Thursday, March 10, 2011
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Life Comes Full Circle
Finally I find myself on a little vacation, no deadlines, no studying, and actually some peace and quiet. I decided to take advantage of my free time to comment on an observation that I made recently. Sometimes life takes strange twists and turns, but through it all we evolve into the people we are. Sometimes it's amusing to observe the journey.
Last fall I was taking an economics class, comparative economics, which was my third economics class. While I find the subject of economics absolutely fascinating, many find it equally boring. While this class was a little challenging at times, I found the topic of comparative economics to be a very interesting one. Especially at a time when all of the economic systems appear to be the subject of debate. While I was fascinated by this class, I don't think the same was true for all of the students in my class.
I was surprised when, several weeks into the class, I got an email from my instructor asking me how I am studying for my classes. He appeared to be impressed with my grasp of the course materials. He asked if I could offer any advice that he could share with the other students to help them get the materials. After getting over the the initial ego boost, I thought about how I was studying and what advice I could offer. Really, I was doing little more than reading the assigned text chapters and then completing my assignments. I really didn't know how to reply, because I didn't want to reveal my totally, unsystematic, random method of studying. After giving it some thought I came to a conclusion, my success in this class was due to one thing; my interest in economics. Because I was interested in economics, I was absorbing every last bit of information throughout the class. Other students who were likely, (of course, wrongly so) under the impression that economics are boring and only a propeller head would actually enjoy something like this. I am fully aware of how difficult it can be to learn something if you have absolutely convinced yourself that what you are studying is completely stupid and irrelevant. And if I didn't know, I was about to find out.
My very next classes were Writing and Research, and Interpersonal Communications. If I got any ego boost from my economics class, it was about to disappear. First, I am not much of a fan of writing classes. I enjoy blogging and randomly writing when I feel like it. One huge advantage of recreational writing is that there is no deadline (as you can tell because it took me two months to complete this blog) and nobody is going to give me an “A” no matter how good I do. I am the happiest when I feel like my assignments have been perfected. So needless to say, I wasn’t exactly having a blast with my writing class.
My other class, Interpersonal Communications, was just slightly less interesting than studying supply and demand charts or laissez faire capitalism. I learned a few interesting and valuable things in this class, but I still think cleaning bathrooms instead of taking this class would have been a fair trade! I guess this must be where that “well rounded” thing comes in. Perhaps the most valuable thing I learned from this class is that it taught me to consider other people’s perspective. Maybe my economics classmates looked at economics the same way I looked at my writing class, “it’s just one of those things that you have to do in order to graduate”.
Even though I didn’t tremendously enjoy either of these classes, they taught me something valuable. Interpersonal Communications helped me understand how my economics classmates must have felt and why they were having difficulties in understanding the course materials. Because I was aware of this, I realized that if I can convince myself that I really am going to learn something in my Writing class and not hate it, I will probably do much better. It worked! I wrote a much-dreaded paper that turned out to be the paper that I am proudest of out of all the papers I have written since starting college. As I stated earlier, I love that feeling that comes from feeling like you have perfected something. For the first time I felt that way about a paper.
I just thought it was kind of funny how everything had come full circle. First, I couldn’t understand why anyone would not be interested in economics. Then, I start a writing class that I really had no interest in. At the same time I am taking a class that is teaching me to see things from other’s perspectives. Considering my writing class, I could now understand how my classmates must have felt about economics. Being aware of this undoubtedly helped me succeed in my writing class. Funny how life sometimes comes full circle!
Last fall I was taking an economics class, comparative economics, which was my third economics class. While I find the subject of economics absolutely fascinating, many find it equally boring. While this class was a little challenging at times, I found the topic of comparative economics to be a very interesting one. Especially at a time when all of the economic systems appear to be the subject of debate. While I was fascinated by this class, I don't think the same was true for all of the students in my class.
