2011 in Review

It is the time of the year for one of my favorite traditions: the “Year in Review” post. This year was certainly not what I expected it to be. There were a lot of twist and turns over the course of the year. For once, that was a good thing. Sure, the year wasn’t perfect, but perfection is not a necessity. So, without further ado, here is the year in review.

January: The year got off to a little bit of a rough start, as I had my first bout of illness since mid-2009 (a doozy of a cold). It was a fairly snowy month filled with a lot of subbing at Century. It was during this time subbing that I realized that Century was by far my favorite school to sub. I had the opportunity to once again go to Rosemont for a teacher fair, and all it amounted to was a wasted Saturday. By far the highlight of the month was the Seahawks’ playoff upset over the Saints.

February: I don’t know what it is about my Februaries, but they rarely are eventful. Maybe it’s because February is such a short month. Who knows? I subbed, shaved off my beard, and felt pretty depressed most of the time. That was it.

March: This month is really when the year started to turn around. I worked a lot, which was good from a productivity and monetary standpoint, but I also got to enjoy two amazing days with friends. On the last Friday in March, I went with Dan and Andy on a mini-road trip to Decatur to see my favorite band (The Graduate) in concert. It was an amazing show and I got a chance to talk with the guys in the band afterward. I also picked up two new band shirts (which are among my favorite articles of clothing). The following Monday, Rob and I went to see WWE Raw at the Allstate Arena. While the in-ring action was nothing to write home about, seeing The Rock (or The Dwayne as I like to call him) is always awesome.

April: My birthday month is rarely a bad month. I was able to once again watch WrestleMania with my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Lisa. As usual, I had a good birthday filled with all sorts of nice messages and gestures from the people who matter to me. I began to work on improving my teaching materials in the event that I got an interview, and during that process I was able to meet with a principal who gave me a number of valuable resources to aid me in my quest for a teaching job.

May: I finally got an interview for a full-time teaching position. The interview went as well as it could have possibly gone. The interviewer interrupted me on a number of occasions to make a remark about how much she liked my answer. Things were looking good. Unfortunately, due to some district politics, the rug was swept out from under me and the position “disappeared”. While I do make my best effort to live my life devoid of expectations, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t gotten my hopes up. It was very deflating, but I resolved to not let it keep me down.

June: When that door closed, another opened. While it was not a full time teaching position, it was still a pretty amazing thing. I was able to gain employment as an instructor at Huntington Learning Center in June. Though this month was not spent doing much work other than training, I quickly realized that this job was easily the best job I have ever had.

July: This was another excellent month. I was able to really dig in and get settled in the Huntington job, and Rob and I were able to get together to see another WWE event. This event was undoubtedly the best event of the year, and we had AMAZING seats thanks to good shopping by me. I also had the opportunity to go to Six Flags with Heidi and Andy, and though we were stuck on top of the American Eagle for an hour on a 90+ degree day, we still had a good time.

August: As the summer came to an end, I still was without a full time teaching job. I was not as bummed as in years past, however. I had the Huntington job and subbing was about to resume. I also had the unexpected pleasure of the opportunity to meet and have lunch with Staci. It was a great day with a pretty awesome person. At the end of the month, I attended the farewell concert for The Graduate. Though it was a bittersweet occasion, it was still a great show and I got a great spot right in front of the stage (where I can be seen on multiple occasions in The Graduate: From the Ground Up).

September: I got used to a new routine. Huntington transitioned to night hours, and I got back into the swing of subbing. Thankfully I have had the privilege of doing 90% of my subbing at Century, and it truly has subbing exponentially more enjoyable. The month was not entirely great, however. I stepped on the scale for the first time in nearly two years and was horrified to find out that I had gained over half the weight I had lost in 2008. I should’ve realized it when I looked in the mirror and when my pants began to fit more tightly, but I didn’t. I resolved to get down to my Driver’s License weight (183 lb) by December 31.

