Goal Accomplished

12-31-17

#myDecemberGoal

Goal Accomplished

            Today is New Year’s Eve which means that by posting this blog piece I have successfully accomplished my December goal. At the beginning of the month, I made it a goal of mine to write one blog post a day until the ball dropped celebrating the New Year. I wrote one that was private which I didn’t post and I forgot to write one on Christmas Eve so I wrote two on Christmas. Besides those little missteps, I can happily say that I successfully accomplished what I set out to do. It’s been a fun journey and I’ve learned some things along the way.

            First, I found out that it would take me until 11 pm to feel motivated to write. Often later in the night was when I would reflect on my day, which brings me to my second point. Each day of mine brought something new and something to write about. No matter how boring or how fun, there was always something on my mind that I could share.

            Speaking of sharing, I hope that you’ve enjoyed my short stories these past 31 days. My main motivation for writing these posts wasn’t to make you want to like my writing. It was simply me striving to accomplish something over time. I said in the beginning that #myDecemberGoal was like a reverse New Year’s resolution. I did it because I knew that a specific timeframe would help me stay accountable. Now that we have a little under 15 minutes until 2018 rings in, new year's resolutions will be made. For me, I’ve already accomplished mine. It just so happened to occur during December.
  

-Brody

Overcoming Limits

12-30-17

#myDecemberGoal

Overcoming Limits

Today I was inspired by E:60. It’s a show on ESPN where journalists interview people about their life stories and how it relates to sports. They were airing a special this evening to reminisce about their past 10 years of creating the show. While watching all the footage and hearing some interviews, it was incredible to see what some people accomplished while having some sort of setback.

One girl they covered was a star track athlete even though she had multiple sclerosis. She couldn’t feel her legs whenever she raced and had to fall into her coach’s arms every time she crossed the finish line in order to stop her momentum. She then had to be immediately carried to a bench to be cooled down by ice bags and water because her body would be producing so much heat. This happened every race and it’s not like she came in last. She won many of her races.

Stories like these inspire me because they make me realize that we as humans can persevere through the limits that Mother Nature puts on us. And when we do, we can accomplish great feats. I’ve found that this is easier when someone is along side of us, constantly pushing us to be better and encouraging us along the way, like that girl’s coach. While there is a breaking point and such thing as too much pushing, I usually find that I have a lot more effort to give whenever the thought of quitting or not even trying pops into my head.

I believe the military has a 40% rule that says when you first think you want to quit, you really have only given 40% of your available energy. Thus, you still have 60% to give. I remember when this saying affected my workout a couple months ago. I first only wanted to run 10 laps on the track but I decided at about lap 7 to add 60% more laps to my goal. I ended up running 25 laps (60% more) and was amazed that I actually did it.
           Mindsets like this and stories such as what the journalists of E:60 share have led me to make one of my New Year’s resolutions be not to underestimate myself. If I don’t underestimate myself, who knows what feats I can accomplish.

-Brody

Deleting Email

12-29-17

#myDecemberGoal

Deleting Email

I’ve spent the past hour and a half deleting emails from my personal account because I thought it would free up some space on my phone. After about 15 minutes, I decided I was going to go all out and try to delete as many unwanted emails as I could.

I’m a person who likes to save stuff. I like the sentimental aspect of gifts, written cards, and yes, even emails. As I sorted through the electronic pile of messages, I realized that facebook and twitter took up a majority of my email space. I also realized that my emails were a time capsule of my past 5 years. As I sifted, it was fun reflecting on all that has happened and who has been involved in my life. There were emails I got when I was trying to find which college I wanted to go to. There were emails from my first job. There were even emails about people who retweeted my tweets. I’m not a big tweeter, but those posts definitely brought back good memories.

All in all, while it was boring to delete all those emails, the going back in time aspect made it worthwhile. If you’re a saver like me, maybe go back and read some of those old emails. It’ll refresh your memory.

-Brody

Malls

12-28-17

#myDecemberGoal

Malls

            I don’t like going to the mall. My brother needed some pants though, so today we made the drive out there. The only part I like about going to the mall is walking around. It’s fun to feel the energy and look in the window displays. But after awhile my legs start hurting and it’s all downhill from there.

