Victory & Defeat

“Some days making it to the end of the day is quite a victory.”

-Jennifer Brown

(Author of Hate list)

Everyone has had “one of those days.” There is no longer a need to explain what that phrase means. As soon as you hear someone say it, you know exactly what he means and just what kind of day he is having. We strive to always be at our best, but sometimes no matter how hard we try, our best isn’t possible or isn’t good enough. These are the days when just making it to the end of the day is considered a victory.

Our attempts, no matter how much effort and energy are expended on them, are not always successful. We try and fail sometimes, but we cannot let this stop us from continuing on with our lives. Sure failure is disappointing and undeserving at times, but giving up should never be an option. Anyone who has ever learned about history knows that the world’s greatest leaders and heroes preserved through some of the most unimaginable and difficult hardships. They faced adversity head on; most of them without hesitation. Hercules, for example, is considered the greatest epic hero in Greek Mythology. His life was filled with battling monsters, saving townspeople, and conquering evil. He is known for successfully completing the 12 labors that were assigned to him. His challenges and triumphs resulted in Hercules becoming the perfect illustration of the Greeks pathos, the experience of honorable tasks and suffering which led to his fame and immortality. Hercules is the perfect being to serve as an example of victory. 

So when things start to seem impossible, just know that it isn't always important whether or not you succeed, but your goal in these cases is just to make it to the end of the day. Because tomorrow is a new day, one in which you will get to start all over again, with new opportunities and new chances for success. 

Which way

“The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.”

-Mark Caine

 

      The biggest decision of my life so far was undoubtedly where I was going to go to college. Being smart and hard working was always supposed to be beneficial, but in this case it results in having way too many options so I’m not entirely sure just how helpful it really turns out to be. There are so many universities to choose from, even just within the United States. Throughout my high school career, I received countless emails and pamphlets in the mail from different schools across the country informing me about their university. This can get extremely overwhelming for anyone, but especially for someone who is just a kid.

Now I tend to be a couple steps ahead of my peers, so I had been thinking about this decision for quite some time. How long exactly? My entire life. That’s right, the second I was old enough to know what college was, I began looking into it. One day, I came home from school when I was in fourth grade and told my parents that I was going to go to Penn State University. They were shocked that I even knew anything about college and by the fact that I was already thinking about where I was planning on going, since making that decision was still years away. Not to mention, I grew up in Florida so it seemed extremely strange to them that I had come up with a random school in Pennsylvania when I had never even been there before. Nonetheless, they did not say anything along the lines of absolutely not or that I was being unreasonable. They supported me and encouraged me every step of the way.

Fast-forwarding a bit, it is now nearing the end of my freshman year of college, and here I am attending Penn State University. My parents could not be any more proud of me, and I could not possibly be happier anywhere else. I am fully confident that choosing Penn State, even though it is a great distance from home for me, was the best decision I have ever made. Most of my classmates from my graduating class in high school chose a school not far from home. They decided to remain in the state of Florida, where many of them were born and raised. They will probably continue to spend the rest of their life right where they have spent it up until this point. I quickly knew that this was not even an option for me. I know and understand just how important is to leave your environment sometimes in order to really grow as a person and become successful in life. I took the initiative and refused to be restrained by the only surroundings I had ever known. And I am so happy that I stepped out of my comfort zone, no matter how difficult it feels to do so at times. 

WHat MAtters MOst is MiNd OvEr MatteR

“What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.”      

-Thaddeus Golas

         In life, everyone experiences both good and bad times. As a result, we often find ourselves in unfortunate situations. We have basically two options when unlucky events occur, the first is to get discouraged and give up and the second is to suck it up and face the challenge at hand. They say that about 10% of life is made up of what happens to you, and the other 90% of life is determined by how you react. Complaining and getting down about the way your life is going at the moment will be of no help to you. The most successful people in life are not people who live lives without struggles, challenges, slumps, and hardships. Despite popular belief, they actually have more of the above, not fewer. This is true because they exert more effort and do more work, so consequently they have way more exposure to problems. They have learned how to deal with the tasks or trials in front of them, regardless of the level of difficulty. It is all about your mindset and how you approach them mentally. Mental stamina is even more important than physical stamina in so many cases. Those who make it in life and are considered heroes or survivors know this and that is what separates them from the rest of humanity. The real secret to success is to let nothing ever stand in your way or stop you from getting to where you want to be. Let nothing affect your performance or ruin your day. When you have a negative experience or make a mistake, let it propel you forward instead of holding you back. This may sound easy, but it is actually extremely difficult because it goes against human nature. Normally, we become sad, worried, depressed, and preoccupied with believing that we are incapable. Try to focus only on what really matters some time and see for yourself. It will change your life for sure. 

