1...2...3... BREAK!

Question: When you answer the phone, do answer with the common "Hello?"  I have assumed that all people with phones of any kind have the now standard caller ID feature.  If you know the person calling you...do you still need to answer as if you have no idea who the person is?  Maybe you are inquiring as to why they may be calling?  In my opinion, "Hello" initiates a part of a conversation that in many cases can be avoided and unnecessary.  With "Hello" comes "How are you?" and the common and generally never true "good."  Then a brief overview of recent things that may have happened to either person, but have no real importance.  May I suggest or recommend a more friendly or personable greeting.  One that says, I know who you are, I have been looking forward to this phone call and I do not want to waste one minute hearing about how you are "good" and telling you that that is "good" and that I am "good" as well.  I would even say a greeting of "Hey!" would achieve such response.  I don't know.  Just a recent thought...

Main reason for post...

This is my first Christmas Break from a school when I am actually (kind of) part of the staff instead of a student.  As a student, it was just time off.  Time to hang with buddies ALL day instead of like cell phones, on nights and weekends.  Now, I see it as a much needed period to recharge batteries.  Both time away from students as well as co-workers.

Another random thought...

Nightly news needs to be more SportsCenter-ish.  News spends so much time on terrible stories that make you sick to your stomach that it could be said they are actually promoting the wrongfull actions.  But if the news would let the public know its going on and then move on to the next story, I feel as though the morale and general mood of the public would improve.

Back to the Break...

I know what your thinking.  Who are the co-workers you need a break from?  Me?  No, not you, relax.  I actually feel supported both as a student and as an intern at my site.  However, time away can give new perspective and can build stronger bonds between people.  I appreciate all the personalities and how well they all work together as one staff in support of one purpose.  To any of my fellow Bulldog's reading this, have a wonderful break and really try to break your life.  At least for a day, just rest.  You owe it to yourself.  You are doing a wonderful job and deserve much praise and respect.  I will see you in a few weeks!

Study update...

Still working on it.  Remember I did My Fall and I have been working on Selflessness for a while.  It has been slow, but it is still "in the mail."

Thats it for now.  Maybe I'll have another before my break is done.  Later.

HELLO?

Its just a saying...

OK, this will be short, but I have to say it.  I have come across this saying multiple times in the past few days/ weeks and it bothered me from the very beginning.  There are mutiple "just saying" out there, but one in particular.

"FML"

For those who do not know, it stands for F**k My Life.

This is very concerning to me.  This says to me that you need to see a professional.  You are either depressed or slipping on a slope that will lead to it.  It is not something to be taken lightly.  To me it is a threat to ones self and someone needs to step in.

Especially this time of year when we need to think about what we are thankful for.  For some people, this will be the 6-figure job, nice house and good family.  For some, this is having a job because living on government aid is unacceptable.  For some, it just means having clothes on their back.

Tell me you have NOTHING to be thankful for and I will give you a list of at least 10 things. 

NO LIFE IS WORTH ENDING.  If you truelly feel this "FML" saying, please find someone to talk to.  You are entitled to your feelings and NO ONE can take them away, but what how you act on those feelings is where people can help.

I hope you are able to take a few moments during this weekend to think about the things to be thankful.  And be careful of what you say and where you say it.  Someone is always watching and someone ALWAYS cares.

Will

My Fall

Helllllo!
I know you have been waiting.  And waiting.  AND waiting.  Just kidding.  I do have a collection together that gives you an idea on how I see my favorite season.  I love to get outside during the fall and see all the colors and wildlife.  From the brillant colors all the way to the almost dull colors leading into winter.  All the animals getting ready for the cold winter days.  It truelly is pure beauty.  When else do we have the chance to literally watch God's brush strokes?

Its funny how I am gaining a whole new appreciation for everything as I get to re-experience it with my son.  I have to thank him for those small reminders.

Hopefully you enjoy these and get a sense of what I see when Fall comes and how I see it through my view finder.  Its been fun doing this little project and look forward to a winter project?  If you have any questions please ask here or on facebook.  I'll be posting there as well.  Thank you,  Will

My Fall

Hello.  How are you?

So, I've got a couple "projects" I'm working on.  They are both going to be through the viewfinder of my camera.  One will be easier than another, but both hopefully cool. 

1.  "My Fall"  Scenery pics I take that lets you see what fall is like for me.  How I see my favorite season.  I might need to do a couple road trips to get the pics I want, but we will see.  I'll post when I am satisfied with what I have or when winter comes!

2. "Selflessness"  This is the tough one.  Can you capture selflessness in a picture?  What is selflessness?  This one might take a while.  I am still in early stages of trying to establish a working definition of what selflessness is.  It has many sides and I would prefer to explore all of them before I try to capture it on film.  It could end up being a very personal definition which would be evident in the pictures that come out.  It could also be a more generalized definition.  We will see.