October: This was another enjoyable month, as redundant as that is getting to say. I began to work out like a machine. The weight began to literally sweat off me, and I began to feel (and look) good again. I began the month with a fun trip to Michigan City, Indiana with my parents and my sister and ended the month with an impromptu trip downtown with Heidi and Andy to buy a pea coat. The chance to meet Jannelle in person unfortunately fell through, which was disappointing. All in all it was still a good month.

November: It is a great feeling to accomplish a goal. It is an even greater feeling to accomplish a goal in half the time you expected. My extremely strenuous cardiovascular workouts resulted in the 183 pound goal being met well before Thanksgiving. It allowed me to stress out less (even as I eventually lost 13 more pounds) about what I ate and branch out in my style of workout. This was also a productive month at work, as subbing calls remained consistent and Huntington allowed me to begin doing some 1-to-1 instruction. Thanksgiving was very enjoyable (certainly far less stressful than Christmas), and a Black Friday trip to the Grand Luxe downtown was a great time.

December: The year ended on a high note. Both jobs kept me sufficiently busy and well-compensated monetarily. I had the opportunity to see some friends that I had not seen in a while. I began to take up running. In fact, I just got home from running my first 5k race in 24 and a half minutes. Let me type that again in italics. The guy who three months ago weighed 205 pounds and had a muffin top runs now, and runs well enough to beat 75% of the other people in the race. It blows my mind. I look and feel so much differently than I did in September. Christmas wasn’t all that great, but hey, you can’t win them all!

I learned a lot about life and myself this year. I did many things this year that I probably would’ve thought impossible at other points. I made new friendships, lost some friendships, and rekindled friendships I thought were dead and buried. I gained weight, and lost it. I lost some opportunities and gained others. The year was full of great moments with the people I care about. I did not accomplish all my goals, but I do aim fairly high, and there is always next year.

If I were to grade my last few years in football terms, 2009 was a year full of high expectations and a hot start (4-0), only to bottom out and finish 5-11. 2010 was an absolute stinker all around, a 2-14 team. This year has not been all that different than the 2011 Seattle Seahawks. Though there were no expectations, the year has been much better than expected, and best part of all is that the groundwork has been laid for a very bright future. I give this year a 10-6 record.

Thanks for being a part of this year. I really have enjoyed it, and I look forward to a great 2012. Stay tuned to this blog in the near future for some pretty big news moving forward. All the best!

Life as an Outsider

You've probably noticed that this blog is generally free of things having to do with religion or politics. That is by design. While I believe many things, I do not feel it is my place to thrust those beliefs at you. Whether I agree with your viewpoints or not, one of the perks of being human is having the nature to choose what is best for you. That said, it is minutes away from being Christmas here in Illinois, and I do subscribe to my own brand of nontraditional Christian ideology. Therefore, I'm going to bring up Jesus in a paragraph or two. If you don't like it, I'll have another post up tomorrow night. You can just check that one.

A common thread concerning the life and ministry of Jesus was that He was an outsider. This began at birth. There was no room at the inn, so even the childbirth was done as an outsider. During His life and ministry, He hung out with the outcasts and was considered a heretic by members of the religious community. None of that ever adversely affected the ministry. If anything it strengthened the appeal.

If you look at many of the people who have changed the world, one commonality is that they weren't the type that would easily fit in. That doesn't mean that they were social outcasts or total misfits. It is a side effect of being exceptional.

I don't know if I will ever change the world. I have not been blessed with that foresight. I do know that for most (if not all) of my life I have felt like an outsider. No matter where I was, I never felt like I quite fit in. For years, it ate at me. I'd be constantly changing myself trying to feel like I belonged. It never worked. In fact, it only made me feel worse. Only when I accepted the fact I was an outsider did I begin to enjoy life.

Being an outsider really isn't a bad thing. Being different is what makes you stand out. At times it may feel lonely, but if it was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me.

