Day 21 - List Your Top Five Favorite Song Lyrics

Day 21 - List Your Top Five Favorite Song Lyrics

We're going back to music again today.  You might see a couple songs from my top ten (eleven) "go-to" songs that I posted about on day 17.  Nevertheless, here they be:

I Need You - Relient K

"I've dug up miles and miles of sand searching for something I can't see.  And I've just got bruised and battered hands and a brand new void inside of me.  Complete with walls I did create, from all the earth that I've displaced.  A mess that I have made from what, I've just let pile and pile up.  I have not been abandoned, no I have not been.  Deserted and I have not been forgotten."

This is Your Life - Switchfoot

"Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead.  Yesterday is a promis that you've broken.  Don't close your eyes.  Don't close your eyes.  This is your life and today is all you've got now.  Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have.  Don't close your eyes.  Don't close your eyes.  This is your life, are you who you want to be?"

Simple Man - Shinedown (originally by Lynyrd Skynyrd)

"Well mama told me, when I was young.  Said sit beside me, my only son and listen closely to what I say, and if you do this, it's help you some sunny day...or take your time, don't live too fast.  Troubles will come, and they will pass.  You'll find a woman and you'll find love.  And don't forget that there is a someone, up above...Be a simple kind of man.  Be something you love and understand."

Slumber - Needtobreathe

"Days they force you, back under those covers.  Lazy mornings they multiply.  But glory's waiting outside your window.  Wake on up from your slumber, baby open up your eyes."

Superman (It's Not Easy) - Five for Fighting

"I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane, I'm more than some pretty face beside a train.  It's not easy to be me...it may sound absurd, but don't be naive.  Even heroes have the right to bleed.  I may be disturbed, but won't you concede.  Even heroes have the right to dream...only a man in a funny red sheet, looking for special things inside of me."

Day 20 - List Your Five Favorite Colors

Day 20 - List Your Five Favorite Colors

This one is easy!  I don't think I need to explain myself on these colors either.  :)

#0000A0 - Earth Blue

#C11B17 - Chilli Pepper

#FFD801 - Rubber Ducky Yellow

#F87217 - Pumpkin Orange

#571B7E - Purple Iris

Day 19 - A Story of a Life Changing Experience

Day 19 - A Story of a Life Changing Experience

A mail carrier in the middle of winter delivering mail.  I looked a lot like this, only I didn't have the uniform.  I was still on my three-month probationary period.

In February of 2013, I started working for the US Postal Service as a mail carrier.  I gained an incredible amount of respect and appreciation for the work mail carriers do.  Day in and day out, rain, snow, or shine, men and women all across the country are delivering letters, magazines, and packages to every home, business, and organization in America; the only exception: holidays and Sundays.

I started working for the postal service because our family needed more income.  I needed to do something else in addition to my part-time job working at UNI in order to fully support our family.  I learned very quickly that being a mail carrier was not my calling.  In fact, I failed miserably at being a Mail Carrier.  Over the two months I worked at the post office, I had become accustomed to working about five different routes in Cedar Falls and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get down the patterns and practices of being a carrier.  I would:

-Drop letters.

-Deliver mail to the wrong houses having to go back, gather the incorrect deliveries, and take them to their proper location.

-Spend some days running on my route in all of my winter gear just to make better time (I always received feedback that I needed to "hurry up.").

-Leave packages in the truck and drop them off to houses after I delivered all letters and magazines.  I just couldn't carry everything.

-Run into people I knew and worked with previously that didn't recognize me or acknowledge my presence as I dropped off their mail for the day.

It was a life-changing experience.  Each day, I kept trying to tell myself that there is worthwhile and meaningful work behind what I was doing.  Every delivery had a story of some sort and I was contributing to those stories.  But each day was challenging, difficult, and downright un-motivating because I couldn't improve and do a job well.

In the midst of working at the post office, I continued working hard at trying to find work that would align with my background and goals.  Luckily, I was offered a job to work at Wartburg College just two days after I was let go at the post office.  I had never been asked to quit my job.  I've worked some pretty challenging jobs before (roadside management, detasseling, paper routes, hog confinement cleaning, etc.), but I believe this one "took the cake" for me personally.

Again, I deeply appreciate and admire the work our mail carriers do day in and day out.  There are some people who are called to be mail carriers.  To give you an example, there's a postal carrier from the Denver, Colorado area named Fred.  In the book, The Fred Factor, readers are introduced to a man who deeply cares for the customers he serves.  His passion and value in delivering the mail is unlike any other.  I highly recommend the book as it contains simple, powerful lessons for all us as we live out our lives contributing to the greater good.

I tell this story not to put down the US Postal Service rather to share a life-changing experience.  Being a mail carrier wasn't for me and sometimes you have to do things you don't like or that don't necessarily fit you.  That's how you grow and learn.  When you get into these positions, don't let yourself settle.  Keep dreaming and fighting your way to where you want to be.  Continue seeking out your passions, utilize your gifts, and find a vocation/calling that is attached to your values, interests, skills, and personality.  You might have to take some different steps to get there, but in the end, it will be worth it.  The more we try to squeeze ourselves into a job or career that isn't a part of our calling, the more challenging and disappointing our lives can be.

Day 18 - Favorite Season and Why

Day 18 - Favorite Season and Why

My favorite season is right around the corner.  Fall.  There's something about changing leaves, football games, cross country meets, cooler temperatures, jeans and sweatshirts, and the anticipation of the holidays (Christmas being my favorite).  I love fall.  So, here's to the greatest season!  :)

Day 17 - What is Your Go to Song?

Day 17 - What is Your Go to Song?

Below is a list of my top ten (eleven) go to songs in no particular order:

Break Myself - Something Corporate

The Adventure - Angels & Airwaves

Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen - Baz Luhrmann

Flight - Hans Zimmer (Man of Steel Soundtrack)

I Need You/Devastation and Reform - Relient K

Simple Man - Shinedown

In the End - Linkin Park

Now - Fireflight

Don't Worry Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin

Crawling in the Dark - Hoobastank

Day 16 - A Post from Awhile Back

Day 16 - A Post from Awhile Back

Here's a post from awhile back.  Such a great commercial.  :)

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011.

I absolutely love this commercial!  Why? I’ll give you three good reasons.

1. This is exactly how I used my imagination when I was a kid! 
2. This is exactly how I use my imagination today!
3. It’s simply a moment of pure joy.

This commercial speaks volumes towards the power of imagination and the magic of wonder.  When you’re a kid, you never realize how incredible being a kid actually is.  Instead, you’re young and you want to be older.  And when you’re older, you want to be young.  What a confusing thing about life!

For some, we can get pretty down about this concept.  But there’s no reason to feel down about this.  Nah!  As I get older, I realize there are some really cool things taking shape (even though it’s a major guessing game right now for me personally).  The truth is, we all have things taking shape in our lives as we speak.  Therefore I think it is important for us all to carry the power of imagination and the magic of wonder with us all the days of our lives.  Why?  Because you never know what’s going to happen next, and you just might surprise yourself.  :)

“Never lose the childlike wonder.  It’s just too important.  It’s what drives us.” ~ Randy Pausch

Day 15 - An Old Photo or Two of You

Day 15 - An Old Photo or Two of You

Well, it's that time of the year again.  College classes are back in session.  The first day of classes for Wartburg begin tomorrow.  I'm excited to start my second year at Wartburg.  :)  However, with classes back in session, I had to delay a post last night.  So, I'll be posting twice this evening.  Here's the first!  An Old Photo or Two of You.  Here's two:

Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I think this was back in 1989 or so...

Senior picture 2003