Freeway with Comforting Lights

12-15-17

#myDecemberGoal

Freeway with Comforting Lights

            Today I had a wonderful meeting with my career coach. I thought I was going to sleep in but decided to try to squeeze in this meeting before I headed home for break. She really helped me with my resume and LinkedIn profile, which I greatly appreciated. Besides trying to polish up those documents, what I liked the most was the amount of time she took to meet with me. Usually these meetings only last 20 minutes because of how many students she has to help coach. However, she talked with me for 45 minutes. She took the time to learn about my experiences working at Camp Tecumseh and Bloomington Bagel. Sometimes just investing time in someone makes all the difference.

            In the afternoon, I headed home with my brother. We loaded up our car to the brim. It’s funny how my packing styles have changed with each year of college. Freshman year I would fold everything nicely into duffle bags. 5 years later, I just put stuff on hangers and throw it in the car. As long as everything fits, that’s fine with me. Going home is always interesting because somehow my brother and I always forget that there is still construction on highway 37. We get about 20 minutes into our trip, all excited to go home, and then realize we’re going to spend the next hour in a traffic jam since 37 is only one lane. BUT TODAY WAS THE DAY that we finally remembered to take a different route.

We took our old friend 231 back home to avoid all the construction. It’s a scenic route with Indiana woods and farmland. To me, there’s not a better sight than seeing the sun set over a harvested Indiana field. One joy of the trip was driving through Indiana towns that I don’t get to see often, such as Spencer, Greencastle, and Crawfordsville. It was cool to see their courthouses and light posts decorated with Christmas lights. Specifically, Crawfordsville hung up blue snowflakes on all the street lamps for a good two miles.

            When we arrived home, we were greeted with Christmas lights of our own. There is something about light that is just comforting. God says in John 8:12, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Maybe in our lives there will be roadblocks that we keep experiencing like highway 37. But my experiences today reminded me that there are better routes to take. A life investing time in Jesus is the way for me. And if I take it, I’m confident he’ll brighten it up with comforting lights.

-Brody

           

Team 2

12-14-17

#myDecemberGoal

Team 2

            There’s no better feeling than finishing a semester in college, especially when it's the first semester of grad school. After I had spent all of today in the business school giving and listening to final presentations, I felt overjoyed and full of accomplishment as I made my walk home in the evening. As I walked and gazed at the beauty of my illuminated campus, I started reflecting on all that I have experienced this semester. I came to realize that the majority of it was spent with my team, Team 2.

            We met during the second day of orientation in mid August, when we saw that we were assigned as "Team 2, Red Cohort." Our first task was to go on a scavenger hunt together around campus. As we tried to solve the clues, we started breaking the ice and getting to know one another. Eventually, we got to our last clue which was to take a picture with the statue of a former IU president. It was our first team photo.

Since then, we grew into one of the most cohesive groups in the core. If I’m being honest, my teammates made this semester bearable. Without them, I wouldn’t have had much support or encouragement with my school work, job search, or life events in general. They were always willing to be there for me. We were able to be candid with each other and we also communicated well. I am very thankful that our team had the chemistry we did, because the semester would’ve been gruesome if we didn’t develop it.

Together we accomplished 19 group assignments, 7 group projects, and 11 group presentations. We made 13 powerpoints with hundreds of slides, 2 applications, and successfully finished 2 case competitions. What's sad is that the numbers don’t even reflect the amount of time and dedication invested. Life has a weird way of making our memories fade quickly. But if there are any memories to hang onto, they will be the laughs, frustrations, and triumphs of our wonderful team. I am eternally grateful for team 2.

-Brody

A Whirlwind

12-13-17

#myDecemberGoal

A Whirlwind

This post is really short because I’ve been working on my final project all day. Tomorrow I present it, and when I finish I will be done with my first semester of grad school. What a whirlwind it’s been these past 8 months. I graduated undergrad in early May and stepped right back into the classroom a week later to take some summer grad classes. I found time during June to attend my best friend’s wedding and work for two weeks at Camp Tecumseh. Then in mid July I was back in the classroom and have been biking back and forth from my house to the business school ever since.

The first semester is called the core and it was an experience for sure. From case presentations to ambiguous assignments, coding, and 3 hour classes, somehow I’ve survived. It was psychologically painful at times, but I knew I was going to get through it. Like God says in Romans 5:3-5, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” I’ve had hope that tomorrow will come. It will be here shortly and I will enjoy reflecting on this whirlwind.

-Brody

Two Truths and a Power Outage

12-12-17

#myDecemberGoal

Two Truths and a Power Outage

            It was 9:30 p.m. and I was in the kitchen preparing my lunch for the following day. My roommates were in the family room watching the Monday night football game and chattering away. I zipped my pb&j into its plastic bag, and opened the fridge door to safely place it onto the cool top shelf. As soon as I set it down, there was a flicker...and another flicker. Then all went black and all went quiet.

            The chatter in the other room stopped. “What happened?” said one of my roommates. There was a power outage. This wasn't my first power outage experience by any means. However, this was the first power outage where I actually heard the zap of the current as it flickered in and out. Usually, everything would just go black instantly. But for this one, there were several charging and popping noises. One of my roommates said he saw flashes from outside our back window.

