Laughter makes the world go round

Indiana, Indiana, Indiana. This place is interesting to say the least. Over the past couple of weeks, I've learned a ton about myself and other people. Everyday, I get to meet some really awesome people as well as some really not-so-awesome people. I knew going into this internship, it was going to be tough because they told me so. I work 80 hours a week, and it gets tiring. I'm by myself for 13 to 14 hours of the day; just me and Loretta, my car. However, it's not the worst thing in the world because I'm learning a lot about everything. I really suffered from culture shock my first week on the job because I ran into so many parents who couldn't care less about their child's education and future. It's really sad seeing a kid that wants to learn and be educated being raised by parents who don't give a shit. Seeing families like these have really turned this internship into something personal; I've been fortunate to receive a great education through 21 years of my life, but I never really understood how important it really was until this job.
For those of you who don't know what I'm doing, I'm going around, basically soliciting, and showing families educational programs that really help kids get interested and involved with schoolwork. A lot of people ask me why I'm doing this because it sounds like it has nothing to do with my major, which is business management. I'm an independent contractor so I make my own hours and get paid commission, so the amount of money I make depends on how hard I work; the more money I want, the more hours I feel I should work. So all in all, it's my own business.
Anyways, back to what I've learned. I've learned a ton about myself; 13 to 14 hours by yourself gives you a lot of time to think. I've been able to maintain a sense of positivity while doing this job, but sometimes, it's really hard; people shut doors on you, throw obscene gestures/cuss at you, tell you to get an honest job, ignore you, and reject you. I miss my family, my girlfriend, and my friends back at home and sometimes I ask myself, "What the hell am I doing here?" I work these crazy rural areas where houses are miles apart, and I just drive and drive and drive until I'm satisfied with my day's work. I've realized that it's not all about me anymore. There are hundreds if not thousands of kids in my county of Steuben that are just waiting for a chance at a better life, and all they really need is that extra push and someone who believes in them. Towards the end of my first week, I really started getting the sense that this job wasn't all about me, and in order to get my mind off all this loneliness and homesickness, I needed to find something to get passionate about, and then BOOM. I explain to one dad what I was doing, his kid was excited about everything I was showing him, and then he just bluntly tells me, "My son don't need shit like this. What is a kid from around here gunna do with education? Don't waste my time and get out." And then his son started crying.
That day just really hit me, and it hit me hard. What kind of parent doesn't want the best for their kids? It's a shame, really. So over the course of the summer, I really hope to create a foundation of passion to keep me going through the days.
Indiana is pretty plain. There are a ton of corn fields, flat roads, farms, hillbillies and Amish. Everything is super slow around where I am, but for the most part, people are really nice, and I'm thankful for that. It's really nice running into families who are willing to take 5 to 10 minutes out of their day and just talk. I've had families feed me which is awesome. I've had parents get really personal with me and kind of tell me a lot more than I've ever wanted to know about strangers, but I guess it's a lot easier to tell a stranger than someone you know.
As hard, tiring, lonely this experience is, I know there are people out there who have way tougher times than me, so I try not to think about too much. I miss home a lot though; hopefully these next two months will fly by because I'm already looking forward to August.

I guess my attempts at keeping my blog updated are failures. Too many things to do, too little time.
A couple major events have happened since I last posted. I've been accepted into the Terry College of Business at UGA, and I've been selected to take part in a summer internship. I'm really excited for both, but I know I'm going to have to work hard at both.
I learned a lot about myself while waiting for both of these events to occur. I've learned that I doubt myself too easily. I think that's the case for a lot of people, but I want to become one of those people who carry themselves with a lot of confidence, not cockiness. I always think to myself that I'm not good enough for this, or I can't do that, but within these past few weeks, I've realized that there are a lot of things I can do, a lot of things I can do well. As long as I have that will, as cliche as it sounds, there's nothing I can't do, especially if someone else can do it. When I heard back from UGA regarding my acceptance into Terry, I was surprised; when I heard back from my internship opportunity, I was surprised. Then I thought to myself, why was I so surprised? I worked just as hard as anyone else to make these things happen, so why was I so shocked? It could be because I've let myself down a lot when I felt I could do something, but it must have been that I didn't try hard enough. I have to learn to better commit myself to things and stick with it. I think it will definitely help me become mentally and emotionally stronger. I guess this is my late new year's resolution.
On a lighter note, I have been listening to way too much Korean music and watching too many Korean stuff. My visit to Korea owned me. This cannot be good. To look at it from a positive light, I guess I just want to embrace the very culture I've made fun of for so long. Don't get me wrong, I still like to poke fun, but at the same time, I've become more prideful with my background, and the Olympics definitely put it over the top. When I think about it, I don't want my kid growing up not knowing his or her own cultural background, so I'll just take it as me wanting to help my kids. In the meantime, it'll also be my guilty pleasure. Please don't make fun of me.