My Five Favorite Christmas Traditions

You already know by now that I am a huge fan of tradition. While I am not as bound to it as I once was, I still absolutely love them. Holidays are an especially good time for observing traditions. I'm in a bit of a rush, so I'm not going to go into too much depth. If I have time soon, I'll go back and add some detail to these. Right now they will be strictly in list form. Here are my five favorite Christmas traditions (in no particular order). Some of these traditions have been dormant/retired, but they were still pretty awesome.

1. Andy's treasure hunts for our gifts.
2. The code at Aunt Helen's
3. The food at Grandma and Grandpa's
4. The awkwardness produced by seeing certain relatives
5. Christmas morning with the four of us (and Buttons <3)

Fear: The Good and The Bad

Whether we like to admit it or not, we either are or have been afraid of something over the courses of our lives. Many people are afraid of many different things. When I was a small child, my two most notable (and most ridiculous) fears were of pinecones and of Chuck E. Cheese. While I still am not entirely sure of the basis for my fear of pinecones, my fear of Chuck E. Cheese stemmed from my issues with duplicity. I could see the mechanical Chuck E. Cheese on the stage and could not possibly understand how another Chuck E. Cheese could be roaming the building. It totally freaked me out.

While it is never a good thing to have phobia-level fears, fear can be both good and bad. From an early age, we were all trained to have an instinctual fear of consequences.

If you touch the stove, your finger will be burned.
If you do not look both ways, you might get picked off by that car.
If you do not follow directions, something may be taken away from you.
If you tell her that she looks fat in that dress, you might get slapped in the face.

In each of those instances, we would likely make the choice connected to self-preservation. Very few of us are masochistic enough to choose otherwise. Fear of consequences is both healthy and productive.

Fear of failure, however, is unhealthy. Too often we internally rationalize our fear of failure by incorrectly connecting it to a fear of consequences.

If I don’t do this the right way, something bad COULD happen to me, and my life would be ruined.
If I ask her out, she might say no, and everyone will think I’m a creep and a loser. My social status would sink to an all-time low.

There is always a chance of failure. Some actions have a higher risk of failure than others. That does not mean you should not try. I lived the first twenty years of my life with a paralyzing fear of failure. I took the safest route possible with everything. It did not get me where I wanted to be. At the age of 24, I still fear failure at time. I know I shouldn’t, and I am proud to say that I fear it less than I have at any point in my life.

Each of us is constantly on a personal journey. We try to progress from where we are to where we want to be. We cannot afford to let that journey be driven by the “What Ifs” and the “This Might Not Work” feelings. Life will always be full of obstacles. The last thing we need is to contribute to these obstacles. One of my favorite quotes touches on this.

Anyone can achieve their fullest potential. Who we are might be predetermined, but the path we follow is always of our own choosing. We should never allow our fears or the expectations of others to set the frontiers of our destiny. Your destiny can't be changed, but it can be challenged. Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one.

Fear, like all things, is best when it is balanced. Fear of consequences is a good thing. It keeps us from orchestrating our own demises. Fear of failure is a bad thing. You are on the road from where you are to where you want to be. Let nothing stand in your way.

The Age of the Antihero

If you have known me at all over the past 20 years, you are already well acquainted with the fact that I am a huge dork for the WWE (formerly WWF). I can’t get enough of it. I enjoy the current product, but I am a HUGE fan of 1988-1994 WWF. It was a staple of my childhood, and I love the nostalgia associated with it.

The preceding paragraph actually had a point. An important component about professional wrestling (or SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT~!) is its constant good vs. evil, hero vs. villain, “face” vs. “heel” struggle. In late 1980s WWF, there were clear divides between hero and villain, and clear expectations for both. 1980s villains were usually foreign and/or accompanied by the ring by a manager. They constantly bragged about their skills or physique and won matches by nefarious tactics, and the fans hated them for it. The heroes, however, were a different breed, represented by the Hulk Hogan persona. He was blond, muscular, and patriotic. He encouraged kids to say their prayers and eat their vitamins. He rarely did any wrong (in the storylines). In the end, good almost always won over evil, with Hulk Hogan usually at the forefront.