I was surprised when, several weeks into the class, I got an email from my instructor asking me how I am studying for my classes. He appeared to be impressed with my grasp of the course materials. He asked if I could offer any advice that he could share with the other students to help them get the materials. After getting over the the initial ego boost, I thought about how I was studying and what advice I could offer. Really, I was doing little more than reading the assigned text chapters and then completing my assignments. I really didn't know how to reply, because I didn't want to reveal my totally, unsystematic, random method of studying. After giving it some thought I came to a conclusion, my success in this class was due to one thing; my interest in economics. Because I was interested in economics, I was absorbing every last bit of information throughout the class. Other students who were likely, (of course, wrongly so) under the impression that economics are boring and only a propeller head would actually enjoy something like this. I am fully aware of how difficult it can be to learn something if you have absolutely convinced yourself that what you are studying is completely stupid and irrelevant. And if I didn't know, I was about to find out.
My very next classes were Writing and Research, and Interpersonal Communications. If I got any ego boost from my economics class, it was about to disappear. First, I am not much of a fan of writing classes. I enjoy blogging and randomly writing when I feel like it. One huge advantage of recreational writing is that there is no deadline (as you can tell because it took me two months to complete this blog) and nobody is going to give me an “A” no matter how good I do. I am the happiest when I feel like my assignments have been perfected. So needless to say, I wasn’t exactly having a blast with my writing class.
My other class, Interpersonal Communications, was just slightly less interesting than studying supply and demand charts or laissez faire capitalism. I learned a few interesting and valuable things in this class, but I still think cleaning bathrooms instead of taking this class would have been a fair trade! I guess this must be where that “well rounded” thing comes in. Perhaps the most valuable thing I learned from this class is that it taught me to consider other people’s perspective. Maybe my economics classmates looked at economics the same way I looked at my writing class, “it’s just one of those things that you have to do in order to graduate”.
Even though I didn’t tremendously enjoy either of these classes, they taught me something valuable. Interpersonal Communications helped me understand how my economics classmates must have felt and why they were having difficulties in understanding the course materials. Because I was aware of this, I realized that if I can convince myself that I really am going to learn something in my Writing class and not hate it, I will probably do much better. It worked! I wrote a much-dreaded paper that turned out to be the paper that I am proudest of out of all the papers I have written since starting college. As I stated earlier, I love that feeling that comes from feeling like you have perfected something. For the first time I felt that way about a paper.
I just thought it was kind of funny how everything had come full circle. First, I couldn’t understand why anyone would not be interested in economics. Then, I start a writing class that I really had no interest in. At the same time I am taking a class that is teaching me to see things from other’s perspectives. Considering my writing class, I could now understand how my classmates must have felt about economics. Being aware of this undoubtedly helped me succeed in my writing class. Funny how life sometimes comes full circle!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
A Quote From Lincoln About Life
I found a quote from Abraham Lincoln that I thought really fit well and sums up the point I was trying to make in my blog the other day. The quote goes as follows, "And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." How true!!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Let's Not Just Exist
Recently while on facebook I noticed that some of my friends had posted several things about a tragedy of some kind. At first I just brushed it off as something that is likely of no concern to me. Later I noticed that someone had posted a memorial video. Curious, I decided to watch the video to see what this tragedy was that had occurred. Immediately after the video started I was overcome with sadness and I almost wished I hadn't decided to watch it. Played to the background music of "Angel" by Sarah McLaughlin, was a video of a beautiful young girl. Having read what I had, I knew that something must have happened to her and indeed that must be the tragedy that people were referring to. From the photos displayed during the video I knew that she must have been an outstanding young lady. What especially caught my attention was one photo where she was wearing a dress with a banner that had the word "queen" written on it, where she apparently had won a beauty pageant. My niece who lived in the same town had also won that pageant in recent years. I knew something very tragic had happened and I wanted to know more about it.
