Throughout my life, I've always known that God is good, but it he showed out today. People usually call me their blessing (not to be conceited). I try to be there for others because it's something in my heart and spirit that says, "GIVE!" I don't argue with the heart. It's my moral compass. Honestly, I don't think about myself. I do, but it's days after. I do feel great when I do something for someone. It's therapeutic in a sense. I get to remove my troubles for a few moments and do something for someone else. But, today God really showed me that he is able through a coworker of mine.
As a writing consultant, I get the opporutinity to attend conferences in various cities. The last conference I attended was in Baltimore, MD. This upcoming conference is in Houston, TX. Initially, the plan was to carpool down to Texas, which was the only way I could afford. Changes in our travel plans happened, and I had to pull out from the trip. We came to a conclusion that it would be cheaper and more time effective to fly down there. The situation is that I would be losing money that I just couldn't afford to lose this time. I just couldn't afford the airfare. So, one of the interns that wanted to go decided that she was going to fund one of the undergraduate's airfare. She later came up to me and told me that she was offering the airfare to me with no strings attached.
My God! This woman (I don't want to use her name because of privacy issues) told me that I don't have to pay her back. That was a blessing from none other than the good Lord above. I mean, she doesn't know me the next stranger and just offered up money like that with no expectations of being paid back. The only thing that I could do was cry out and call my mom. I just felt really blessed today.
I see that it helps to be a selfless and caring person because you never know when your blessings will come back to you. My only advice is just to keep going. Even if you feel like people are taking you for granted, never forget that God will grant you all the things that you need, want, and more.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
This School House Rocks!
School is officially in people. Snowed in that is. I had a great time yesterday. I guess that's because I didn't have any classes. I only had three, and they slowly started being cancelled. My first class was right after the slight flurry began. Then, the next class was cancelled because other classmates emailed the professor stating that they couldn't make it to the class. I consider myself extremely lucky because of my third class. My third class starts at 3:05 pm. Around 2:30 pm, the school reported that campus will be closing at 3 pm. I was ecstatic. I've even been called an S.O.B. I did manage to make that day productive, though. I organized my class schedules in a binder and color coded it. I have a tendency to choose folders that are the same color simply because I'm partial to that particular color. So, I now have one binder that hosts five classes. I'm hoping that this step will help in my goal to make all A's this semester.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Promises, promises
Well, we've been in the new year for about a week now, and it's time to face those new year resolutions. It seems we always have the same resolutions year after year after year. Why? What is it about ourselves that we have to want the same thing over and over. Why can we not keep these promises we make to ourselves? I'm guilty as much as anyone else. We always want to eliminate our vices and maximize our virtues, but go about it the wrong way.
It always comes down to the last week of the year. We tell ourselves, "I'm going to quit smoking" or "I'm going to lose some weight." Although these feats are noble, we go about the wrong way. For me, I'm attracted to the idea of losing weight, but not necessarily the process. Then again who is? I discovered though that we all say what we desire from the new year, but not necessarily how we acquire the objects of our desire. It all comes down to two things: specifity and timing.
We are not really specific when we make these resolutions. "I want to lose weight." That's great, but how much do I want to lose? At what time do I want the weight gone? Why am I losing the weight? I've learned my resolutions that I make to myself have to be FOR myself. We are caught up in trying to do things for other people, but in the end if you don't feel good doing then maybe we are doing things for the wrong reasons.
Another thing I learned is that we are an impatient people. We want to do things now and want results now. Although I know it is important to start on things quickly, I think it is just as important to take time and reflect why we are about to do things we will do. So, this year I decided that instead of starting on the first day of the new year I was going to start a week later after I had figured how and why I wanted to achieve my goals. The other big thing is knowing that results will not be immediate. We have to be okay with gradual change. Many times we are trying to break bad habits as part of being a better person than the year before. I mean think about in terms of a relationship. You've been with a person for an entire year. You everyone is telling you that your partner is no good for you. Just because you realize the harm that comes from the relationship, you can't just cut off feelings for that person. It's a process that you have to go through.
So, whether you want to become more organized (also, one of my resolutions), or spend more time with family, get a better job, do better in school make sure you are doing things for yourself and no one else. Take time to reflect and plan so that you will be successful in anything that you attempt. Good luck to you all and know that good things come to those who wait.
It always comes down to the last week of the year. We tell ourselves, "I'm going to quit smoking" or "I'm going to lose some weight." Although these feats are noble, we go about the wrong way. For me, I'm attracted to the idea of losing weight, but not necessarily the process. Then again who is? I discovered though that we all say what we desire from the new year, but not necessarily how we acquire the objects of our desire. It all comes down to two things: specifity and timing.
We are not really specific when we make these resolutions. "I want to lose weight." That's great, but how much do I want to lose? At what time do I want the weight gone? Why am I losing the weight? I've learned my resolutions that I make to myself have to be FOR myself. We are caught up in trying to do things for other people, but in the end if you don't feel good doing then maybe we are doing things for the wrong reasons.
Another thing I learned is that we are an impatient people. We want to do things now and want results now. Although I know it is important to start on things quickly, I think it is just as important to take time and reflect why we are about to do things we will do. So, this year I decided that instead of starting on the first day of the new year I was going to start a week later after I had figured how and why I wanted to achieve my goals. The other big thing is knowing that results will not be immediate. We have to be okay with gradual change. Many times we are trying to break bad habits as part of being a better person than the year before. I mean think about in terms of a relationship. You've been with a person for an entire year. You everyone is telling you that your partner is no good for you. Just because you realize the harm that comes from the relationship, you can't just cut off feelings for that person. It's a process that you have to go through.