As the world began to change, so did professional wrestling. As the world shifted to shades of gray, so too did professional wrestling. Gone were the clean-cut goody-two-shoes heroes. In their place rose the antiheroes, the Steve Austins and the Undertakers of the world. They did not wear a white hat, and their actions often were not the purest in nature. That did not stop them from accomplishing good and defeating the greater evils, and it certainly did not stop the fans from cheering them.

Let’s shift gears for a moment. My favorite comic book character is The Punisher. He is virtually the posterboy for antiheroes. Driven by pain and anger, he resorts to extremes to accomplish his goals. Sometimes those goals are solely vengeance-driven. Other times, he channels his skills into wiping out a specific brand of evil. His methods are often not pretty, but ultimately he accomplishes some good things.

I wrote all that to say that the world is constantly changing. As much as we would like it to be, it is not always a black and white world. As I said in (the oddly popular) “Living Life by the Rules”, “The concepts of good and evil are sometimes easier to grasp when viewed as ends and not means. It allows for more wiggle room.” The days of Hulk Hogan are over, and that is not a bad thing. We don’t need to be perfect to accomplish good. We do not even have to meet outdated expectations to accomplish good. We do not have to feel compelled to fit an antiquated mold in our daily life or even in our desired professions. Teachers do not need to wear drab clothes and lack a sense of humor. We can even use sarcasm!

It is nearly 2012. The last thing we need to worry about is shaping our actions and attitudes to fit the expectations or demands of others. We need to do good things, and we need to do them while being ourselves. If that means being less like Clark Kent and more like Frank Castle (and yes, nerds, I know I’m mixing Marvel and DC), so be it! The era of the antihero is upon us, and I couldn’t be happier.

Five Christmas Songs That Need to Be Retired

It is the holiday season, and while I enjoy listening to my preferred genre of pop punk all year round, I am not a total Scrooge. I do like some Christmas music. While I do not like to listen to it for months upon end, a week or two’s worth in December is plenty tolerable. That said, there are a handful of Christmas songs that absolutely NEED to be retired, or take an “indefinite hiatus” at the least. These songs cause reactions ranging from cringing to wanting to take a sledgehammer to any listening device within swinging range. Without further ado, here are the five songs I want retired immediately.

5. Silver Bells. To be honest, I had no issues with this song until recently, and I probably need to give you some background for this one. For whatever reason, it has been a lifelong goal for my sister to learn the art of harmonization. She and my mom practice harmonizing with one another on a fairly regular basis, and for some inexplicable reason they have chosen Silver Bells as their harmonization practice song. While in general I have no issues with their singing melodies, I can not say the same for their harmonies. I do not like it. Buttons likes it even less. This song needs to go.

4. Frosty the Snowman. In general, I prefer my Christmas songs to be cheerful in nature. There is one notable exception to this. I prefer the drearier lyrics to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I have no real reason why; I just do. A song about a magical snowman and his subsequent demise does not work for me. I remember watching the animated Frosty feature as a four year old and being horrified that Frosty melted away. I wholeheartedly disapprove of this song.

3. Here Comes Santa Claus. For the most part, I do not like Santa-related songs. I have no issue with the idea of Santa or feel like he is stealing Baby Jesus’ thunder, but I do have an issue with the inanity of most Santa-centric songs. This song was, is, and will always be awful. To make matters worse, Billy Idol has even recorded his own version. That right there should be enough of an example of how awful this song is.

2. Wonderful Christmastime. I respect the accomplishments of The Beatles. I believe Yesterday and Here Comes the Sun are among the finest songs of any era. This song, however, was a major miss for Paul McCartney. If this song had been written by almost anyone else, it would not have gotten the continued airplay that it has over the past thirty-plus years. When Paul himself admits it was not one of his best efforts, the song should be put away for a while.