I googled the name of the young lady and eventually learned that she had been killed over the weekend in a tragic car accident. With a couple google searches I also learned that she was a 21 yr-old valedictorian, a cheerleader, a college student, and appeared to be a very popular girl. The next morning I called my sister-in-law to see if they knew this girl and if they had heard about her death. They had not heard about it but they did know her. She was in a play with my niece not long before her death. They also said she often sang the national anthem at the local football games.
As I learned more about this girl it was clear that this world had lost an outstanding young person. I felt deeply saddened that such a beautiful, outstanding young person had to leave this world at such a young age. I asked myself why I even cared. Besides, I did not even know this person. Something about this tragic event had caught my attention and I just could not get it out of my head. It just didn't seem fair. Maybe God was protecting her from the madness of the world we live in, or maybe as one of her friends posted online, because she was such a good singer perhaps God wanted her to sing for him in heaven. Still, it just didn't seem right. It seemed unfair to her, her family, and her friends. This world needs great people like her. She appeared to have such an outstanding life and by all appearances, such an inspiration to those who knew her, why would she leave this world at such a young age? It just didn't make sense.
Later on the next day I came across a blog that one of her friends in college had posted. She also asked the question, why, why, why? She followed that up with not only what she believed was the answer to her own question, but what I believe is the answer to why I had become so saddened by the death of someone I didn't even know. Her answer, we don't know why some people like her leave this world at such a young age, but there must be a reason. There are millions of us still here and there must be a reason for that. There within I believe lies the answer to why I could not pull myself away from this story. I asked myself that very question, why am I still here.
At that point my thinking took on a different turn. Earlier I had come across something that a friend of this young lady had posted online. She wrote, "even though you are gone, you continue to inspire us all". What an amazing thought! Living such an amazing life that people continue to be inspired even after we have left this world! I couldn't help but think of what an amazing world this could be if we all lived this way. Just a few days earlier this girl had been living what appeared to be a remarkable life. I bet little did she realize that her life would end so unexpectedly and because of it, someone she never even met would be inspired to take a good hard look at his own life. I asked myself the question, what would people think of me if I were to suddenly leave this world? Would my life inspire someone else to live their life better? Have I done anything to make this world a better place? I almost did not want to answer that question. Yes I had worked hard my entire life. Yes I am working on my education and doing well in college. But if I died what would be the net result of all this? I have been working simply to sustain myself and I if were to die my education would benefit no one. While I strongly admire hard work and education, I realized that I need to be doing something that actually has a real tangible value, were I to suddenly leave this world. I hope to use this as a guide for my life and to ask myself the question often, "Is what I am doing this very moment something that would inspire people that I don't even know?" I think that question or the answer to it, should be a benckmark for our lives and something we should ask ourselves often.
As for the answer to why am I still here, I don't know the answer to that. But what I do know is that there is a world around me that is crying out for help. There are hungry children who are uneducated and without proper clothing and medicine, there are adults who are hungry and uneducated and without proper clothing and medicine, there are sad and lonely people that need someone to talk to, there are neglected people, there are children who need mentors, there are those who only need a smile to brighten their day; for everything we have that we can give, there is someone that needs it. As I pondered all these things I couldn't help but think, how sad, I have worked hard my entire life, have always been an "A" student. Clearly God has blessed me with a gift, but I have been just merely existing! Its time to do more than exist. Its time to no longer ignore the call for help from the world around me.
Life is full of unknowns. We don't know how much time we have on earth. We do not get to choose when we leave this world. What we do get to choose is what we do with our time that we are given. A person's life whom I didn't even know inspired me to really consider what I have been doing with my time. I think its time to change course so that if tomorrow its me, maybe someone else will be inspired. Life is full of unknowns, sometimes life seems unfair, sometimes it all makes no sense, sometimes it all appears to be out of control, but only we can control whether we use our time to make this world a better place or if we choose to just simply exist. Please, let's not just exist!