Life Counts

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

                                           -Albert Einstein

            In today’s world, things that should be appreciated are often taken for granted and things that shouldn’t matter seem as though they are extremely important. We often care too much about our possessions and the quantity of things we possess. We go around boasting and saying things like I have this or that. But in the end, none of the material things we possess matter. And as Einstein said, what really counts are the things that cannot be counted.

            The most important things in life are arguably the things that are immeasurable and cannot be counted. As they say, “Quality over quantity.” What is really most valuable in life? The answer is what lies within us. It is the values and abstract things that are innumerable in each and every human being on the planet. These include integrity, faith, courage, strength, leadership, determination, and last but definitely not least, love. These are what we should consider most important. We should be struggling to find these within ourselves instead of looking to gain more ultimately useless material objects. We should worry less about how much money we have, how many awards we receive, and how many trophies we earn. In the end, these things will all mean absolutely nothing. After we are dead, people will quickly forget about everything we had, but they will hopefully forever remember some of the things we did and the ways we made them feel during our lifetime. Lets make these memories positive and do everything we can to be the best that we can be. Another quote that comes to mind is, “And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

Put your dreams in action

“Its not who you are that holds you back, its who you think you’re not.”

-Unknown

 

            Beginning at a very young age, we are told that we can be anything we want to be. As a child, this does not seem impossible or even slightly out of reach. We believe those who tell us this and act as though we truly can do anything. We allow our imaginations to run away with us and take over us. We spend each and every day pretending to be whatever we wish but always something different. Because to a child, anything really does seem possible and nothing can get in the way of us becoming whatever it is that we wish to be. We live our lives as if they are actually our dreams coming true.

            As we grow up, drastic changes to our mindset and outlook on life take place along the way. Suddenly, almost everything appears to be out of our reach or next to impossible if not entirely impossible. We have attempted, failed, and unfortunately even given up on many things throughout our journey through life. This is not the way things should be. Yes, growing up is a major learning process filled with trials and errors. Yes, eventually there comes a point in time when people need to be able to face reality. But, these things and anything else that life can throw at us should not be capable of holding us back. We should always try again no matter how many times we may have failed before. We should continue to set goals for ourselves and do everything we can to complete them. Sometimes, goals that may seem a bit unrealistic are actually beneficial because they require us to challenge ourselves and allow us to see just what we are capable of accomplishing. We should stop at nothing to make even our wildest dreams come true, just like we were willing to do when we were much younger. If you really want something and you set your mind to it, nothing should be capable of holding you back and keeping you from living each day to the fullest.

Now You See It

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”  
   -Henry David Thoreau


Whenever you have a bunch of people looking at the same thing regardless of what it may be, there are always various conflicting viewpoints about the sight or object being examined. This is a perfect demonstration of perspective and how every individual’s differs. I’m sure everyone is familiar with or has at least experienced this at some point in their lives.

The word “perspective” actually has various definitions as many words do in today’s society. According to dictionary.com a very broad one is listed as, “ the state of existing in space before the eye,” but the definition that relates to this quote is a much deeper one. It is listed as, “the state of one’s ideas, the facts known to one, etc. in having a meaningful interrelationship.”  Looking closely and carefully at anything brings to mind its meaning whether consciously or unconsciously, and for each and every person this can be something different. Their thoughts can take the back to the past, right where they are currently or in the present, and may even provide some insight to their future. This quote also reminds me of another quote.

That quote is, “the eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” Both of these quotes are very true, at least for me they are. This one illustrates the occurrence of looking at something once and then looking at it again and seeing something new that you did not notice before. So many times we are quick to make judgments about things because unfortunately that happens to be human nature. If we give it a little time, then we often surprise ourselves with creative thoughts. The ability to see is one that we often take for granted. Let’s try to appreciate it more often because it truly is a wonderful gift.