So, whether you want to become more organized (also, one of my resolutions), or spend more time with family, get a better job, do better in school make sure you are doing things for yourself and no one else. Take time to reflect and plan so that you will be successful in anything that you attempt. Good luck to you all and know that good things come to those who wait.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
Hey all,
My name is Harold. I am currently in my third year studying English literature for the secondary level at UALR. Yes, I am going to be a high school English teacher. I hope that I won't be the students' worst enemy. I've always wanted to be a teacher, but I let fear stand in the way of my dreams. I had some great teachers throughout school, and I always wondered if I was able to do what it takes to cross the threshold from student to teacher. I was once told that teaching is a noble profession. Jesus was a teacher. I want to be a teacher.
Why am I writing this blog? I'm not completely sure just yet, but I'm sure a clear answer will appear soon. I wanted to get out there and see what people are talking about. What do people care about? Because we are now in a society where people don't seem to be valued. It's more of a what you have that can help me. So, I wanted to use my gift to help others. I wanted to use writing as a means of reaching people and what they need to push themselves to higher levels. Writing has become a great love in my life but it wasn't always.
During my senior year, I had taken an English class that was taught by the meanest woman on the planet (how some of the students nicely put it). I would write papers that I were pretty good, but it was never good enough for her. I would get frustrated and come close to giving up. I had pretty much given up any hope in my writing abilities, but a certain event changed my view on writing.
I lost a great man in my life: my mentor, Mr. Chris Lee. He was my quiz bowl coach from tenth through twelfth grade. He suffered from cancer, but you couldn't tell because he would always smile. This left me confused. How could someone who is going through so much pain, smile? I was a mess. I wanted to give up on everything because I couldn't imagine going to school and not seeing Mr. Lee's face. I would talk to him about everything during lunch in his classroom. This was where we had the discussion of the future of the quiz bowl team. He told me that he didn't think he would be able to finish the season. So until then, I had to keep the team together until we found another coach. Thank God, we didn't have any competitions that we couldn't attend in between time. For his memorial, my AP literature teacher told me to write how I was feeling. I was feeling so much so quickly that I didn't know how I felt. With her sad music blaring in the classroom and the tears and snot I was fighting on my face, pinpointing my feelings then recording them seemed nearly impossible. However, I had to because I had to read my account at his service. She later told me that what I wrote was eloquent and profound. I laughed at the irony because this was coming from the woman that approve any paper that I had ever written for her. I guess when you really care about the subject matter you tend to do the best you can.
That's what I'm trying to get at. I really care about people. I even care about the welfare of those that I probably shouldn't. No matter how shady or low down a person is, they are still a being that God has taking time to create; therefore, should be treated with some sort of dignity.
In the new year, I plan to do as much as I can for people be it through face-to-face or digital means. I want to know what you want from me. If you have questions that you feel comfortable sharing, you can leave a comment. If you feel like you just want me to know, then email me at learninglibra@gmail.com, and I will do my best to get to your comments.
I wish all of you the best in whatever you dream to accomplish. With a little hard work, determination, and faith nothing is impossible.
My name is Harold. I am currently in my third year studying English literature for the secondary level at UALR. Yes, I am going to be a high school English teacher. I hope that I won't be the students' worst enemy. I've always wanted to be a teacher, but I let fear stand in the way of my dreams. I had some great teachers throughout school, and I always wondered if I was able to do what it takes to cross the threshold from student to teacher. I was once told that teaching is a noble profession. Jesus was a teacher. I want to be a teacher.
Why am I writing this blog? I'm not completely sure just yet, but I'm sure a clear answer will appear soon. I wanted to get out there and see what people are talking about. What do people care about? Because we are now in a society where people don't seem to be valued. It's more of a what you have that can help me. So, I wanted to use my gift to help others. I wanted to use writing as a means of reaching people and what they need to push themselves to higher levels. Writing has become a great love in my life but it wasn't always.
During my senior year, I had taken an English class that was taught by the meanest woman on the planet (how some of the students nicely put it). I would write papers that I were pretty good, but it was never good enough for her. I would get frustrated and come close to giving up. I had pretty much given up any hope in my writing abilities, but a certain event changed my view on writing.
I lost a great man in my life: my mentor, Mr. Chris Lee. He was my quiz bowl coach from tenth through twelfth grade. He suffered from cancer, but you couldn't tell because he would always smile. This left me confused. How could someone who is going through so much pain, smile? I was a mess. I wanted to give up on everything because I couldn't imagine going to school and not seeing Mr. Lee's face. I would talk to him about everything during lunch in his classroom. This was where we had the discussion of the future of the quiz bowl team. He told me that he didn't think he would be able to finish the season. So until then, I had to keep the team together until we found another coach. Thank God, we didn't have any competitions that we couldn't attend in between time. For his memorial, my AP literature teacher told me to write how I was feeling. I was feeling so much so quickly that I didn't know how I felt. With her sad music blaring in the classroom and the tears and snot I was fighting on my face, pinpointing my feelings then recording them seemed nearly impossible. However, I had to because I had to read my account at his service. She later told me that what I wrote was eloquent and profound. I laughed at the irony because this was coming from the woman that approve any paper that I had ever written for her. I guess when you really care about the subject matter you tend to do the best you can.
That's what I'm trying to get at. I really care about people. I even care about the welfare of those that I probably shouldn't. No matter how shady or low down a person is, they are still a being that God has taking time to create; therefore, should be treated with some sort of dignity.
In the new year, I plan to do as much as I can for people be it through face-to-face or digital means. I want to know what you want from me. If you have questions that you feel comfortable sharing, you can leave a comment. If you feel like you just want me to know, then email me at learninglibra@gmail.com, and I will do my best to get to your comments.
I wish all of you the best in whatever you dream to accomplish. With a little hard work, determination, and faith nothing is impossible.
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