Joga Bonita!

So I'm not gonna lie (cause God doesn't like liars) but I have a pretty sweet job.  Working with kids is a special opportunity that has made me who I am today.  I could spend hours going over all of the incredible parts of my job and how rewarding it is but I will save those hours for another day (I know...you can thank me later)!  All I want to talk about tonight is fun and I don't mean the "yea I had a good weekend because I went to my friend from school's birthday party" fun, I am talking about the "my parents picked me up from school early on a Friday to surprise me with a trip to Disney World fun" (btw that never happened to me, that's just how I always pictured my non-existent trip to Disney World going). 

I digress...

One of the biggest reasons I love my job is the fun that I get to have.  For example, yes I run a summer camp, but it is unreal the hours i chalked up playing soccer this summer.  I figure with 44 days of camp, I must have logged a solid 30+ hours of game time.  And when I say game time, I mean USA against Algeria in extra time to advance in the World Cup...game time.  This was serious stuff, yes it's true that I work with a population of kids that care more about soccer than anything else especially when it comes to Mexico and their beloved Chicharito but never the less, these were the most fun, and meaningful, games I have EVER played.  For those 30 hours (and thats just the soccer I played) nothing else mattered to me or those kids (except what the next goal celebration was going to be...I am partial to my very own shirt off slide across the field and no I don't have the body to be taking my shirt off).  These kids loved soccer so much that they would run off the bus every morning to get 5 minutes of game in on the soggy field before morning snack...I don't know many kids that would sacrifice wet socks and shoes for 4 hours for 5 minutes of soccer but these kids did...everyday...and loved it. 

Now I know that not everyone can be me, be as lucky as me, have as much fun at work as I do but that doesn't mean that you can't look for that fun in things that you do.  Take a look at your day tomorrow and try and take something from "birthday party fun" to "skipping school to go to Disney fun"!

Destiny

Sometimes things just happen for a reason...the perfect reason and there's no explaining it.  In a world where everyone is so caught up with superficial happenings we often lose sight of the subtle yet obvious signs right in front of our eyes.  And the worst part of it all, is that it usually takes a life changing experience to put us back in our place and realize what we have been missing all along. 

There are tons of examples all around that you might chalk up to destiny and as you might expect I am going to highlight a few in the world of sports!

Exhibit 1) The Cardiac Pack

Unless you have lived in cave for the last 27 years you have most definitely heard of the 1983 NC State Wolfpack.  They defeated the mighty Phi Slamma Jamma and the rest of the Houston Cougars in the most unforgettable National Championship in the history of the NCAA.  The Pack put together an impressive run to end the season after losing Dereck Whittenburg in January to a broken foot.  A victory against UNC in the ACC tournament semi-finals set the tone for what was to come.  Houston had been dominating teams all season and that didn't stop in the tourney.  But that all came to a screeching hault when the Cardiac Pack beat Houston with its very own strategy...getting above the rim.  With the score tied at 52 with three seconds on the clock Whittenburg threw up a desperation 3-pointer that was carried by angels into the hands of Lorenzo Charles who slammed it home to beat the mighty Cougars at the buzzer.  Everyone goes crazy, Jim Valvano is looking for someone to hug and the rest is history.  So what is the lesson to be learned from the '83 Pack?  "Don't give up, don't ever give up" would be an appropriate slogan...and how ironic that that quote will forever be remembered as Jimmy V's legacy in his fight against cancer...destiny or just a coincidence?!

Exhibit 2) Reverse the Curse

By no means am I a Red Sox fan but I am ultimately a sucker for history (as long as the Yankees are on the short end of that stick) and a good playoff series.  With the Red Sox down three games to none they had been written off by the baseball world and everyone had started looking towards next year.  Until the most unlikely of heroes, Dave Roberts, came in to pinch run, stole second then scored on a Bill Mueller single to tie the game.  Cue Big Papi who wins the game with his first of two walk offs in the series to give the sports writers something to write about.  The rest is history...walk offs, extra innings, bloody socks and the World Series trophy back in Beantown.  What a way to end an 86 year championship drought...being the first team in the history of baseball to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the ALCS and then sweep the Cardinals in the World Series.  There is absolutley no other way to explain the 2004 ALCS than destiny.

