Obvious

We had a luncheon at the chamber today and discussed current leadership progress and began to work on a project to help school children in Iraq. For the project, we basically get our community schools together to collect school supplies and sports equipment (balls and such) for small children in the Middle East. The idea was started and implemented by an alumni of our team.

It really amazed me how much he wanted to give back to society. Despite the fact that he graduated from high school and college years ago, he still plays an active role in shaping and helping other people. It seems to me that most people would do all of their community service and leadership in high school and college and then settle down for peaceful lives. I am sure people do not become complete hermits after university, but it just felt like with all that I knew, my parents and other parents, the goal after university was to be a good parent/spouse and lead your children towards brighter future than you had. Thinking back, that was a pretty narrow-minded thought. I hope that when I graduate from high school and college, I can still find or create opportunities to reach out to others. Maybe I can give back by just donating a few hours of my week to a local shelter or spending time volunteering in various places as opposed to coordinating a huge community-wide project to help foreign children. Whatever I end up doing with my life, professionally and personally, I hope that after school, I will still find time to do some of the service that I am actively a part of today.

I also realized today that activities mean different things to different people (well duh). For example, I am not really that big into some organizations while other people are completely devoted to them. I suppose this all has to do with the attitude you take on while you go to that activity. There's one that I have never been particularly excited about... and I wish that I had been in the past two years because I've seen people learn so much from the program. Sometimes, I like to think that we are controlled by fate. That if I make an audition or get accepted into a school, it was meant to be. That way, I feel at ease about all that I have done and am not pressured to get certain things. But, sometimes your experiences are not left to fate. They depend on your perspective and your attitude. If you go into something thinking it will be awful, chances are, you will end up being miserable. But, if you go into it thinking "man this is going to rock!", you may just surprise yourself with how much fun you have and how much you get out of the experience. I guess with all of this, I am trying to say that I wish throughout high school I had gone into more things with the positive attitude. It cannot be changed or fixed now... but, I think if I believe the positive for the next few months, it will all end happily and better that it has been. It's kind of like the challenge with science: you see what you want to see.

Maybe... if we wished to see good in the world, we would find happiness and peace in the poor economy and the war. (I don't want to end on a bad note here, so just go with this hopeful, unrealistic ending! :D)