Thanksgiving allowed me to return home for an extended stretch of days -- a nice luxury considering the busy schedule I've kept since leaving home in the beginning of August. While at home, I not only stuffed my face, but also stuffed my personal recollection cabinet. I found an old CD wallet that held, among many other mixes, my football pre-game CD from my senior year in high school.
It was, however, another CD caught my eye because of its simple label of, "Personal Statement." I'm not sure to which school this particular document was sent, but I find it interesting because I'm still saying some of the same things now as I said back then. Only now I'm on the other side, re-iterating these ideas to the student-athletes that I coach.
Here's the statement, unedited in its entirety (so please excuse my grammatical and spelling errors):
A great person and coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” Leaders also carry different names, such as “captain” and “top of the class.” Going in to my senior year, I had these titles placed beside my name. Leadership is doing everything needed behind the scenes to prepare for what is to come.
My teammates, whether it was in football or wrestling, have helped me to know my role as leader. They did not pick me because I was their best friend or because I forced them to do so. They picked me because they thought I would be a good representative of our team and be of help if they needed it.
I have always been told that sports will help you in all aspects of life. Physically you are called to push yourself beyond limits. Mentally, you have to be tough, or you can crumble underneath. But no matter how many wins and losses, receptions, takedowns, fumbles, interceptions, pins, or dropped passes you have in a high school career, you have to get up and go to school the next day. You have to be able to look at what you’ve done in the past and know those experiences will help you prepare for the future.
My athletic mentality has also helped me in the classroom. In sports, you need to prepare everyday for upcoming opponents. In academics, you need to review everyday for upcoming tests. I have shown my proficiency in the academic aspect through class rank and ACT scores, evidence of hard work out of the classroom showing up in the classroom.
I feel that my athletic, academic, spiritual, and social involvements thus far in my life have prepared me to take the next step. I have what it takes to be a leader at your school, and I ask for the opportunity to start with my acceptance.
Not every person is made to continue their education at an institution of higher learning. By the same token, not every person is made to be a factory worker, waitress, or telemarketer. Each person has his or her place in society; to fulfill his or her occupational destiny. I know that I can contribute to society by completing the steps necessary to become a professional in my field. The first step in this process is to fulfill my coursework in college, a step I want to complete at your school.
Leadership skills apply to academics as well as athletics. Those who play sports during school are called student-athletes, students first. I have proven that I can be a leader in the classroom, and I ask you for the opportunity to lead in your classrooms.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
The UPS Go Down
I must say it's nice to be in the final stretch of days left working for United Parcel Service. For most, news of my quitting at UPS isn't new, but if you didn't know before, you know now.
In other words, don't blame me for holiday packages that show up late or never show up at all. That would have only been valid if you lived in Marysville anyway, since my main task since the beginning of September was to load three trucks that went there every day.
Anyone considering a job at UPS (not just a seasonal job, like a driver helper) should just know what he or she is getting into -- it's dirty, it's loud and, if you're like me, it requires you getting up at a grossly early time in the morning. The pay is pretty good and they offer tuition assistance, but I never got that because, apparently, I missed their deadline by starting about four days late. So yeah, there went about $1,000 I planned on getting.
Then there's the actual job part of it -- lots of lifting and lots of different positions. If you like to have one thing to do all the time, it's probably not going to be a job for you. Take, for instance, this morning, when the following took place:
...Was told on Friday to be in at 3 a.m. Monday. At 3:05 a.m. Monday, was told the schedule said I needed to be in at 4:40 a.m. Not about to just go home without getting any pay at all after waking up so early, I said I would stick around to do some things for an hour or so.
...Loaded and stacked boxes for six different trucks before being sent to a completely new box line with new supervisors and all people I've never seen before.
...Helped a loader there until being sent to work by myself because someone else took an Option Day, which essentially is a vacation day -- why they didn't know he would be off before the day even started, I'm not sure.
...Asked the new supervisor if he planned to have me there the entire shift, considering I got in at 3 a.m. -- this was news to him, so he told me to just leave and go home.
...Talked with my regular supervisor about whether he needed anything else -- he gave me another assignment to take care of two other trucks until another guy got back from somewhere else... then the supervisor came back 10 minutes later and told me to just leave.
Long story short, this was the most ridiculous day I had out of all of them at UPS. And now I just hope none of the last three days is as odd as today was. At any rate, there aren't many more chances for craziness to happen.
I plan on working as a substitute teacher for the time being. It all goes back to what I told myself before leaving Wisconsin, giving up on my undergraduate degree to earn a new one in Education...
Don't worry about money -- it'll take care of itself.
Don't do something unless it is moving you toward the end goal.
Don't let other people discourage you from making a tough decision.
Time to turn another new page... and to get some regular nights of sleep again.
In other words, don't blame me for holiday packages that show up late or never show up at all. That would have only been valid if you lived in Marysville anyway, since my main task since the beginning of September was to load three trucks that went there every day.
Anyone considering a job at UPS (not just a seasonal job, like a driver helper) should just know what he or she is getting into -- it's dirty, it's loud and, if you're like me, it requires you getting up at a grossly early time in the morning. The pay is pretty good and they offer tuition assistance, but I never got that because, apparently, I missed their deadline by starting about four days late. So yeah, there went about $1,000 I planned on getting.
Then there's the actual job part of it -- lots of lifting and lots of different positions. If you like to have one thing to do all the time, it's probably not going to be a job for you. Take, for instance, this morning, when the following took place:
...Was told on Friday to be in at 3 a.m. Monday. At 3:05 a.m. Monday, was told the schedule said I needed to be in at 4:40 a.m. Not about to just go home without getting any pay at all after waking up so early, I said I would stick around to do some things for an hour or so.
...Loaded and stacked boxes for six different trucks before being sent to a completely new box line with new supervisors and all people I've never seen before.
...Helped a loader there until being sent to work by myself because someone else took an Option Day, which essentially is a vacation day -- why they didn't know he would be off before the day even started, I'm not sure.
...Asked the new supervisor if he planned to have me there the entire shift, considering I got in at 3 a.m. -- this was news to him, so he told me to just leave and go home.
...Talked with my regular supervisor about whether he needed anything else -- he gave me another assignment to take care of two other trucks until another guy got back from somewhere else... then the supervisor came back 10 minutes later and told me to just leave.
Long story short, this was the most ridiculous day I had out of all of them at UPS. And now I just hope none of the last three days is as odd as today was. At any rate, there aren't many more chances for craziness to happen.
I plan on working as a substitute teacher for the time being. It all goes back to what I told myself before leaving Wisconsin, giving up on my undergraduate degree to earn a new one in Education...
Don't worry about money -- it'll take care of itself.
Don't do something unless it is moving you toward the end goal.
Don't let other people discourage you from making a tough decision.
Time to turn another new page... and to get some regular nights of sleep again.
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