I am excited about both of these projects as I have never done this before and I will be pushing my photography skills a little.  We will see.  I am my worst critic so I'll probably say they are terrible or just ok. 

See ya.  Stay tuned for the Project Pics.

~Will

Happiness. HAPPINESS! happiness...HAPpineESS??

Greetings all,

It was recently brought to my attention the profound importance of this word as well as the words that surround it. Below is by no means a complete thought or, obviously, the right answer, but it is a work in progress. These are my own thoughts, but possibly off of other ideas. I know my own opinion, but I have been posed with this statement regarding it.

“Happiness can be found in material things.”
Agree or disagree?

Hmmm…. Let me just jump into my opinion and thoughts. I apologize in advance for being sporadic.

I want to first separate “Happiness” from the rest of the sentence and focus on that. Happy and Happiness are two very different words. To be happy, in my sight, refers to an immediate and temporary state that one is in. For instance, I am happy at random points during a day, week, and month. While opening birthday gifts, I am very happy. Now change the word to happiNESS. The “ness” says a lot about the meaning the word is trying to convey. Its more long term, possibly even a lifetime feeling that does not fad overnight. I could be wrong in this. I am no professional in the English language, in fact do a spell/ grammer check on this post and you’ll see how efficient I am with this language we call “English”,but interpretation is everything isn’t it?

I also want to break down “material things.” Inanimate objects that can nether feel or convey feeling on their own. I would also consider these things as man made, created, developed etc… “Things” or possessions that we own. Maybe things money can buy? Maybe things that give you that happy feeling that will fade?

What are the things money can’t buy? Where do we place those things in order of importance?
Now let’s look back at the whole sentence. Can happiness be found in material things? If I keep myself in a box and literal, yes I completely agree with the statement. Getting the new iphone 4 would make me VERY VERY happy. I box myself a lot because I do want the next best gadget. However, my conscience earns its keep while I am doing it. I know there will be a better whatever next year and then I will want that. HappiNESS can not be found in material things. Happiness is a legacy. Happiness is looking forward to living another day. Meeting new people and learning their stories. Finding out what makes them happy (long term) just by listening to them talk about what’s going on in their lives. Being encouraged and encouraging others. I was stopped the other day by a man who said he was watching me wipe my sons face off. He said “You deserve the Dad of the year award.” I said “Thanks” but thought, I just wiped his face off??!??! But the rest of the day I felt confident and secure about how I was doing as a Dad. Maybe this man, who I will never see again, had a terrible childhood and it truly makes him happy to see good Dad’s. Being reminded of the important things and getting back to the basics. Being thankful, is that part of it too? It was posed to us then, how our view would change if the sentence read “TRUE happiness can be found in material things.” What’s the difference? I want my happiness to be true all the time. Who would want false happiness?

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control ARE HAPPINESS and show that a person is “truly” happy.

God showed me what happiness truly is when my son was born a little over two years ago. I thought I knew what happiness was. Deciding to share the rest of my life with my high school sweetheart brought me happiness. When Bryson was born everything changed. EVERYTHING. My focus. My priorities. My “plans.” All of the characteristics listed above (Love, joy, peace…) were redefined as well. I thought I knew what love was. I thought I was all of these things until Bryson came and showed me a side of these things that only come with children. They have the ability to bring you to your knees and then melt your heart with a smile. The feeling of willingness to do anything for someone is incomparable. I think I’ll post or re-post the poem that I wrote for Bryson when he was born for hopefully a clearer picture of this.

Is there something we can do to gain, find, or increase happiness, long term, and lifelong joy? Not sure. Helping those in need. Holding doors for elderly folk and then letting them turn and genuinely thank you is a good one that gets you a whole bunch of warm fuzzes inside. Letting someone merge in a traffic jam (Probably saved you a repair bill if anything because he was going to merge anyway). Respecting yourself. Walking someone’s dog. Babysitting for a single mother and, if you can, paying for her to get her nails done. When we do nice things for others, even the littlest things, we gain self respect. Increasing our happiness?

That’s it. All I got. Hopefully, I did not contradict myself to bad. Hopefully I make sense. Hopefully, I didn’t deviate from the main point either. Hopefully you respond to this with your thoughts and opinions. It is interesting where we decide to find joy and happiness isn’t it? Hopefully, without getting to morbid, when our lives are coming to a close we can all look back and say “I found happiness.”