As most of you guys know, I'm a huge sports fan, so finally I'll dip into that field today, haha. The biggest news this week doesn't seem to be from Vancouver or the NBA trade deadline that moved 43 different players; instead, it was Tiger Woods' apology.
Like a lot of people, Tiger's my favorite athlete, and never would I have thought, in a million years, that something of this magnitude would happen to him. The one thing I always loved about Tiger was his ability to keep his life private away from the media. Next thing you know, he gets into a one-car accident and the whole world goes crazy. My immediate response to the first rumors of his affairs was, "No way, he would never. He has two kids and a hot wife." I guessed completely wrong, but it hasn't changed my view on Tiger significantly. Of course there's that little thing in the back of my mind that says, "Man, what he did is messed up." That being said, people need to get off his back about the whole ordeal. Personal matters should be kept private, and the only people he needs to apologize to are his family, mainly Elin. However, all of this is inevitable considering he's the most well-known figure in modern sports.
So, about his apology. I honestly think he was sincere in his words and that it was truly tough on him to come forward the way he did, but everyone needs some humility right? The world of golf is barely paying attention to what's going on in tournaments, but instead are impatiently waiting for Tiger to show up again. Golf needs Tiger, it's that simple.
One thing that really irked me was Ernie Els' statement prior to Tiger's apology. "His timing is selfish." To explain this to those who don't know, the Accenture Matchplay tournament started this week, and Els is saying that Tiger's conference is overshadowing the event. Ernie, STFU. Tournaments are going to be held week in and week out until the season is over. If Tiger held his apology statement on another day, it would've been bigger news anyways, he's the damn face of the sport. It also doesn't help when one person kicks another while he's down. The PGA is struggling to bring in money during recent events, and it just further solidifies Tiger's place in golf. On the other hand, I applaud the golfers who understand that the situation is a private matter, and that they're in no place to judge Tiger for his actions. They understand that the game is struggling without Tiger, and they just want him back and wish him well.
Everything I'm saying is biased of course, since I am a fan of Tiger, but I haven't been looking at this situation from one side. I do think that what he did was morally wrong, but if I was to judge him any further, then I'd be doing what I'm tired of hearing from other people. Call me close-minded in regards to this situation, but Tiger is the man. He admitted his flaws with straightforwardness and took full responsibility for his actions. What more could the public ask for, besides the fact that he shouldn't have done any of this in the first place?
To summarize it all, piss off Ernie and haters, come back strong, Tiger.

It's already been a year. I hope you're enjoying your time up there. I miss you a lot, and I love you. I know you're watching over me; I promise to make you proud. I promise.

Peace out.

Well, this is my first ever blog. I figured it's a new year, so I'd try something new; there's one of my resolutions fulfilled right there. I think my purpose for starting up a blog is similar to most peoples'; it's to have an outlet to let my thoughts out and let people know what goes on in my head. I've always wanted to keep an updated blog, but 1) I never knew what to write, and 2) I'd probably never keep up with it.
A big reason why I decided to create one was that I don't think a lot of people that I come across take me seriously because of my laid back and sarcastic personality, so this is one way I can really express myself because behind that joking personality of mine, I'm a guy that thinks a lot. I probably don't analyze things as hard as others do, but surprisingly, my brain creates a lot of thinking.
So, just to list a few things that I would like to get out of this new blogging:
1) Find out more about myself.
2) Get better at expressing myself.
3) Let people know what goes on in my insanely unserious, yet serious, head.

For the first entry, I'll just explain my little "slogan."
I think of myself as a carefree guy who just enjoys laughing about everything and trying to make people laugh. Laughing gets me in trouble sometimes as well. I remember as a kid, I would try to laugh off the awkwardness after my parents punished me for some wrongdoing, and that just put me into a deeper hole because it came off as disrespectful. Obviously I knew that it wasn't the best time to laugh, but it was the only way I knew how to relieve my "stress," for lack of a better word.
Here I am, at 21 years old and I still believe that laughter is the best medicine for anything and everything, and my personality has kind of taken on that persona. I rarely say anything serious in public, and I try to avoid "serious" situations at all costs if I can because there's never anything to laugh about. However, having said that, when a serious situation arises, I know when to tone down, but that's never fun. So I'll just patiently wait and laugh when the time is right.
It also takes a lot to make me really angry, and I mean a lot. You could probably sit there and call me any degrading name you please, but you'd probably have to go through a list of 1,000,000 to get me mad; I'd probably get annoyed around 92,000, but I won't get furious until 1,000,000, so don't try to push my buttons by attempting 1,000,001. I'll eventually just laugh it off, but I'll punch you for good measure.
I think laughter brings people closer together. Most of the memories I have with my friends deal with something funny that happened; something that we laughed all together about. I think that laughter is the shortest distance between two people. Not to sound overconfident with my theory or anything, but I think that a big reason why Michelle and I have been together for almost 3 years is because we always find time to share a laugh together. It's either that or my six pack, but I know it's not my six pack because I have an eight pack.
To make a long story short, just find something to laugh about whenever you can because it's a good feeling, a really good feeling.

"A man isn't poor if he can still laugh." - Raymond Hitchcock