1. The Christmas Shoes. If you have known me for years, you probably expected this to be tops on my list. I loathe this song. If you wanted to know how to write a horrible song, make tons of money off it, and severely agitate me in the process, you would need to look no further than this song. There are no redeeming qualities to this song whatsoever. It is easily the most depressing Christmas song I have ever heard. It makes Frosty the Snowman sound like Joy to the World (the Christmas song, not the Three Dog Night hit) in comparison. I know some people have been touched by this song. I get that. But for every person who is touched when hearing this song, there are at least ten people who are awkwardly uncomfortable to the point they want to crawl out of their own skin or forcibly remove their eardrums with a screwdriver. How this song warranted making TWO awful movies based on it is beyond me. I hate this song. I will always hate this song, and it needs to disappear from the earth. It was awful in 2000. It is still awful in 2011.

Observations While Exercising, or an Exercise in Observation

It is probably common knowledge that I enjoy working out almost as much as I enjoy making dry sarcastic responses to 90% of the questions I am asked over the course of the day. I enjoy going there to make myself better. It clears my mind and improves my body. I have spent a significant amount of the time at the gym over the past three months, and while I have been there, I have made a number of observations.

• While there is not a necessarily right or wrong way to work out, there are ways to work out that can make you significantly more toolish than you need to look.
• There is no need to grunt, scream, and moan at the end of a rep. You are not Serena Williams.
• Going extremely slowly on the elliptical 90% of the time and then at a breakneck speed for the last 10% does not make a good workout. It does, however, make a broken elliptical.
• Treadmills are like urinals. Do not take the treadmill directly next to someone unless it is unavoidable.
• Your workout may work for you. Mine may work for me. Please do not go from person to person extolling the virtues of your workout. You’re like the Jehovah’s Witness of the gym.
• Good workers at the front enhance the whole gym experience. Bad workers make it very difficult to enjoy the workout. Charter Fitness does a very good job with this for the most part.
• While I’m on the subject of Charter Fitness, I miss the Cardinal Fitness brand. Moreover, I miss the Oak Park Avenue location.
• Screaming at your son during his workout like you’re Bobby Knight does not make you the next Jillian Michaels, nor does it win you any nominations for Father of the Year.
• In general, the toolishness of the patrons of the gym is directly correlated to which portion of the gym they spend the majority of their time in.
• Charter Fitness Radio is absolutely awful. I could go the rest of my life without having to hear “Mony Mony” again.
• I am probably alone on this one, but I personally do not understand the appeal of working out with other people. It may be my lone wolf nature coming out, but I don’t understand the need for community during quite possibly the most individualistic thing I do over the course of my day. Working out only directly affects me.
• That said, always be cordial when running into an old acquaintance. Smile, say hello, and then continue on in your routine.
• Working out does not give you an excuse to show your awful tattoos. Some of those are best covered up.
• Despite being surrounded by people that say and do horribly obnoxious things, work out as hard as you can. Keep working hard, and keep getting better.

2011 in List Form

I know that there is still about two weeks left in the year, and I will wait until the 31st to compose my annual “Year in Review” post, but I thought now was as good a time as any to do another listing post. I enjoyed doing it last year, and it’s a bit of a mental break during my twelve days of writing. So, enjoy!

