What does autumn mean to me?

Autumn to me, like the variety of colors in the changing trees, is a plethora of emotions. My birthday is in October, last time I checked, it was pretty fun. But also it means the end of warm weather, and less time outside, darker evenings, darker mornings, and crisp, biting air. Less time that I can ride my bike, more time I have to stay inside and "occupy myself" with chores usually. Although I don't really like it as much as summer, I suppose autumn is necessary; without change all we do is stay the same. In one word, autumn is refreshing. It's the beginning of the end so to speak, but that's ok. With autumn, there is a variety of weather and of emotions, and I suppose that just appeals to me.

"Never be afraid to sit a while and think."

This quote, for some reason, really connects with me, not only because I agree with what it says but because I do this on a daily basis. I can't adequately explain it, but throughout the day, I just zone out and think about everything for a while. Even in the morning, although this may be attributed to my sleepiness, I tend to sit on my bed for 5 minutes or so and just think. Even if I'm not really thinking about anything in particular, it really helps sometimes to just take a break and relax, to not do a thing.
Though this is relaxing, there are actually a lot of things I should be thinking about. College, my career, my grades, homework, getting a job, practicing my instrument, riding my bike, the state of my life in general. The last one really is what I spend a lot of time thinking about. If I were to die tomorrow, how would I be remembered? Have I lived a good life? I don't mean it to be morbid, but things happen that are out of our control and sometimes lives are cut short. If, God forbid, something like that happened to me or one of my friends, would we be satisfied with how we lived? We are honestly waiting for our lives to start right now, in high school. We aren't really who we want to be yet; some of us are still trying to figure it out. I don't know what I want to do with my life, my life being all of the aforementioned facets of the things that are still in my head; they aren't a reality yet. I feel like I need to stop thinking about it and start to make it real, but right now, I know that I can feel confident that it's still ok, there is still time, I have time to just sit and think.

Act Quickly, Think Slowly

This Greek proverb I think has a double meaning. If someone is going to act on something, then it should be done quickly with little hesitation and much conviction. Otherwise, the moment is lost. Action requires timing. Whatever it may be, if we think too much about something before we act, we could miss the oppurtune moment and then our chance to act is gone. On the other hand, sometimes people act too quickly, and then either make fools of themselves or end up with disasterous consequences. While we act, or thought process has to increase and get faster with it as well.

The proverb also says to think slowly. Thought, being the predecessor of action, it is therefore the foundation of all action or movement or decision. In order to have all or ducks in a row so to speak, and not act prematurely, we have to slow down and not think things through too quickly. Especially if an important decision is on the line. Better decisions are always made after all the possible options and corresponding outcomes have been assessed.

Is it easier to fight with dignity than to surrender in shame?

Of course it is. Take out the fighting and surrendering parts, and what have you got? You are left with dignity or shame. If one had to choose, the obvious choice would be dignity. Who wants to be shamed? Unless you have some sort of depressive disorder, I think all of us prefer the feeling we get from being dignified over that of shame.

Though the idea of fighting may not appeal to us, fighting vs. surrendering is in human nature, and has been since the beginning of time. Fight, or give up and you die.

Fighting is obviously a physically taxing activity, so therefore it is perceived correctly to be hard. If one was to fight and win, whatever they may be fighting, if they won, obviously it was worth the fight. Surrender though, I thnk comes from unwillingness and uncertainty. Am I good enough? I don't want to have to face a negative answer, so I will do nothing; I will surrender. This mentality, while it may be neutral as far as figuring out whether one won or lost, is something that I think people who surrender would have to live with. Personally, I would always wonder and have a sense of regret about anything I surrendered. Could I have won? Should I have surrendered? There's that sense of doubt, and that is a lot to have to think about. Essentially though, I tend to believe that it is better to fight for your beliefs and for your character rather than to yield to someone or something because it is the easy thing to do.

Money

Money to me has never been really important, but more of a welcome nicety. It's good, when I have it, but not awful when there's not as much. Too many people, I think, are warped into believing that in order to be successful, you must be gratuitously rich.
Although money certainly makes some aspects of life easier, the lack of it and sacrifices some people have to make because of the lack of money makes them stronger individuals that are able to overcome hardship. Some people that either have always had money or have accumulated money through their good business fortune or luck are always wanting more. Greed is certainly the largest by-product of money- everybody always wants more. I think this strains a lot of people's relationships with each other, especially maritally speaking. One (or both) memebers in a relationship are more focused on earning money than they are interested in each other.
The lack of money, though, however much we morally defend it as being okay, governments, businesses, and people ultimately suffer in one way or another because somebody always owes so-and-so however much money, and it just creates a big chaotic system we call the economy, which if you haven't been living under a rock, is suffering. So the lack of money is surely a problem that impacts virtually every person on the planet. Even so, I don't think we would solve the whole "lack of money problem" by not having a lack of money. The lack of money is natural. If everybody had enough money, there wouldn't be a need for it. Simple as that.

