Happy Monday!
Hello, dear readers of mine! I hope things are going okay since the last time I posted. Did you treat yourself today? If you haven't, go do it. It's Monday; they are hard for everyone. Make it easier to get through by treating yourself somehow. I know I realized that school starts up exactly 3 weeks from now. It's crazy how fast this summer has gone by. I mean I just ordered my textbooks for the fall...not fun.
Happy 33rd Anniversary to my mom and dad on July 30th!
Here's the link to my latest Odyssey article: Dating For Dummies In A Hookup Society.
Something that my parents instilled in my siblings and I: be the better person. Now, you can imagine how challenging it can be to tell a child to "be the better person" when someone steals their crayons or juice box and they want to retaliate back. The child will likely want to wonder why they shouldn't turn around and do something in return. "Whhyyyyyyyyyy?!?!?"
Over the years, I asked my mom one time, "Why do I have to be the better person?" She told that someone has to be the "bigger" person, someone to swallow their pride and proudness and move one. I realize that this is a huge lesson. In a world with so much hate and anger, we act irrationally when hurt and make rash decisions fueled with that hurt. When someone does wrong to us or by us, it doesn't mean you have to do the same thing back to that person or someone else. Be the bigger person and stop the cycle of anger and hate. If you "pass it on" and don't be the better person, you are essentially perpetuating, continuing the cycle of hatred and anger in the world.
The way to stop the cycle? Try to be the better person. Now, it's not always easy to be the better person. It takes courage to the bigger person. And you're not always going to be the better person; you're likely to mess up from time to time, and that's okay. But we must always try to be the better person when the time comes.
Until next week,
Thought of the day
Happy Sunday!
Hello, readers! I know that I didn't post an update last week and I'm sorry. I wasn't feeling very inspired. Andddd partly, I really want to finish binging NCIS before school starts back up. That reminds me that I need to order my books. Not much has changed in the last two weeks since I posted. Today though, I was on my way to work and, being the klutz that I am, I fell off my bike. But as much as it pained me I got back on and kept going. All I could think was, "I want my mom" and "I hurt all over". So it's safe to say that I probably won't be going on RAGBRAI anytime soon.
Here are the links to my latest Odyssey articles: To My Fellow Americans and 10 Reasons Why Siblings Are Actually A Blessing ft. my siblings.
This post came to me when I was getting ready for bed last night. Last week, I noticed an abnormality when I snacked on almonds. One of my front teeth is loose. Panicking, I ran to the mirror to see for myself and it was true. Naturally the next thing for me to do was to call my mom and tell her the discovery. I told her how I didn't know how a tooth could be loose. I flossed, brushed, and rinsed my mouth out regularly. She told me to hold on until my next dentist appointment.
You may be wondering, what's the point and are you going to make one? Yes, and here it is: sometimes you can do everything right, follow the steps carefully, and still it wasn't enough or something was screwed up. I thought by doing all the right things by brushing flossing, and rinsing out my mouth that it would prevent me from getting cavities or make me immune to cavities. Maybe not.
For some reason, I have it in my head that if I follow all the rules, follow the instructions carefully and diligently, then I won't get hurt, I will have success, or things worked out like they were supposed to, like I wanted them to, It sounds crazy and irrational but it's something I've noticed about myself. But that's me wanting to control more than I can, more than I should. The fact of the matter it sometimes we can do all the right things, all the things we're supposed to do, and still we lose.
And it sucks. It really does. We forget that we can't control everything and everyone. There's only person (technically three) who can do that and his name is God. We lull ourselves into thinking we have this control over people, situations, things, when in reality we don't. Not by a long shot. There are just some things out of our control. And that's okay. It is. Why? Because when something goes array or you make a mistake, it's a new path, a path you might have never gone down, and that new path set you on a course that changes you, your life, your perspective.
"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." -Jeremiah 29:11. God knows our path and how to get us there. We just to let him lead us to it, even when we can't see it.
Until next week,
Thought of the day
Happy Friday!
Finally, it's Friday. Even though it was only a 4 day work week, it felt like the same as my usual 6 day week. But I can't complain about the beautiful weather we are having. Tomorrow, I might go do some shopping or go to the farmer's market. Or I might just stay in and binge watch on tv shows. Either way, it'll be nice. I hope everyone is doing okay. This is your weekly reminder to treat yourself. I don't know how I'm going to treat myself but I will somehow.
Here's the link to my latest Odyssey article: My Mom Is Why I Relay.
I actually started planning this post out on my way home from work today. It's a 20 minute walk; I got to keep myself occupied somehow. I would like to give a little fair warning before I start, because I do know that I have the tendency when telling stories to get overly detailed and forget the point. So you've been warned.
