Buzz of the Day
I believe adversity is healthy. Some may not agree, but when it pertains to how I live my life it is very healthy. Sometimes you don't know what you can handle until you are faced with it. God has placed things in my life to test my faith, but He has stood by me to while I've overcome obstacles. As human beings, we are so...so many different things on any given day. When I was younger, I'd be faced with a challenge and think, "How am I going to get through this?" Now when problems arise, I think, "Man, I'm going to be some much stronger once I get through this."
I remember a man coming to my Junior High School to speak. I don't remember much but I do remember him talking about life and putting problems into perspective. He said if your problems won't be a big deal 5 years from now, then you shouldn't worry about them. I think that's good advice. My brother says that you have to take the bitter with the sweet. I guess you could call them peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows. It is LIFE! We are facing some hard times these days and it would be easy to throw in the towel, but in the words of Kanye West, "To me giving up is way harder than trying." Let us be thankful for the things we have today. I'm sure things can be better...but they can definitely be worse.
Many things that I write about are things that I struggle with. Some days are harder than others. I am grateful for the people that are in my life, and if I need to, I'll shrink my inner circle of friends. These adverse times will really change our perspective and if we're not careful, we can turn on people that really care about us or gravitate towards people who seem to have our best interest at heart but are snakes in the grass.
My advice: Shut up, observe, and see if people's actions are consistent with their words. If they are not, it's like writing a check with no money in the bank. Actions will always speak louder than words.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
My Apologies
I just want to apologize for my posts during the middle of this week. I basically mailed those blogs in Wednesday and Thursday (I think those were the only days). No excuses. It was a long week and I didn't prioritize. Lazy, lazy. I am working on some things for next week ( I know, I know, I keep saying that).
Rocket Man
Buzz of the Day
I was watching the series finale of Life on Mars yesterday. I was very disappointed. I went on to Google the series to find out some info. Well I guess the ratings were bad. I was quite surprised. The only bad episode in my opinion was the series finale.
Imagine being from somewhere different than everyone around you...Being able to relate, but not totally. Now in this series, he was in 1973 but he's from 2008. I'm just talking about in a different state of mind than the people around you.
I am a pretty different guy. I don't always relate or agree with people totally. My brother always says there are 3 sides to every story. My side; Your side; and The Truth! I think the one thing that separates me from most people in my awareness. I look at situations from each person's viewpoint. The reason I can do this (most of the time) is because I've been around so many different people. And in their mind, their actions are justified. Let me give you some scenarios:
A 17 year old boy goes to prison and leaves a 31 year old man. He was skinny, insecure, and he had to fight for everything he has. The prisons that he's been in were his home. Think about your 21st birthday...you were probably not in prison. So when he arrives "on the outside" for the first time since the early 1990's. Where does that man go to get a job? Where does he go to provide for himself? Who will accept him? Has he lost his constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness? How does he achieve that?
So he applies for jobs, but these jobs don't hire felons. And the jobs that say they will hire felons, only made that rule because a friend of the family was given a job many years ago (they haven't hired one since). This convicted felon has very few family members. They've said, " You can stay with us for 2 months, but after that you have to find your own." Where does he find his own?
Think about that
That is just 1 of 1 trillion different scenarios that people go through everyday. I know people in situations similar to the one above. I also know people that have defied the odds and have done very well after prison. Maybe they grew up in a drug house, maybe they grew up in a tough neighborhood, or maybe their family has never seen anyone get past 11th grade.
I know people who have never "struggled" in their life. Financially. They had both parents in the home, but the parents hated each other. Money was no object. They could buy whatever they wanted, but they didn't have family so share these things with. I know people who have broken the law for years and never has gotten caught. I know people who have lived a squeaky-clean life who were falsely accused of things and their lives were never the same.
When I hear latest tragedies, my heart hurts for them. When I think about the different directions that my life could have gone. Or if I would have gotten caught doing something stupid, how my life would have dramatically changed.
I guess I say all of that to say that I don't feel like I'm better than anyone...We all have our ups and downs and we all deal with them differently. So when people are extremely quick to judge, that bothers me because they don't know the whole story. Don't get me wrong, right and wrong doesn't change because of people's situations! What is wrong for one person is wrong for the next.
Sometimes people don't feel like they have a choice...And I'm aware of that.
I was watching the series finale of Life on Mars yesterday. I was very disappointed. I went on to Google the series to find out some info. Well I guess the ratings were bad. I was quite surprised. The only bad episode in my opinion was the series finale.
Imagine being from somewhere different than everyone around you...Being able to relate, but not totally. Now in this series, he was in 1973 but he's from 2008. I'm just talking about in a different state of mind than the people around you.