2011 was a good year in many areas. It was easily the best year for music in recent memory, and the television shows I watch were better in quality than they were in 2010. The year was full of great personal moments as well, and I am happy to share these with you! Mind you, these are ranked by my personal preference. I don’t consider myself to be the preeminent source for any of these things, but I do like what I like. This just gives you a better glimpse into my personal pop culture

Albums
1. Panic! at the Disco – Vices & Virtues
2. Bayside - Killing Time
3. Mayday Parade - Self-Titled
4. Forever the Sickest Kids – Self-Titled
5. New Found Glory - Radiosurgery
6. The Artist Life - Impossible
7. Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math
8. Twenty Twenty – Small Talk
9. Yellowcard – When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes
10. Mat Kearney – Young Love

Songs
1. The Artist Life – Dear Suzanne
2. Forever the Sickest Kids – Keep On Bringing Me Down
3. Twenty Twenty – Get Down
4. The Swellers – Nothing More to Me
5. Panic! at the Disco – Trade Mistakes
6. Cobra Starship – You Make Me Feel
7. New Found Glory – Drill It in My Brain
8. The Anix – Warning Signs
9. Mat Kearney – Sooner or Later
10. TV on the Radio – Will Do

New Bands (to me)
1. Mumford and Sons
2. The Getaway Plan
3. The Artist Life
4. The Swellers
5. Twenty Twenty
6. Amos the Transparent
7. Driving East
8. Joshua Radin
9. Shirock
10. Kiros

TV Shows
1. NCIS
2. NCIS: Los Angeles
3. Burn Notice
4. White Collar
5. Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Sports Moments
1. Marshawn Lynch’s Touchdown run vs. the Saints
2. CM Punk winning the WWE Title at Money in the Bank
3. Derrick Rose being named MVP
4. The Pittsburgh Steelers LOSING in the Super Bowl
5. The Dallas Mavericks winning their first NBA Title

Places to Eat
1. The Grand Buffet
2. Granite City
3. TGI Friday’s
4. Noodles & Company
5. Fuddrucker’s

Classes to Sub*
1. Mrs. Reeves’ 5th Grade at Meadow Ridge
2. Ms. Nemec’s 7th Grade at Century
3. Mr. Gill’s 8th Grade at Century
4. Mr. Helmuth’s P.E. at OJ
5. Mr. Carriel’s 5th Grade at Meadow Ridge
*While I enjoy my subbing position, none of those classes pale in comparison to the enjoyment I get from doing my job at Huntington.

Websites
1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. A World of Words
4. Sporcle
5. Stickam

Personal Moments
1. Going to Decatur with Dan and Andy to see The Graduate, March 25
2. Going with Rob to see WWE Money in the Bank, July 17
3. The outlet malls in Michigan City with my family, October 1
4. Getting on the scale and seeing it read 183 pounds, November 11
5. The Graduate’s Farewell Show in Chicago, August 28
6. Lunch with Staci, August 15
7. Monday Night Raw in Rosemont, March 28
8. My 24th Birthday, April 4
9. Going downtown with Heidi and Andy to get my pea coat, October 30
10. Black Friday in the city, November 25

On Goals, Part 2: Attacking Goals

This is the second of a two-part miniseries concerning the topic of goals.

When I left you last night, I let you ruminate on the thought of goals. There is no ideal difficulty level when it comes to setting goals. You must simply aim for that which you want and/or that which you have the capacity to achieve. Today we are going to stay on the topic of goals but shift gears a little bit.

Let’s say you have established a set of goals for yourself. How do you go about attacking these goals? Do you set forth a plan of action or do you dive headfirst? Do you give a little of your effort to all of the goals or do you attack one or two of them with ferocious intensity?

When I began to investigate my own responses to these questions, my life finally began to make sense. It was a true “Aha!” moment. I finally figured out the primary sources for my successes, my missteps, and my burnouts.

My goal-setting and pursuing has always lacked a sense of balance. While I have always been the type of person to set forth a plan of action (flawed or not) before doing something, I have always attacked a couple goals at a time with an extreme amount of intensity. A friend once described it as “persistent determination near the point of obsession". Many times that intensity has resulted in success, but at a cost. When I lost weight in 2008, I lost some maturity and industriousness in the process. When the bitter pills of 2010 led me to reevaluate my behavior and attitude, I regained a sense of self while I slowly lost control of my physical well-being. Heaven forbid I set my determination on a romantic pursuit. That intensity is a total recipe for large-scale failure and burnout. I have always tended to focus on one thing with such intensity and myopia that I quite often lose sight of the bigger picture.