I googled the name of the young lady and eventually learned that she had been killed over the weekend in a tragic car accident. With a couple google searches I also learned that she was a 21 yr-old valedictorian, a cheerleader, a college student, and appeared to be a very popular girl. The next morning I called my sister-in-law to see if they knew this girl and if they had heard about her death. They had not heard about it but they did know her. She was in a play with my niece not long before her death. They also said she often sang the national anthem at the local football games.
As I learned more about this girl it was clear that this world had lost an outstanding young person. I felt deeply saddened that such a beautiful, outstanding young person had to leave this world at such a young age. I asked myself why I even cared. Besides, I did not even know this person. Something about this tragic event had caught my attention and I just could not get it out of my head. It just didn't seem fair. Maybe God was protecting her from the madness of the world we live in, or maybe as one of her friends posted online, because she was such a good singer perhaps God wanted her to sing for him in heaven. Still, it just didn't seem right. It seemed unfair to her, her family, and her friends. This world needs great people like her. She appeared to have such an outstanding life and by all appearances, such an inspiration to those who knew her, why would she leave this world at such a young age? It just didn't make sense.
Later on the next day I came across a blog that one of her friends in college had posted. She also asked the question, why, why, why? She followed that up with not only what she believed was the answer to her own question, but what I believe is the answer to why I had become so saddened by the death of someone I didn't even know. Her answer, we don't know why some people like her leave this world at such a young age, but there must be a reason. There are millions of us still here and there must be a reason for that. There within I believe lies the answer to why I could not pull myself away from this story. I asked myself that very question, why am I still here.
At that point my thinking took on a different turn. Earlier I had come across something that a friend of this young lady had posted online. She wrote, "even though you are gone, you continue to inspire us all". What an amazing thought! Living such an amazing life that people continue to be inspired even after we have left this world! I couldn't help but think of what an amazing world this could be if we all lived this way. Just a few days earlier this girl had been living what appeared to be a remarkable life. I bet little did she realize that her life would end so unexpectedly and because of it, someone she never even met would be inspired to take a good hard look at his own life. I asked myself the question, what would people think of me if I were to suddenly leave this world? Would my life inspire someone else to live their life better? Have I done anything to make this world a better place? I almost did not want to answer that question. Yes I had worked hard my entire life. Yes I am working on my education and doing well in college. But if I died what would be the net result of all this? I have been working simply to sustain myself and I if were to die my education would benefit no one. While I strongly admire hard work and education, I realized that I need to be doing something that actually has a real tangible value, were I to suddenly leave this world. I hope to use this as a guide for my life and to ask myself the question often, "Is what I am doing this very moment something that would inspire people that I don't even know?" I think that question or the answer to it, should be a benckmark for our lives and something we should ask ourselves often.
As for the answer to why am I still here, I don't know the answer to that. But what I do know is that there is a world around me that is crying out for help. There are hungry children who are uneducated and without proper clothing and medicine, there are adults who are hungry and uneducated and without proper clothing and medicine, there are sad and lonely people that need someone to talk to, there are neglected people, there are children who need mentors, there are those who only need a smile to brighten their day; for everything we have that we can give, there is someone that needs it. As I pondered all these things I couldn't help but think, how sad, I have worked hard my entire life, have always been an "A" student. Clearly God has blessed me with a gift, but I have been just merely existing! Its time to do more than exist. Its time to no longer ignore the call for help from the world around me.
Life is full of unknowns. We don't know how much time we have on earth. We do not get to choose when we leave this world. What we do get to choose is what we do with our time that we are given. A person's life whom I didn't even know inspired me to really consider what I have been doing with my time. I think its time to change course so that if tomorrow its me, maybe someone else will be inspired. Life is full of unknowns, sometimes life seems unfair, sometimes it all makes no sense, sometimes it all appears to be out of control, but only we can control whether we use our time to make this world a better place or if we choose to just simply exist. Please, let's not just exist!
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