Do yo' best!

   

     What does it mean to fail? Not get the job of your dreams, lose a game or get 50% on a test? Many of us would agree with these statements, but I see it slightly different. The average on my first organic chemistry test was 44/150. Does this mean that the majority of my class failed? I think that depends. 

     I had faced failure in my short 20.5 years here. As a captain of my football and basketball teams in high school, seeing us lose every game in both sports my senior year could be seen as failure. Doing average on my chemistry test could be taken the same. Or even stumbling on the words that I can hear in my head but don't get out smoothly.

    But I don't see any of those as a failure.

    Children are often told "just do your best" and "try your hardest", when should that change? College students are under enormous pressure to do well on tests, driving caffeine levels sky high during late nights in the library, to fill in a few bubbles and answer a few questions in order to receive a number (which translates into a grade). This number causes cheating, bribing and broken ambitions every day in pursuit to get it as high as possible. This process is repeated two to four times a quarter or semester in the journey to get a new and final number or letter that causes even more grief.

    Getting this high number is not why am in school. I once found myself memorizing solely do well, not to learn, in fact I had no idea what I was putting in my head. This made me question why I was in the class to begin with. Since I have taken it as my primary goal at the university to learn, not get a high number. Doing my best was the best I could do, so why sacrifice my joy and wonder of learning? 

    Since making that decision my test scores have improved and I feel as if each class I take gives me more and more room to swim in the sea of knowledge we have access to. This also redefined my look on failure. I no longer see it as an outcome but an effort. An effort, that when taken with your concentration and enthusiasm, makes each moment a opportunity for success and no longer a chance for failure.

Why Not Today?

Why not make today the day?
The day you run your toes through the morning dew,
embrace someone you love,
tell them something sweet.
The day you start the project you keep thinking about
or the one you've been waiting to finish
The day that you won't let yourself get in the way,
and do something meaningful
The day you go to a park, beach, or trail
breath the crisp afternoon air,
open up to the evening rain as it hits your head
To appreciate the nature that can humble every one of us,
see we are part of a much bigger picture
The day to take a deep breath and melt some worries away
To lift your preoccupations and insecurities and walk free

Today is a...

My skyscraper

    It starts and ends in the same fashion; the movement of your eyelids. Everything in between is an adventure.
It may not seem like it to many of us, but that is because may be looking at it the wrong way.Yes, I know that is easier said than done, and it would be ridiculus to say we should never have bad days, that is part of life. But imagine a construction project. You wouldn't expect a skyscraper to be built in a day, and you also wouldn't expect it to go flawlessly through every second of its construction. But if we can work towards something small everyday, we may see a big reward. The small things we do may not have to be the same interest, just doing things that make us grow as individuals and discover what brings us joy is enough. It is this simple beauty that can make life indisputably adventurous.
   What we build in our lives cannot be done alone. Do you see one worker running the crane, jackhammer, laying floorboards and installing glass? The people around us can have great impact on what and how quickly we can accomplish goals in our life. If you see someone else building a skyscraper that you find interesting, amusing or even atrocious, do not be worried about talking to them, they may hold tools that will carry your project on. The gain of making a friend in this world drastically outweighs the embarrassment of a smiling "hello".
    Keep building, one piece at a time, with direction, passion and as always, an open mind, so no matter what you build, you will have an adventure.

Oops

   Everybody makes mistakes, it's part of being alive. Yet embarrassment is something that many people avoid at all cost. Holding themselves back because they don't feel comfortable out of their element.We may tell our self that the risk is not worth it or we "know" we cannot do it. Well of coarse you can't do it if you don't believe in yourself! Does a athlete tell their coach they don't want to take the game winning chance because they know they can't do it? Or do they accept the challenge as a opportunity to grow and achieve, throwing caution into the wind? At every chance there is a choice, lets make it fun!
   Making mistakes is a crucial ingredient to success. If we do not know what we can do, how can we know what we are capable of? Every time we do something on a whim, unexpected or new, we give ourselves a chance to expand our bubble of experiences. These experiences tell us about who we are, as if we are uncovering new areas of the blueprint to our souls.
   Embarrassment, does the work make you think of a time where you blushed, tripped, or looked foolish? I sure am, and I'm smiling about it. The times that we are clumsy, untrained, or completely new to something, lies a golden chance.
  In fact, I embarrass myself everyday. Since I was little I have dragged with me a studder in my speech. This is something I have worked on and is much less severe than it used to be. But could you imagine if someone asked you your name and you felt as if you could't say it out loud? Knowing that the person may look at you differently as you struggle to hurdle the syllables in a word you have said thousands of times. I used to be timid in my speech because of this and many thought of me as being quiet and shy, little did they know I was just scared of embarrassment. I have come to accept my impediment, and in turn, I'm not scared to say anything. If I had taken my speaking mistakes as something that I couldn't control or a aspect of my life that would hold me back, then I certainly wouldn't be writing about it today.
    Sometimes we need to get over our head to realize we are not in over our heads.