Photo courtesy of w_mat_brown.
Adjusting to a new situation can bring a myriad of challenges. Finding a place to eat, a new gym, the post office; hell, finding someone to wash the car, activities that come natural with little-to-no-thinking become a challenge when it's time to adjust to new surroundings. With that said, these are adjustments that are met with enthusiasm, with joy, even with curiosity.
Read MoreThe end of the year is all about transition, changing from one situation to the next. Some people choose to embrace change while others run from it. In this case, there has never been more excitement to embrace change and begin the transition from one phase of life to another.
Read MoreThere is a particular aspect of writing in a book that is deeply admired and wholly appreciated anytime a book comes to the house (more often than not) from Amazon with the blessing of Prime shipping: storytelling with the limited use of first-person. Writing and storytelling aren’t the same thing. Writing has to have a certain level of objectivity while storytelling really doesn’t. There’s a place for both of them in the world of literature, but as more books get read, more emphasis is being put on writers who can tell great stories without littering the pages in the first-person.
It seems picky, and it kinda is, and it’s not something that is even noticeable unless you’re a book snob or a writing snob, but whatever. This rationale was adopted thanks to the great Myles Brown. Myles said something once about how much smoother writing is when the first person isn’t bastardized all over the pages, and he is absolutely correct. Hell, writing a dissertation less than a year ago should’ve been enough proof of that because the use of first-person is absolutely prohibited in that style of writing. Anyways, autobiographies have a steady place on any bookshelf at work or at home, simply because it takes courage to tell your own story which is the case of How Starbucks Saved My Life, a book written by Michael Gates Gill.
Read MoreA role model is defined as a person whose behavior, example, or success can be emulated, especially by young people. A role model isn’t confined to how much money a person makes, how many material things one can buy, and what profession one plies their trade in. A role model is simply someone who does things in a positive way, someone who people can look at, with universal respect, as someone who takes pride in what they do.
Nike made this clear in a 30-second commercial back in the early-90s when Charles Barkley announced to the world six words that reverberated loud and clear:
I am not a role model.
In 1993, as a ten-year-old kid two months shy of turning eleven years old, it made sense. Charles Barkley played basketball, played basketball as well as anyone in the NBA and was a great example for anyone who played the game. However, as a kid, it was never a thing to say “I want to be like Charles Barkley.” Even at ten years old, it was obvious that Sir Charles played the game and that was it (Newsweek Staff, 1993). He was paid, in his words, to wreak havoc on the basketball court.
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