU is my home now.
Driving off campus knowing that I won’t be back for 23 sunsets-over-the-student-center is a terrible feeling. As soon as the back tires hit Interstate 15, I am hit with depression like a coffee addict when McConn closes. I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. I’m as clueless as a freshman on the first day of NSO.
Rest assured, tomorrow morning I will roll out of bed and start getting ready for my 9:25 World Changers class. Then, when I realize that class will not be taking place (hooray!), I will text a friend and ask if they would like to go to lunch at Wildcat for one of their legendary burritos. When night falls, my ping pong hand will start to itch and I will try to head over to the game room in the student center for a couple rounds. Finally, dejected, an hour before I remember to check in for curfew I will consider going to fatmeal and drowning away my depression in some lukewarm scrambled eggs.
Sure, go ahead, make fun all you want. Maybe I love the ‘WU a little too much. Maybe letting out a heavy sigh after seeing signs that said I was leaving Marion is a little extreme. Maybe the car ride “home” is a little too early to start the countdown to coming back. But maybe, just maybe, I’ve found my favorite spot, the happiest place on earth, my own personal Disneyworld.
I’m not saying that it’s perfect here by any means. It would be ignorant to say that even a place as great as IWU doesn’t have its flaws. Sometimes I just feel like dancing and chugging some Naked Juice, and this university does not quite encourage that. But despite its blemishes (which are not nearly as numerous or injurious as they are at other colleges; think about that the next time you complain about the puke tree outside Elder) I can honestly say that this place makes me happy. The people here, the faculty, the traditions and the overall atmosphere simply make me smile like a red package claim slip in my mailbox.
I’m almost “home” now. The roads are becoming more familiar, but somehow less friendly. I may be leaving behind classes, homework and stress, but the farther I get from IWU, the more thankful I am that I will probably be here all summer.
Graduating is gonna be tricky.
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