We all have our own examples of what we think is destiny.  Whether its in our own personal experiences or vicariously through our sports heroes.  And wherever we find happiness in destiny let it be just that...happiness.  Appreciate the comfort that destiny can give you.  Remember that moment in time where you knew it was destiny and hold on to that feeling when things get tough.  Know that no matter what happens there is a plan for you and in the end its destiny.  So thank you destiny for easing the stress in my life.  Thank you destiny for making things right when everything seems to be wrong.  And thank you destiny for what you have in store for me...

So what is your perfect comeback story?

PICKLE!!

And no I don't mean Mt. Olive or Vlasic.  But I do mean don't get caught in between decisions.  There is nothing more frustrating in life when people can't commit and make a decision.  I just don't understand why it is so hard to take a stand for something that you believe in and stick with it.  Part of making decisions is knowing who you are, where you come from, and where you are going.  And here goes my obligatory baseball reference.  One of my favorite scenes from a classice baseball movie is the "pickle" scene from the Sandlot.  The concept may seem trivial but all I am trying to get at is if you get caught in a pickle it's because you weren't able to commit.  Either you took too big of a turn around first base thinking you could maybe stretch that single to a double only to realize you were a sitting duck scampering back to first OR you got hung up trying to score from third on that grounder to the shortstop who made the heads up play to gun you down in your indecisivness.  From my first post you already know that I am an Atlanta Braves fan and fortunately growing up I had the chance to see alot of great Atlanta Braves play for the Durham Bulls (and don't argue with me when I name these players...I was a kid and they were 100% the best players to ever step on a baseball field) i.e. Ron Gant, David Justice, Jeff Blauser (yes I had the sweet Easton flip-ups), Steve Avery, Andruw Jones, and Javier Lopez just to name a few.  But like most 20 - 32 year old Braves fans would say Chipper stands out as arguably the greatest.  Without a doubt, throughout the years my reasoning behind the "man crush" or "bromance" (or whatever else TMZ and Perez Hilton may have deemed when guys admire other guys) between myself and Chipper Jones has definitely changed but it's strong today as that first game at the DAP back in 1992...and in case you have any doubts about my man Chipper, check out these stats...

-He's a career .306 hitter with over 2,500 hits and 400+ homeruns.   
-2nd place in a totally rigged Rookie of the Year vote in 1995 to Hideo Nomo who posted a mediocre (at best) 13-6 record with a 2.54 era...while all Jones did was hit .265 belt 23 HR's, drive in 86 RBI's and help the Braves win the World Series.  (I have nothing against foreign players but that's the only reason Nomo won)
-6 time All Star, 2 time Silver Slugger, 1999 NL MVP

BUT...the biggest reason I would carry his bastard child (Hooter's waitresses are not trashy no matter what his first wife says!) have respect for Chipper is that he has stayed with the same organization for his entire 20 year professional career.  In the era of huge paydays...A-Rod 10 yr/$275,000,000 (ARE YOU KIDDING ME!  He should be funding all of these government bailouts.  I mean if he wouldn't have taken steroids we probably wouldn't have lost faith in our athletes, stopped going to games, which inevitably sent the housing market, auto industry and the entire United States into economic turmoil...GOSH no wonder the call the Yankess the Evil Empire! ) Chipper has stayed true to his roots and stuck around in Atlanta his entire career.  Now sure, he has made PLENTY of money himself  ($141,000,000 give or take a few hundred thousand) but his commitment to the Atlanta Braves should be a lesson to everyone.