"A Family that Laughs Together Stays Together"

Laughter has the power to unify. What is it that makes our closest friends? We can share a laugh together. People like to be around other people that make them happy. In the case of my family, everybody is in a better mood at the dinner table when we all sit down and start talking about funny things. The laughter is contagious, and will continue to grow until somebody chokes on their food. (Back slappings all around.)
Laughter can take those situations that are awkward and transform them into a comedic moment. When with my friends, everyday occurences and things that other people do never cease to entertain us, whether it is somebody being goofy at lunch or we're trading off momma jokes.
Some of the people for whom I have a lot of respect are comedians. Even though they may not know it, through their genius and character they can brighten days and create moments that can be discussed over and over again with other people. Comedians probably are some of the bravest people too, because they are constantly making fun of famous people. Some of the things that politicians, celebrities, and reality TV show participants do really are just waiting to be made fun of so that we can all have a laugh.

We might as well win

The directeur sportif of Lance Armstrong during his 7 Tour de France wins was a Belgian man by the name of Johan Bruyneel. His philosophy that was the driving force behind his wins with Lance goes something similar to this. We've put in the many hours of training, mentally planned ourselves, our teammates, and our support staff for this race, we have bothered to show up and compete. We did not do all of this with the goal of coming in second. Therefore, because we have already expended all of this effort for the sake of the race, we might as well win.

I think this can fit with som many other things that it would take me forever to list them. Instead, the two that are most relevant to me right now are a career choice and marching band.

In my future career, and as of right now my education in general, I feel that I have been given the tools to succeed, and therefore have a duty to those who graced me with those tools to give it my bery best. Anything less would be a let down not only to them, but to myself. I think too often people underestimate themselves and society loses a person that could have done a lot more with their talents and blessings had they taken the initiative in the first place.

As far as marching band goes, it fits together so well with Johan's statement that they are like two puzzle pieces. In marching band, we log countless hours of practice and planning, both musically and visually, we prepare ourselves for months on end, we rely on the help and support of our parents and volunteers, and we spend the money traveling and accomodating all the needs of a competition. We did not do all of this expecting to get second or third place. If we are going through all the trouble in the first place, we might as well get the best result possible. We might as well win.

Bruyneel has revealed himself to be not only the greatest athletic mastermind of our time, but he is also one of the smartest individuals on the planet period to be able to come up with such a statement that has so many outlets in which to be applied. No wonder he has experienced such enormous success.

What does home mean to you?

Home for me is more a feeling than a thought. It's more who I'm with, and the conversations and moments that we share and are able to recall from past experiences that makes home rather than a building. That's just a house.

So, because home for me is the place I feel most comfortable, most familiar, I'm not sure whether or not I'll be ready to leave. On the one hand, I want some independence, more to prove to myself that I am capable of living by myself and being self-sufficient. On the other hand, I do still feel that I'll miss that security and comfort that you get by being at home.

Being at home- For me, it's more of a mental state than a physical one. I think, at least I hope, that I'll be able to handle making a home for myself and my future family.

You know what they say...

People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. In other words, don't say something bad about people if they can get you right back for something you did. I think this is something we have all experienced, whether we are the glass house inhabitant or the person to whom the stone is being thrown. In fact just the other day, I was eating breakfast with my family after church, and my obese father made a comment about how my slightly overweight sister could stand to lose a few. So naturally, I seized the oppurtunity to call him out. "You know what they say, Dad."
"What?"
"Oh, something about people in glass houses..."
"What do they say?"
Sighing, I just shook my head as my mom and sister chuckled, while my father continued to ask me what I was talking about.

Human Nature- We Need Something to Argue About

Take an individual like Lance Armstrong. 7 time Tour De France winner, cancer survivor, world renowned spokesperson and advocate for cancer and a hero to millions. He has done more in the last 15 years than hundreds of people could pack into their combined lifetimes. Yet still there are people who have a problem with him.

During the first of his seven tour wins, a newspaper L'Equipe (a French paper, big surprise) accused him of steriod use. What actually was going on was Lance was using a skin cream to treat saddle sores and the trace amounts of steriods showed up in his test. Since then Lance-haters around the globe have been like a dog with a bone over this. I think it just might be time to move on, honestly.

Then there is the issue of his womanly pursuits, divorcing his wife of 5 years, dating several celebrities and fathering an illegitimate child with his current girlfriend. So the guy's personal life might "be in shambles", but who else hasn't ever been in the same situation. People just can't get over the fact that he is an amazing athlete the likes of which are to be unparalled for several years to come. Lance is just simply the most dedicated individual in his era who has a passion for his sport and uses his celebrity status to boost funding for cancer research. What's so wrong about that?

People need something to argue about.

"What qualities do I look for in a leader?"

One of the first qualities I think a leader should have is that they know what they are doing, or at least act like they do. Those who can let on like they are intelligent and in control have an easier time leading people than someone who might be smarter or more knowledgable on the subject. If a leader is going to get someone's support, it is because of their charisma and personality, not neccesarily their intelligence or moral standards.

A leader also has to have a bit of a chip on his/her shoulder. The leader has to be prepared to defend his/her position on an issue at a moments notice, and one of the ways to deal with that is to be a little cocky, and to be a bit arrogant. They are the leader after all, right? If I am being led by someone, I want them to be, for lack of a better word, cool. Almost defiant even.

On the other hand, for a leader to be popular he or she must empathize with those that he or she is leading, so that a relationship is formed between the leader and the followers. I would want a leader that understands the needs of the people, and for the most part caters to those needs. I believe that some of the best leaders would be people that share the same experience and come from a similar background of those being led. It would establish common ground for both sides to be able to relate to. All of these qualities I think would be essential for a leader not only to be popular, but also successful and effective.