As a college student, I can often get carried away into a routine. I get lost in a rut and feel as though I have to go about my days the same way every week. Thank goodness for the month of November, because I am going to have a major shakeup.
During the month of November, I am getting the chance to travel across the country and see four different major cities in four different weekends. I’m traveling first to Cincinnati, then to Boston, Seattle and finally home to Chicago. Almost all of this is to be done for my work with NFTY, which just is another reason that I thank God that I have another year.
The chance to travel is one that not many college students get to have as often as I am about to do it. I, therefore, want to be able to share my experience of getting to see different parts of the country, so I will be blogging each week about my experience at the last place. This will start this coming week, after I travel to Cincinnati for a Hebrew Union College retreat.
I am currently getting the chance to study at a Big Ten University that offers so many classes that I can pretty much study any subject in the world that I could ever dream of wanting to learn. The biggest way in which I am learning, though, is very much not in the classroom. I am learning how the real world works, how to interact with others, how to live a life on my own. With all of this learning, I am getting an incredible opportunity to grow into the person I hope to be in my life, and, in some ways, make mistakes, learn from them, and change. Having the opportunity to do some extra-curricular travel is just one of the many ways in which I intend on studying well beyond the boundaries of the classroom. I am going to get the chance to learn from those who I travel with, those who are sharing different lifestyles and experiences from myself. I am excited to be able to do this, and to embark on something new, exciting, and fun.
I’m trying to get stronger. That is the bottom line. In everything I do, I am trying to get stronger in some form or another. Right now, I am focusing on three major areas: physical, mental, and psychological.
To get stronger physically, I have been working harder in the gym than ever before. Let me amend that statement: I’ve been working in the gym. I have been going almost every day, and really have a focus on eating better, working harder, and developing a better sense of general health.
To get stronger mentally, I am pushing myself in all different academic fields. I am dedicating more time to my classwork, reading more behind the scenes, and overall simply trying to push my thinking to a whole new level. I want to soak up as much information as possible during this time, because I have the resources to do well, so why not get as much from it as possible.
To get stronger psychologically, I am working on my interaction with others. I know that I can’t make everyone happy all the time. Instead of trying, I am working on being the best person I can be. If others like who that is, than I am succeeding. If they don’t like what I am, than I can’t worry about it. As Iong as the man I am is the one I want to be, I don’t care who else stands beside me.
I am in pursuit of a goal. The goal is to wake up every morning, look in the mirror, and like what I see. If I am hung over, I can’t like what I see, so I don’t drink. If I look in the mirror, and feel fat, I’m doing it wrong and need to get healthier. If I look in the mirror and am wondering who I see, than I need to take the time to better understand myself.
The work is not necessarily easy, but I am ready to be a good man, so I’m willing to do the work now to make it a reality.
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