Stronger

12-19-17

#myDecemberGoal

Stronger

It was Monday April 15, 2013, and I was graduating high school in a month. A new school week had begun and I was in my last class of the afternoon with my basketball coach as my teacher. We were in one of our school’s computer labs working on our stock simulation game when someone mentioned that there had been bombings at the Boston Marathon.

We were scheduled to be in the computer lab the whole week working on our project. However instead of working on the assignments, I browsed the web to follow the manhunt that ensued to capture the two bomb makers. The sequence of events was weird because it lasted all week. I was too young to remember 9/11 as I was only in first grade, but these explosions occurred when I was a senior in high school. It was the first time where I experienced real reactions to a killing plot. Day after day, my classmates and I were wondering what was happening in Boston. I remember when they discovered where the final bomber was hiding. A Boston local had given a lead to the police authorities that the bomber had ran into the local’s backyard to hide in a boat. The police threw a ball shaped camera into the boat to confirm the man was hiding in there. Once they saw the footage, they stormed the boat and captured the suspect.

It’s four and a half years later, and my Dad and I sat down in our basement to watch the movie Stronger. It describes the story of a man named Jeff Bauman who lost his legs during the marathon blasts. Here’s what I’ll say after watching the movie. It opened my eyes to what people with any sort of disability have to deal with. I try to relate but I just can’t. The only thing I can do is be thankful for what I have and to open my heart and mind as to how I can help people who do have disabilities.

For this reason, I strongly recommend that you see the movie and I hope it teaches you what it taught me. It reinforced to me that everybody has their own internal battles and that we should be aware of this whenever we interact with someone. We need to always be compassionate and always be kind to others, because whether that person lost their legs or has lost a loved one, we can all give each other hope that this life still has joy to give even after devastating events.

-Brody

P.S. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2013 after their city went through those horrific marathon bombings. Similarly this year, the Houston Astros won the World Series two months after their city went through the tragic events of Hurricane Harvey. When we come together and live to lift each other up, we become stronger.

Working out and sitting out

12-18-17

#myDecemberGoal

Working out and sitting out

The past couple of times that I’ve been home for break, I’ve joined my Dad at his weekly workout sessions at our local gym. There are usually about 20 people who attend these instructor-led burnouts, but today there was an even bigger crowd.

When it comes to working out with people, I think the psychology of it is fascinating. Here’s my take. Whenever I exercise with a group and we are doing the same activities, I always feel motivated to do my best. I found this true when I played on sports teams as well. However, if I’m at the gym by myself trying to get a workout in while other people are doing a different type of workout, I feel no motivation at all to give extra effort. There is something about doing the same exercises as others that makes me want to go all out. Our group today definitely motivated me to want to excel.

Now, I’m not going to lie. I consider myself fairly in shape but during the workout I got light headed from the intensity. Either the workout was harder than I thought or I tried too hard. I think both are true. I had to go get water and take a seat which made me miss the abs part. I returned for the end, but felt bad that I didn’t do the whole routine. Here’s the good news though. Next time I’ll do better. Why? Because while I might pride myself on always trying to be my best, I find more satisfaction in continuously improving.

-Brody

Chili and Friends

12-16-17

#myDecemberGoal

Chili and Friends

            IU beat Notre Dame. My whole family was cheering at the top of their voices as the walk on Zach McRoberts grabbed the offensive rebound from a free throw and passed it to Juwan Morgan for the game winning dunk. It was Archie Miller’s first signature win as IU basketball head coach. He really knows how to bring out the best in his players.

            Later in the evening, we had family friends over for chili and conversation. My mom made some fabulous chili and cornbread for dinner. It tasted really good. There is nothing like having a community of friends. We have known this family since I was 5 years old. I’ve always thought that people are special because they are our time capsules. This particular family has watched me grow up and knows what I was like before high school and before college. Throughout the evening, we sipped our chili and talked about how things at IU are going and topics involving West Lafayette. We shared our inside jokes and remembered old teachers we had as high schoolers. Reminiscing is the best and I’m thankful that we still have friends in the neighborhood who we can invite over to share an evening with.

            After high school, I learned how important friendship really is. Now as I’m searching for jobs, I try to remember that it’s the people that make a city great, not the fancy buildings and other perks. Wherever there is solid community, that’s where I want to be. I’m praying to God that he’ll bless me with as good a community of friends as I’ve had in West Lafayette. Also, random sentence right here. My mom just went out to our van to get the change that we keep in there. Supposedly, someone in our neighborhood has been breaking into cars. Before my mom walked out the door she said, “I don’t subsidize thieves.”

            Whether you value loose change or a good bowl of chili, I hope that genuine friendships are a top priority for you. I know that friends have made life so much more enjoyable for me, especially as life gets more complex. Friends bring the happiness and a listening ear. They bring encouragement and howls of laughter. And like a good coach, they bring out the best in you.

-Brody

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