I am a pretty different guy. I don't always relate or agree with people totally. My brother always says there are 3 sides to every story. My side; Your side; and The Truth! I think the one thing that separates me from most people in my awareness. I look at situations from each person's viewpoint. The reason I can do this (most of the time) is because I've been around so many different people. And in their mind, their actions are justified. Let me give you some scenarios:
A 17 year old boy goes to prison and leaves a 31 year old man. He was skinny, insecure, and he had to fight for everything he has. The prisons that he's been in were his home. Think about your 21st birthday...you were probably not in prison. So when he arrives "on the outside" for the first time since the early 1990's. Where does that man go to get a job? Where does he go to provide for himself? Who will accept him? Has he lost his constitutional right to the pursuit of happiness? How does he achieve that?
So he applies for jobs, but these jobs don't hire felons. And the jobs that say they will hire felons, only made that rule because a friend of the family was given a job many years ago (they haven't hired one since). This convicted felon has very few family members. They've said, " You can stay with us for 2 months, but after that you have to find your own." Where does he find his own?
Think about that
That is just 1 of 1 trillion different scenarios that people go through everyday. I know people in situations similar to the one above. I also know people that have defied the odds and have done very well after prison. Maybe they grew up in a drug house, maybe they grew up in a tough neighborhood, or maybe their family has never seen anyone get past 11th grade.
I know people who have never "struggled" in their life. Financially. They had both parents in the home, but the parents hated each other. Money was no object. They could buy whatever they wanted, but they didn't have family so share these things with. I know people who have broken the law for years and never has gotten caught. I know people who have lived a squeaky-clean life who were falsely accused of things and their lives were never the same.
When I hear latest tragedies, my heart hurts for them. When I think about the different directions that my life could have gone. Or if I would have gotten caught doing something stupid, how my life would have dramatically changed.
I guess I say all of that to say that I don't feel like I'm better than anyone...We all have our ups and downs and we all deal with them differently. So when people are extremely quick to judge, that bothers me because they don't know the whole story. Don't get me wrong, right and wrong doesn't change because of people's situations! What is wrong for one person is wrong for the next.
Sometimes people don't feel like they have a choice...And I'm aware of that.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Jealously?
Random Thoughts Thursday
The comedian Katt Williams once talked about "player haters" and how you need some hater in your life. The jist of the skit was once you start doing some good things, people will start to get jealous. That is kind of your coming out party. Once people start to hate, then you have arrived!
I've never been a jealous person. I get more excited when my friends achieve something than when I do. I always think, "Well I can't wait til I do that." Very rarely (I can't remember a time, but I'm sure I have because I'm human) have I been upset with something someone else has that I don't have.
I guess the one feeling I have is disappointment in myself. That is probably the feeling I have the most. Very rarely jealousy. I have done some dumb things and made things harder on myself than they should have been. I have to work extra hard now just to "make par" per se.
I hope one day I'll have some haters too. Actually, I'd like the success without the haters...
The comedian Katt Williams once talked about "player haters" and how you need some hater in your life. The jist of the skit was once you start doing some good things, people will start to get jealous. That is kind of your coming out party. Once people start to hate, then you have arrived!
I've never been a jealous person. I get more excited when my friends achieve something than when I do. I always think, "Well I can't wait til I do that." Very rarely (I can't remember a time, but I'm sure I have because I'm human) have I been upset with something someone else has that I don't have.
I guess the one feeling I have is disappointment in myself. That is probably the feeling I have the most. Very rarely jealousy. I have done some dumb things and made things harder on myself than they should have been. I have to work extra hard now just to "make par" per se.
I hope one day I'll have some haters too. Actually, I'd like the success without the haters...
MEAP Scores Rise
Random Thoughts Thursday
Across the state of Michigan, scores in math, science, and social studies rise. I wonder what has brought on this change? I don't know...Let's hope we can keep it up!
Across the state of Michigan, scores in math, science, and social studies rise. I wonder what has brought on this change? I don't know...Let's hope we can keep it up!
Random Thoughts Thursday
Thursdays will hopefully be fun. I want to just post random thoughts all day. Whether it's a thought I've had for years, days, or seconds, I want to share.
I'm really working on getting the blog a facelift, tummy tuck, etc.
I'm really working on getting the blog a facelift, tummy tuck, etc.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Early April Fools
Buzz of the Day
University of San Diego California made a pretty big oopsy Tuesday.
There were about 19,000 students who were accepted to the school for this upcoming Fall. There were another 29,000 who were not accepted. A welcome email was sent to...all 48,000 students! About a half hour afterwards, they realized the mistake. Talking about an emotional roller coaster...
That's all I got for you today. I will make it up tomorrow. I promise
University of San Diego California made a pretty big oopsy Tuesday.
There were about 19,000 students who were accepted to the school for this upcoming Fall. There were another 29,000 who were not accepted. A welcome email was sent to...all 48,000 students! About a half hour afterwards, they realized the mistake. Talking about an emotional roller coaster...
That's all I got for you today. I will make it up tomorrow. I promise
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