As a freshmen, I took this specific test called StrengthsQuest. It's used–so I'm told–more often in the work world than I might think; it's a series questions designed to measure what your strengths are. At the end, you're given your top 5 along with descriptions of them. Now, my first four strengths made sense, but the last one confused me to no end. It was harmony. Those who know me know that I am not afraid to argue or speak my mind. But as the year continued and still today, I notice that it wasn't a false result and it made sense. I strive for harmony, peace, and calm. It's for this reason that I don't like and actually prefer not to take sides. I don't want to create even more conflict. A reason why I can't commit to one side or not because I likely can understand each of the sides.
Now how does this apply to recent tragedies of shootings involving police officers and people? I don't want to take the sides of anyone. This doesn't mean I don't sympathize with the families and loved ones of those killed. Because I do. Notice how I didn't specify which group. I realize that those of the African American community face a different set of day-to-day challenges. It's hard to put yourself in their shoes because you don't know what they have had to face.
What trips us up is labeling and associating things that don't necessarily have any correlation and taking them and applying them to society. When we start seeing a pattern, we make those associations and apply and compare them to others. Here's a list of generalizations that are common in today's world (I don't condone or agree with any of these–my personal thoughts and feelings do not play a part): all police officers abuse their power; all black people, specifically black men, pose a threat the public; all politicians lie to face their own butts; and others. No, not all police officers abuse their power, but some do take advantage of it. No, not all black people are dangerous, but some can be. Not all politicians lie, but some do. Whether someone lies, poses a threat to others, or takes advantage of their power has nothing to with the kind of clothes they were, nothing to do with the kind of vehicles they drive, nothing to do with how they look. It does, however, have everything to do what's inside, what kind of person they are. We are too blinded by our own thoughts and prejudices and bitterness that we twist reality to fit those firmly accepted concepts, and in the end, fueling the fire within us.
Guns don't kill people. People kill people. We need to start coming together and trying to understand one another; instead of going extreme and straight to violence if someone doesn't agree with you or you don't agree with someone. If not, then violence in the country and even the world will most likely continue to escalate.
Until next week,
Thought of the day
Happy Sunday/Monday/Independence Day
It's almost the 4th of July. Exactly 6 minutes until the day. I know this post is a little late. Well, you see, when I got home to visit, I try to stay off my laptop as much as possible because it's a nice break from technology and I find I focus on my family and spending time with them. Right now, mostly everyone are asleep and I finally figured out what I wanted to write about. I know. My brain is fascinating, getting writing ideas and fuel for my post at ten minutes to midnight. Perfect timing. Not really, but you know, when the opportunity strikes, I must take advantage. My fellow writers out there can (maybe) concur.
If you are traveling, drive smart and safely. If you're setting up a fireworks display, please be careful. If you are camping or planning on any other recreational activities, please wear sunscreen (if outside) and reapply as much as possible and enjoy the uncommonly cooler weather for the 4th of July.
Before I got into my post, I wanted to give a couple of birthday shoutouts to a couple of firecracker babies.
First, my brother's godson, Joseph, turned 1 today. I can't wait to see you grow even more. It makes me smile to see your sometimes goofy, but always handsome face. He probably gets that from his mom. Kidding...or am I?
Second, to a very special person in my life and on very special day. Courtney, happy 21st birthday. I'm sorry we couldn't spend the day together, but I look forward to celebrating with you the next time we get together! I'm so glad that whatever force (I believe God had a hand or two in it) lead me to live across the hall from you this past year. It allowed me to come to know you and how beautiful, kind, funny, smart, caring, and wonderful blessing you truly are in my life. Thank you for being there when I needed to vent, let out my worries, laugh until my gut hurts, and sticking by me. You deserve to have a great day!
Dear America (and my fellow Americans),
First and foremost, happy birthday! Even though, you are still a young country in comparison to other countries, you have come a long ways from where you started.
Thank you for fighting the oppressors and earning our independence and title as a free country. An example you became (and still are) to be proof that a democratic republic can hold up and succeed. An example where there is such a place to have basic freedoms that other countries deny to their people. How you allow and welcome people from other countries with the open arms of Lady Liberty in New York Harbor.
As we settled in, we began noticing cracks in the foundation on which you stand. It nearly broke the nation in two. With the determination of many people, we were able to come back together as a country and began rebuilding the country. Of course, this issue is still seen today. It may be hard to believe, but it is most likely true. There's still a long way to go, but I know that when come together as a whole, a united front, there's not much that can hold us back.
Since then, we have seen our country come together time and time again to fight for what we believe in, to fight so that the countless innocent and brave lives did not die in vain, to fight for good to keeping prevailing over the evil in the world, to fight for those who cannot fight, to fight to set an example for those younger generations that we must never give up and to continue to hope and to have the will to keep carrying on even when the going is tough.
I must point out that we have many hurtles in our way. Differences to look past. History to move on from. We are not running a sprint; we're running a marathon. Segregation and hatred towards most, or if not all, minority groups. Childish fighting in congress and between political parties. This country was built on the principle that this is a place, a refuge even, to those different than us. Accepting others' differences is hard. But it's key to surviving as a country.
Sincerely and thankfully,
A fellow American
Until next week,
Thought of the day
