Let's Be Real for a Second

After a couple nice conversations with a couple of people I'm close to yesterday, I got to thinking. Often, we judge someone based on their actions. The infamous phrase "Actions speak louder than words" comes to mind when thinking about this. However, after thinking about this, I don't necessarily believe this is true. Yes, I think a person's actions are more of an indicator of character than their words, because it is really easy to lie, however I don't think that is the most important thing. I think it is very easy for someone to have the best intentions going into a decision, and have that decision blow up in their face. So yes, maybe actions speak louder than words, but when those actions are driven by good intentions, even if they have unintended consequences, how can I, or anyone else, judge that person as being "good" or not? It all comes back to an idea that no one is perfect. I sure as hell am not perfect. Sometimes I've gone into a situation with the best intentions, but have had my actions turn out to be the absolutely worst choice I could have made. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, so I realize those mistakes now, and all I can do is hope to learn from those mistakes so that my true intentions can be seen through my actions in the future. So, as I step off from my soapbox, I'll leave you with one idea to take with you for the rest of the day: perhaps peoples' actions seem to be stupid, or have negative outcomes, but are their intentions noble or just? If you don't know, think twice before judging them or becoming angry at them. The worst feeling in the world can be when your good intentions end up with bad consequences, and people hate you for it.


~The Prez~

Summer Begins

Summer 2012 has finally arrived. In my last post, I talked a lot about how much I will miss this year, which is true. It was truly a great year at UNI. However, this summer will be legendary. Though I will miss several people, the first lady especially, this summer has the potential to be the best summer yet! With some of the biggest blockbuster superhero movies coming out, a great job waiting for me, and great friends to spend time with, Summer 2012 will surely be epic.

Let's start by talking about some movies. If you don't know what movies I'm referring to, you obviously have been living under a rock for the last 12-36 months. The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man are all going to be huge hits this summer. For anyone who knows me, I will be attending as many midnight premieres as humanly possible, and I'll be dragging the first lady to all of them, if I get my way.

I'm also very excited to do some real work this summer. I will not only be returning to Kirkwood's Interactive Camps for Kids again this summer as a counselor, I will also spend a week teaching a class. Kirkwood Idol Singing Camp is my first real teaching experience, and I'm both excited and scared to death. Hopefully I won't screw it up. I also get to continue the most relaxing job I've ever had, which is mowing my grandmother's lawn. There's just nothing quite as mind-clearing as mowing a nice lawn. 

When I say great friends will be waiting for me to come  home, I mean Jason, Josh and Chris will be waiting to give me "the goat" as I walk into Chris' apartment. This said, however, I really am excited to spend time with some great people that I've missed a lot over the year. I'm also excited to integrate the first lady into this friend group, and hope they don't scare her too much. As long as I get to see my favorite people, no matter what I'm doing, this summer will be great.

Last summer I spent the entire time being excited for the fall. All I could think about was getting back to Cedar Falls to start a new chapter in my college career. Now, I'm not saying I won't be excited to get back to CF, but what I'm not going to waste away my summer in anticipation of something that, once I'm back, I'll be ready for break again. I'm going to use the next three-and-a-half months to recharge, re-energize, and re-assess. It will be a great summer, I'll make sure of that.

~The Prez~