If I have learned one thing in my life, it is the importance of balance. Balance in all areas is not a luxury; it is an absolute and inarguable necessity. When setting goals, drive is a good thing. Intensity makes things happen in a timely fashion. But we can never get so focused on one area that we let the other areas slip. In transforming our weaknesses into strengths, we must be careful to not allow our own myopia to create new weaknesses from areas that were previously strengths.

If this two day of discussion of goals has taught you anything, it has hopefully taught you the following things. First, it is great to set goals. Goals keep life interesting and stimulate personal progress. We must set goals that coincide with our desires and our determination. After we have set these goals for ourselves, we must determine a course of action. Remember that as in all things, balance is a necessity. Attack each goal with the proper effort and intensity, but do not let other areas of your life slip as a result of this intensity. Improvement in one area does not have to be made with a sacrifice in another area. Please, never stop setting goals and never stop achieving those goals. Aspire each day to be just a little bit better than you were the previous day. Just be smart about it.

On Goals, Part 1: Concerning Goals and Their Difficulty Levels

This is the first of a two-part miniseries concerning the topic of goals.

Most would agree that a life without goals is not much of a life at all. Goals are an absolutely necessary part of life. They keep things fresh and entertaining. They constantly give us something to work and strive for. A life without goals represents a life without growth. Whether or not the goals are ultimately achieved is irrelevant. The point is that it is necessary to push yourself toward something.

Many differ on the level of difficulty of their goals, however. Personally, I have always believed in aiming as high as possible. I hate what I feel are hollow victories. While I am not all that competitive with others, I have been driven by a deeply rooted desire to be the best. I do not say that in terms as crushing any and all opposition. By that I mean that I feel I am letting myself and (the few) others I care about down if I don’t shoot for as high a goal as possible. I absolutely hate what I call “hollow victories”. I believe I am capable of extraordinary things, so I set my goals thusly. I have aimed for the highest grades, the most beautiful women, and transforming myself into a physical and mental specimen in the quickest time possible.

While I have been blessed with success in many of my endeavors over the course of my life (in some instances achieving what many thought to be impossible), I am no stranger to failure. I am very familiar with things not working out, with falling just short, and with my best just being not quite good enough. I would be lying if I told you that each failure did not take something out of me. That said, each failure has refined me in the pursuit of my next goal. Every goal, both those achieved and failed, prepares me for my next goal.

There is a question that needs to be asked concerning goals: How high is too high? Honestly, it depends on the person. Everyone has a different capacity for goal-setting and achieving. Some are almost neurotically driven towards their goals, while others need external catalysts to serve as that metaphorical kick in the pants to push them onward. Some are willing to face failure, while others are crippled in fear simply from the idea of failure. One person’s hollow victory could be another’s great success. Do not compare your goals to the goals of others. Aim as high or as low as you feel, and work towards your goals. At times you may fail, but at others you will succeed. Figure out what you want, then go and get it. Let nothing stand in your way.

On Professional Contentment

As a fan of both the NFL and the NBA, I paid attention to the lockout proceedings that both leagues dealt with this summer and fall. I know many people have many varying opinions on both lockouts, and the purpose of this post is not to argue that. I will say that in both lockouts I sided with the players. I felt the owners were not being entirely reasonable. I also was of the belief that the owners undervalued the drawing power and importance of their players to the league as a whole. Yes, these guys are getting paid millions to play a game that most of us have spent our lives playing (with varying levels of success and skill), but they play at such a high level that their individual and collective skill-sets are integral to the league as a whole. Nobody wants to watch replacement players with skills not unlike what one would find at his or her local rec center or playground (unless that playground is New York’s Rucker Park, of course).