            The next frustration comes when I have to find what I’m looking for. I’m usually one of the smaller sizes so finding the right fit can be hard, especially when it comes to pants. Shirts are easier since there are fewer shirt sizes made. Once I’ve found an item, the money factor comes in. For me, I like to know all my options before I purchase something. However, the mall makes it super hard to compare items across stores. I would have to walk to each store, find similar items, compare the items in my head, and then go back to the store which I think has the best deal and best item.

Thus the tired legs, the inefficiency of selecting clothing, and trying to find the best deal are all reasons why I don’t like shopping at malls.

-Brody

Waiting for Wristbands

12-27-17

#myDecemberGoal

Waiting for Wristbands

            Even though I went to IU, I grew up going to Purdue football games. I was really young when Drew Brees had his phenomenal career and the Holy Toledo play. I barely remember my parents watching the 2001 Rose Bowl in our family room with their friends. I do remember Kyle Orton pretty well. Unfortunately they ruled his scramble as a fumble versus Wisconsin. Dorien Bryant was the speedy wide receiver and return man. I was at Joe Tiller’s last game with my Dad in 2008. Then there was Danny Hope and Darrell Hazell. Enter Jeff Brohm. I remember when Ross Ade didn’t have lights. To say the least, I’ve experienced a lot of Purdue football.

            After games, my friends and I would wait outside the Purdue locker room in hopes that we could catch the players’ wristbands that they would throw at us. If we were really lucky, we might have even gotten a pair of gloves. As a kid, I always said my dream was to be a college football player and Purdue allowed me to experience it as a fan.

            Fast forward to 2015, and my fandom changed to IU football. I made the 13 hour car ride to the Bronx to watch IU play in its first bowl game since 2007. It was a great game but we unfortunately lost on a last second missed field goal in OT. Now it's 2017, and I’m watching Purdue play Arizona on TV in its first bowl game since 2012. There’s 8 minutes left in the game so I don’t know who’s going to win. I'm still an IU fan, but it has been pretty cool to see both IU and Purdue go to bowl games recently. Hopefully both teams become above average in the near future. I’m not waiting for wristbands anymore, but I am waiting for bowl wins. We’ll see what happens.

-Brody

Are you a Gamer?

12-26-17

#myDecemberGoal

Are you a Gamer?

            Do you play video games? I’m not a big fan of them but I do play with my brothers sometimes. We enjoy playing Fortnite and Rocket League on the PS4. Fortnite is like hunger games where you have to pick up supplies in a giant map and try to be the last one standing. Rocket League is like soccer except you kick the ball around using a car that looks like it was made by hotwheels.

            I really have no clue what else to write about, so this will be it. I try not to play too many video games because I think they’re a waste of time. They are fun, but for me they get boring after about 20 minutes of playing. All in all, it’s pretty impressive how good the graphics and gameplay are these days. I can’t even imagine what they’ll be like in a couple of years.

-Brody

The Best Present

12-25-17

#myDecemberGoal

The Best Present

            I didn’t write a blog post yesterday. Frankly, I didn’t want to write one on Christmas Eve. I was enjoying spending time with my relatives too much. Every year on Christmas Eve after church we have our cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents over to our house. We munch on snacks all night long and have a good time chatting about whatever. This year I also went to my first midnight mass. The choir was superb and I enjoyed how peaceful the drive home was in the snow. The town was silent.

            Today of course is Christmas. Merry Christmas! We celebrate Jesus’ birth and all that he represents. When he was born, he wasn’t wrapped up in some fancy wrapping paper. Instead, he was wrapped up in cloth. He wasn’t under a tree but under a smelly manger’s roof. He wasn’t some fancy gadget that connected to the internet. He connected us in a better way. It wasn’t through computers, but through forgiveness and love. He’s the best present and it’s our choice whether we accept his gift or not. The good thing is, we don’t have to accept the gift only on Christmas. He gives us his present every day.

            To wrap up, I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, I hope you always choose to treat others with compassion. Jesus would be proud if that’s how we interacted with each other. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

-Brody