It all comes down to passion and your desire to succeed.  To me, indecision is a direct result of a lack of confidence.  No matter if you hit a baseball, bag groceries, or sell Sham Wows for a living (you know the Germans make good stuff), you better do it and have the swagger to do it better than anybody else.  Now eventually you are going to come to a crossroads where everything you believe in and have been doing is going to be questioned.  This is where the men are seperated from the boys.  Because if you have the drive to commit, you're going to stand on your beliefs even if it's not the popular choice (cue up the Kirk Gibson video...that's guts!).  So I have come to the realization that in order to be remembered as an extraordinary person nothing can be done without gusto...nothing can be done without passion...nothing can be done with any doubt that you have made the right decision.  Have opinions, have beliefs, question "the way we've always done it", and take a stand...

Now if I could only get certain people to think like this!  

Heroes

So here it goes...for the first time in my life (well maybe not the first time, but definitely for the biggest audience) I am putting my thoughts out there for everyone to read, criticize, scrutinize, and judge.  Hopefully this blog wont come back with as many red marks as my junior year research paper (who actually reads in high school anyways?!?!) but my hope is that it will at least be a bit entertaining to anyone who might stumble upon it.  I'm not sure how often I will post, what direction they will take, or the tone of which they will come accross but I can tell you that they will be nothing but the truth and exactly how I feel.

Sorry for the boring disclaimer but I assumed that every respectable blogger out there at one time started with something similar to get the creative juices (mmm juice...) flowing.  Now back to the lecture at hand...

Heroes are a funny thing.  You find in the most unlikely of places when you truly find one.  Of course growing up being the huge Atlanta Braves fan that I was, and still am, there were a number of heroes to choose from, but none more important than Sid Bream.  I know you guys are thinking "did this guy really just say Sid Bream?!?!"  And yes I did.  I know there was a team full of guys to choose from but how can you overlook the guy that sent the Braves to the World Series with his epic trip around the bases (I think he stopped halfway between 3rd and home to tighten his standard issue Terminator knee brace usually reserved for offensive linemen) which culminated with him sliding under Mike LaValliere's tag.  And as a 9 year old that was OK.  But now it would be totally cliche, and unacceptable to say any hero of mine was a modern day sports superstar, actor, or individual who has had or is enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame. 

But instead I prefer heroes who don't realize they are heros.  People who make a difference everyday to others that don't even realize that the aforementioned person is actually their hero (get it?)  I am lucky enough to work with these types of people everyday.  People who do their job like they're on a mission and if they don't complete that mission Santa is going to cancel Christmas (man wouldn't that be a disaster?!).   If you can't already tell, I like the unsung hero.  But not because I know the difference that they are making with those around them but because of the difference they make in my life.  Some would say I wear my heart on my sleeve, (I like to think I'm equal parts Jack Bauer, Jay-Z, and Charmin Bear) and that may be true but it is only when someone, something, or some experience has impacted me in such a meaningful way (this blog is truly ironic if you know me and the summer i just had the privilege to experience).  And there is one hero out there I want to say thank you too quickly.  This hero is one that challenged me today to do this very thing.  They think they're a dork because they blog and have practically a million followers (ok so its only 796) but if you read their blog and the comments that are left you would quicly realize they are exactly the person I described above.  Someone who is both a hero to those that know them personally and just as a random blogger.  But I think the thing that makes this person such a hero is that they are going against the grain and doing things becuase it makes them happy.  And ironically the things that make them happy have impacted a huge group of people over the past few months.  So here is my "Thank You" for pushing me to do something that I never thought I could actually do with any type of success (and time and followers will tell) without even realizing you did it. 

So who is your Hero?!?!

Now about that 1/3 part Jay-Z...
"Here's your entertainment for the rest of the evenin'...cause I'm a bigger deal than LeBron leaving Cleveland...How's that possible?  What's this guy got worth readin' 'bout?  All I can say is, LeBron's got no rings but hes still the only thing they talk about!"