After having said all that, it may come as a surprise to you that I do not feel the same way about strikes in my particular area of expertise: education. There is a significant difference between teacher strikes and strikes in professional sports. Our replacement level talent is as skilled as or even more skilled than what is out there. There are thousands of qualified teachers waiting to get in the game. Due to the economy, those chances simply aren’t as prevalent as they once were. A lot of us are sitting on the sidelines. Some have gotten fortunate enough to stay in the profession as substitute teachers. Others have had to get jobs entirely out of the field. In this day and age, having a full-time job with diminished benefits beats not having a job in your profession 100% of the time.

At this point I want to make something abundantly clear. I am not trying to paint anyone as a greedy moneygrabber. Everyone does what they feel they must due to their own unique circumstances and sets of needs. I just want to bring attention to this from the perspective of someone one the outside looking in.

To those disgruntled with their current employment, as I stated in my Thanksgiving post, the key to happiness is found by wanting what you have and finding contentment with that which is bestowed upon you. Life is rarely perfect. There is no joy in being a malcontent. Find satisfaction in what you have. You are much more fortunate than thousands of others.

I am a firm believer that good things will happen to those who work hard and do the right thing as often as possible. I have found favor in my current job because I have made a concerted effort to work as hard as I can cheerfully and without complaining. Things may not be perfect. They rarely are. Work hard and want what you have. It could be a whole lot worse.

Growing the Beard

Being the absolutely amazing guy that I am, this year I have decided to give a gift to you, my readers. For the next twelve days, I will be providing you with a new piece of writing each day. Some will be lighthearted in scope and delivery, while others will be more serious in nature.

One of my favorite non-social networking websites is TVTropes.org. It’s a fun compilation of common themes found in not only television but also in other forms of entertainment. It gives a detailed description of the trope then provides multiple examples of that trope. Today, one particular trope, “Growing the Beard”, caught my attention.

Named for the marked improvement in quality of Star Trek: The Next Generation after Commander Riker grew a beard, the site defines Growing the Beard as “…the definitive moment when a television show becomes better in quality.” Many (if not most) good television shows have one of these moments, the defining eureka where everything finally clicks.

I thought about this trope and if it applies to people in unscripted life, and I immediately concluded that it does. I decided to delve a little deeper in that train of thought and figure out my “Growing the Beard” moment. What surprised me is that I have had a number of these moments in my life, defining moments that brought me into a successful chapter of my life.

The first “Growing the Beard” moment I had occurred in two parts over a span of five months from late 2002 to early 2003. After I started “Inside the Mind of Jakob Duehr”, I began to come into my own in terms of figuring myself out, but I hadn’t quite put all the pieces together. That happened in March 2003 when I decided to leave Palos Bible Church and return to Stone. I covered that in detail in my apologia, so I will not rehash that here. Those two decisions affected my life in a drastic way.

The next “Growing the Beard” moment occurred over the summer of 2008. When I finally decided to take control over my physical well-being, everything turned around. I felt better, I certainly looked better, and I gained the confidence that had been never been part of my repertoire. It helped me immeasurably during my student teaching, and it brought me into one of the happiest periods of my life.

The final “Growing the Beard” moment, incidentally, occurred when I shaved my beard in July 2011. I was just getting started in my job at Huntington, and I was still pretty beaten down mentally and emotionally from two years of bitter pills. When I shaved the beard and into the facial hair I currently have (and had wanted to grow for many years), I realized that facially I looked like the person I always wanted to be. It restored a very minute amount of my confidence. I then started to act the way I always wanted to act. I became a harder worker. I complained less. I even lost all the weight I had regained and have gotten into the best shape of my life.

I am not delusional enough to believe that my facial hair has a Samson-esque effect on my life and that shaving it would hasten my personal destruction. What I will say is that life has its ebbs and flows, and it is foolish to believe that things can never turn around. Sometimes all it takes is a little something. It could be as easy as growing a beard.