The recent tragedy in Boston has brought my attention to the undercover heroes.

 

I think as Americans we share a united respect for members of the military, doctors, police officers, nurses and all other people who have made the sacrifice and decision to dedicate their lives to serve the public.

 

While many people focus on picking a career that will  benefit them the most financially or give them the most influential power in a community, these men and women choose to give of their talents and services to better a nation.

 

It is at trying times such as the time our nation is currently facing that these service men and women take a lead role in restoring the public and the public’s interest.

 

I think it is important to recognize these peoples admirable work not only in times of tragedy, but be thankful for what they do every day. It is the people who are underpaid and underappreciated who keep our nation in the condition we love and have come to expect it to be in.

This week I interviewed the nursing students at my school and as a result ended up learning a life lesson from a middle aged student, father, and full time worker.

By asking a few simple questions he revealed to me the struggles he’s faced trying to juggle doing it all. He explained how his wife has been a single mother for the past couple years while he’s been pursuing a nursing degree and working a full time job. It was truly heartbreaking to hear him confess his desire to be with his six kids while they are growing up. He said its one thing to show up to a soccer game and say hi, but another to be there with them when they are upset and talk to them about their day at school.

 

I asked him why he was pursuing a degree in nursing because he already had a degree and a full time job. That’s when he revealed his passion for helping others. He said he could work in the business field for the rest of his life but there’s no fulfillment in that. He saw that field as being all about earning as much money as you can and he didn’t see any long term happiness in spending his life doing that.

I think this is one of the biggest life lessons I can learn. While growing up society tells us that your aren’t successful in life unless you earn the maximum amount of profit and money that you can. I truly admire this nursing student for leaving the comfort of a well paying full time job to pursue something that he felt a calling to do.

In risk management Tuesday I learned that I shouldn't expect to retire until at least the age of 67. This means that I should expect to invest approximately 45 years into my chosen career path.

Reading further into my textbooks for school I'm realizing how innovative workers need to be in order to keep up with changing fields in today’s working world.

The internet is only about 25 to 30 years old. This means that when the older generation entered the work force they didn’t have anywhere near the technology that we do today. This was a huge innovation that they had to work with and adapt to. The invention of the internet and overall changes in technology are important to keep up with not only in their respective fields but in every field. Utilizing the technology we have available can only make us grow and increase the abilities of ourselves and our company.

If the internet was invented in the current working adult’s career, I can’t imagine what kind of curveball will be thrown at my generation. Being stubborn and unwilling to learn and adapt to new things simply won’t be an option for workers who want to be successful. Success will include a mandatory ability to accept new challenges that maybe we weren’t taught exactly how to handle in school.

I’m understanding that learning doesn’t stop when you walk across the stage and earn a degree. It will never stop, and that’s not a bad thing.

This week has taught me that sometimes our first instinct or first attempts are wrong. Whether it's a paper topic or a road block in life sometimes it's okay to let go and start fresh.

I know that my initial thoughts or ideas are not always the best possible plan. As much as I like to work and develop my plans, sometimes it would be better to scrap the idea and start with a new perspective.

I know that I have touched on this briefly in a couple of my previous posts, however it was recently brought to my attention and I believe it deserves elaboration.

While watching a favorite childhood television show, Boy Meets World, one of the characters gave a speech at graduation. This speech revolved aroung the idea that he could have done better. While reflecting on his time spent at high school he looked back and saw room for improvement in his behavior, grades, and friendships.

I see two important lessons to be learned from this.

One: I think that it is really important to be able to look back on an expirience and have the ability to critique yourself. Too many people are stuck on their idea of what is right that they don't take the time to reflect on themselves or the decisions they have made. I strongly believe that everyone has room for improvement whether you are just graduating high school or own a company. Through self reflection we can only grow.

Two: why wait until after the fact to critically think and examine the choices you are making? If we evaluated our decisions at the time we make them, there would be a smaller margin of error possible. We don't have to wait until we have already messed up to see that something needs to change. By taking initiative and evaluating ourselves regularly we won't have to look back as often and see that we could have done better.

"Blogs without art are lame."

This was the closing statement in the most recent chapter I read out of my media writing textbook, Journalism Next. I feel obligated to start this blog with an apology, but also with a slight disclaimer. I am sorry for being lame; however, I would like to say that I am always learning.

I have to admit I was slightly offended/ embarrassed by reading this. I don't like doing anything halfway in life. I guess I can contribute that attribute to how my parents raised me. Even with the simplest tasks we always had to "take it to the hoop." For example, after eating we always had to deal with our dishes by rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher. (I'm still confused about why these were the words chosen to drive this work ethic home seeing as no one in our family plays basketball, but I have to admit it was a good lesson.) Being called lame and stumbling upon the realization that I'm not being a good blogger was a sad truth for me to accept.

After I moved on from the initial insult I discovered that everyone is always learning. We are always evolving, and that is what keeps us at our best. If everyone was stagnant in their work there would be no improvement and frankly days would become monotonous and boring.

I feel that as a student I have miles to go and much to keep learning, even if it sometimes knocks me down. I also think that even the top CEO's and professionals can evolve and observe to continue bettering themselves. There's always more to learn, right?

I would like to close by pledging to make a serious effort not to be lame any longer.

Today in my sports marketing class we discussed the always controversial topic of if college level athletes should be paid. Don't worry; I'm not going to bore you with the details of that never ending debate. However, my teacher did bring up a case where an athlete was "busted" at a department store where he was receiving extremely discounted shoes. Turns out a reporter was in line behind him and exposed the athlete.

This was brought up with a lot of annoyance. How dare the reporter expose this athlete violating the rules of the league/college he decided to play for.

This is just ridiculous, why does the media and reporters receive such backlash from people for giving them the information they deserve?

After studying communication I have a real problem with people always blaming the media. Maybe if this athlete was not violating the regulations than this whole situation would have never happened. Hard concept, huh?

Why do reporters take the consequences for people's mistakes? They are simply exposing things to the public. The fact that people mess up should be blamed on no one other than the perpetrator. We should thank reporters for uncovering both the wrongdoings and exposing praises of people.