Quick blog

... whilst I wait for the bus.

So school has definitely started and today marks the first week done.  Loving my schedule.  Last semester I had a six-day-school-week (mon-sat... but only once class a day), but now I only have a three-day-school-week (mon, weds, thurs).  I love the change of pace, more exerted effort in the short days than a sustained drudgery for six days at a time...

There's a struggle I'm facing which fundamentally has to do with the never-ending struggle (for me) of how I should prioritize things relative to me.  There's a balance I'm trying to maintain... it's harder for me in this sense than in other things which I moderate really well.  It's as if the line of being "selfish" and "selfless" is so thin for me that I fall off the thin tight-rope to only one side so easily, and, without fail, feel guilty I'm at one end of the fall and not in the other.

Bus is here!

Treat Others the Way You'd Like to be Treated

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a respectful way

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a way that makes you want to be a better person

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a way that guides you not make the wrong choices, to not break the law

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a way that guides you to not do wrong

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a way that guides you to not be a mean person

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a way that acknowledges your values and morals

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a way that looks out for your well-being

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a way that understands that context of your weaknesses

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a way that understands when you are not having a good day

... be sure you'd like to be treated in a way that inspires you to overcome your weaknesses

If you are spread too thin and have to give up on something...

Don't give up on virtues. Instead, give up on things that make you less virtuous.

Giving Thanks

The best possible feeling is the realization that you can overcome your greatest obstacles with the help of God. There's a growth about the suffering that cannot be described by words; all of the English I know can't possibly detail the feeling except to say you feel an incredible embrace of love and the clearest tranquility and peace of the mind.  It goes without saying though, that the validity of these words can't be properly convincing unless without action. Surely I will be tested again, in another way, in another difficulty, at another time.  I am not worried about that anymore.

Temperament

I've come to realize I'm "a naturally introverted practicing extrovert".

First Monday of the New Year

Went to a special Blessed Sacrament Adoration service at Church with some great friends, Mandy (Bridgit to me), Nathalie, Justin, Mario and AJ, then after had a great time getting some dinner and drinks.  Wonderful way to spend the first Monday of the new year :) 

Self-righteousness and Appreciation

It's a challenging concept, I think, the juxtaposition between the two qualities.

I think self-righteous people fundamentally, whether knowingly or unknowingly, just want to be appreciated, aside from wanting to be correct. Being self-righteous actually is an obnoxious way, the opposite of passive-aggressiveness, to gain sense of superiority over another person. 

I don't think there's a need to flaunt and be self-righteous at all - and when I mean being self-righteous, I mean the pompous show of certainty one feels when they know they are right.  Suppose one is right when it comes to a subject - how is being self-righteous ever going to teach another person to acknowledge the truth? Isn't that the purpose of talking? Because it's contradicting when someone apparently wants to help another person learn something but transfers that information in a form, in a vibe, that isn't understanding, receptive, and self-deprecating - knowing that one has been in the position of being wrong/naive before is the reason why one should be more gentle in their tutelage. 

On the other hand, appreciation is something everyone should try to do when a tutor is being receptive, understanding, and self-deprecating. 

However, no one should place the desire to be rightfully appreciated above the need to be receptive and understanding of another person's abilities. In fact, the apparently inherent desire to feel appreciated in some way, shape, or from is actually detrimental to one's goal - but it's a struggle we all face (why? because the desire to feel appreciated shouldn't drive one's actions).  The first priority of a teacher of anything is that the  knowledge, virtue, fact, etc. they are trying to convey is transferred in a respectful, understanding, and firm yet self-deprecating way. 

Or else that teacher comes out as a self-righteous jerk who doesn't seem to deserve any sympathy (even though the jerk really does) when he or she fails at the knowledge, virtue, truth, etc that he or she self-righteously proclaimed in the first place. 

A New Year!

So much has happened since the last blog.  I've done a poor job keeping you up-to-date but suffice to say, it's been a crazy ride up to this point! Amazing and difficult, and all in between. :)

Fall semester ended. Simbang Gabi Novena (only 8/9 days completed this year... sad...). A wonderful Christmas in San Jose. A sad funeral. Kickin' it with amazing friends and beyond incredible family. Drinks (the White Russian is mmm tasty). Guinness. Sacramento Kings games (that Kings/Knicks games WAS HISTORICAL... and I saw the next game live!). Smokes (cigars). Gambling.  A New Year celebration.  Snowboarding in Tahoe. Clubbing (which was a fail... I couldn't get in the club, coz of my "long jeans"... geeze louise!), late-nights watching movies, amazing coffee, a lot of karaoke!

That's my brief attempt at trying to detail what my break so far has looked like... but it's really a lot wilder than that list I can assure you ;)

It's also an amazing feeling realizing I still have 17 days left of winter break until my last full semester in community college. YES that's right! My last semester in community college. I am finally able to transfer to a university next fall! I was beyond myself when I got my first application confirmation... I'm still waiting for two more to release their verdict.  I won't say where I've already been accepted yet, but just knowing that I'm accepted somewhere... It's an incredible feeling guys and I am so incredibly thankful.

Happy New Year everyone.  I'm hoping you all take advantage of this new year, and every new day that comes from it.

Sincerely yours,
Aaron