            Once we knew we were safe and that the outage had been reported, we all relaxed and sat around on our couches with flashlights in hand. It reminded me of summer camp where all you have is flashlights, something to sit on, and conversation. We made the classic dog silhouettes on the wall using our hands. We came up with conspiracy theories as to why there had been sparks seen down the street. Then I said we should play a game. So we played none other than two truths and a lie.

            I loved this because I love conversation with nothing to distract it. Nowadays, there is always some background distraction, whether it be TV, music, or someone’s cell phone. But this was a time where we were able to just listen to each other speak. I learned a lot about my roommates which was cool. This wasn’t like the junior high sleepover two truths and a lie game, where you reveal who you have a crush on. We shared random funny events that have happened to us throughout our lives. One of my roommates is my brother, so it was fun to test myself to see if I actually knew what his lies were.

            After about 2 and a half hours, the power finally came back on. The fun was over and it was time to go to bed. It was such a peaceful evening and it reminded me how much electricity we actually use. Anyways, I’ll end with two truths and a lie of my own for you to try to figure out. 1) I’ve kicked an extra point in Lucas Oil Stadium 2) I don’t have a blog 3) I wish there were a short power outage once a week.

-Brody

Brosif Bowls

12-11-17

#myDecemberGoal

Brosif Bowls

            Tonight was our end of the year celebration for the MSIS ambassador team. We gathered in IU’s bowling alley for dinner featuring coconut shrimp, pizza, and chicken and then had fun showing off our bowling skills.

            It had been awhile since I last bowled, but I soon remembered how fun of a time it can be. First off, I love how I can slide all over the wood floors in my shoes. I moonwalk, spin around, and do whatever my feet can handle on the slick surface. I also enjoy the bowling follow through. If you don’t know what this is, it’s when you release the bowling bowl down the lane and end with your arm pointing up towards the ceiling while one of your legs glides behind the other. It’s one of the weirdest stances in sports, but feels so cool if you can pull it off.

            Towards the end, some guys and myself tried to see all the different ways we could have the bowling ball travel down the lane. We experimented with crazy amounts of spin which made the ball go maybe 1 mph. We also did the classic grandma roll, where you bend at the knees and push the ball with both hands right down the middle of the lane. A new one that I learned involves a pin that gets stuck in the gutter. You intentionally bowl a gutter ball but try to hit the pin that was already stuck in the gutter in hopes that it will ricochet into all the other pins. It worked once and I was amazed.

            With so many adult things happening lately, it was fun to be reminded that I can still act as a kid and enjoy some bowling. There’s not a better feeling than rolling one right down the middle of the lane and hearing the pins collide as you realize you got a strike. CRASH! X.

-Brody

Snap, Crackle, Pop

12-10-17

#myDecemberGoal

Snap, Crackle, Pop

When you get stressed, do you have a stress reliever that you do without thinking? For me, I have three situations of stress and three interesting stress relievers.

The first situation is when I have something to do as a deadline but it’s not really that hard to accomplish. I usually stick a piece of traditional trident gum in my mouth and get to work.

The second situation is when I have a deadline and the work is hard to accomplish. This could be a tough homework assignment, an exam, or a project. My go-to stress reliever during these times is cracking my knuckles. I also do this when I get nervous. Without a doubt, I’ll randomly look down while I’m doing my homework to find that I am trying to pop every possible knuckle that my two hands have to offer. If I recorded myself, I could be the snap, crackle, and pop jingle for Rice Krispies cereal.

The third situation is when I have had a tough day but still have work to do or I'm worrying about something in the upcoming days. This is usually when I hit the snacks. Stress eating is weird because whenever I do it, I feel like I’m a super hero in the making, fueling up to conquer the upcoming battle. However, this vision quickly disappears after the snacks run out. All that happens is my stomach expands and the stress seems to as well.

To conclude, whether you’re stressed because of schoolwork or life events in general, I hope this post allows you to know that you’re not alone. I feel like we worry because we have all these dreams that we want to make happen but not enough time to see them realized. However God says in Matthew 6:27 “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” This verse always puts life into perspective for me and helps me to remember what actually matters. For me, that’s loving God with all my heart and knowing that Jesus gave his life up for me so that I might someday experience eternal love. Remembering that is the greatest stress reliever of all.

-Brody

The First Snow

12-9-17

#myDecemberGoal

The First Snow

            Open….close…open…close..open. Fully open. My covers greet me good morning as I rub my eyes until the sand particles that always nestle in their corners disappear. I pop my head up and look out my window. Flurries of snow are parachuting through the air and tops of houses have their own blankets of white. It’s the first snow.

            This morning I awoke to the first true snow of the year. It was beautiful. What I love about snow is the peace it brings. Everything becomes silent and pristine. If I were to rate the seasons, I would put winter second. My favorite is summer but winter is definitely above fall and spring for me. It’s a time when I celebrate both the birth of my savior and the joys of the past year. It’s when I wrap up a semester’s worth of hard work and begin a new one. Off and on, the snow taunts me with both its white beauty and slushy ugliness. It’s when I ask people, “Do you want to build a snowman?” All in all, it’s a dynamic and demanding season that never fails to remind me of all that I’ve been blessed with. What a wonderful time of year.

-Brody