Pondering this for the last week or so has really opened my eyes to the little things in life I take for granted. It has actually been fun trying to find the meaning of happiness in my daily life. Hmm, maybe this is part of it too. Seeking out happiness in our lives? Does happiness just come to us naturally or do we need to be active in it? Is it a choice we make? Wrestling with this and trying to see my opinion was right or maybe I am way off. Maybe after reading this you will have a whole different view and idea. I would love to hear it!

SOME OTHER THINGS…
Many will say there is a religious aspect to happiness. To be blessed. I must say I would agree with them. Living fully for Jesus Christ and trusting that He will provide for your life is both scary, but fulfilling as well. I do worry and I am afraid at times when I am unsure of the future, but I have nothing to fear when the creator of the universe (and my son) has my back. Do I fail with letting Him provide for me? EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

Those following the economic view of happiness will be forever seeking it. I want a million dollars and when I get it, I will want a billion. When I get a billion, guess what I will want? How many stories have I heard about million and billionaires that do not have to worry about paying bills, having the latest things and clothes, or anything money can buy and yet they are so sad? People say, I wish I had that much money. I don’t. Greed IS NOT happiness. It is interesting looking at bank statements, seeing where we put our hard earned dollars ,and thinking if those things are things that have made us long term happy or short term.

I think happiness has a lot to do with the biological aspect. Humans are relational beings who no interaction with other human beings. Life is about creating relationships with others. Family is a key part of this view. A strong support system in place. Maybe this is why I got into what I want to do. If I can just be a friend to a student who might not have friends, I have done my job. Who knows, maybe they will do better in school or maybe they will possibly even think twice about hurting themselves. A lot of science has gone into discovering happiness like there is a magical pill or 3 step process to happiness. I don’t know about all that, but I do know what I have written above.

I don’t know… Without doing all kinds of research and philosophical or psychological ideas/ theories, and there are thousands of Happiness quotes, but…this is what I think. You?

Thanks for reading!! Have a GREAT day.

Remember that time...

Lets see here...

Login. Whats my login???? OH yeah...

Password, password, password....lets try this.....IT WORKED!

OK, new post. New post. New Post. Um, quick update on the Will Bosco's.

Well, lets start with BRYSON.
He his getting very big. Almost to the point of not being able to pick him up. He is keeping me in shape thats for sure. Its seems that he is learning new words EVERY day and mostly its because he just mimics (spl?) whatever Amanda or I do. We were driving the other day and I yelled at a bus to turn "GOOO" I said, and then like clockwork from the back seat I hear "GOO!" For the rest of the trip home, I randomly heard this same word coming from the back. He LOVES going to Promiseland at Willow every week and we LOVE LOVE LOVE the Promiseland volunteers! I should do a post all on the one that plays with Bryson every week. THANK YOU GINGER!!! Bryson gets to hang out with his Aunt Ruth every day and she has been a HUGE blessing for Amanda and I. So willing to do things with him and create experiences for him. It is something I hope he never forgets. We will be reminding him of these days for the rest of his life. RUTH, START SNAPPING SOME PICS HUH??? I should give you our old camera for you to use! (I could go on and on about B, but I'll stop there for now.)

Moving on to AMANDA.
Well into her teaching year. Its her 3rd? 4th? year? I dont remember. Anyway, she always comes home with cute stories about her little 1st graders. My personal opinion is that effective teachers take in their students as their own kids and Amanda is one of the best at this. We had the opportunity to go to one her students football games and he was so happy that she said she was coming and then actually came. The student was talking about it for days. Some days of teaching can be challenging, but its only because she cares so much. She wishes she had more Bryson time, but we try to plan that into our weekends and with this three-day weekend coming up, we have some time blocked out for the three of us.

Will (me)
So, still in school. Literally. I am in a school interning. Its the last thing before I become a master and I hopefully will feel like one at the end of the year. I am doing my school counseling internship at my best friends school (he pretty much got my the placement, THANKS BUDDY!). Its Lakewood Middle School. I have really enjoyed getting to know the students and staff there. The staff is awesome and the students are even better. It has been such a great learning experience and I am only 7-8 weeks in! I too am beginning to really miss my days with Bryson. Just in the past week, it has really hit me hard how much I miss him every day. Amanda also, we are having to really work at getting our family time in every week.

Thats a VERY quick update from the Bosco Blogfeed. I am working on an opinion piece based on a Philosophical Chair topic that was presented to others and myself recently.

Stay tuned.

Role Models

It has struck me recently that I have a son. I know, I know..."Ummm, Will, you have had a son for 18 months now...please tell me you knew this?"

I DO know this, but it has struck me that my son will grow up one day and like many of us, will have role models. Some of these role models will likely include sports figures of some kind. Thus is the subject of this current blog....

The two people I would like to touch on are people whom you have probably heard and now the story so I will spare the details. I would also like to touch on a subject in general and again, the details are known so I will not review them here.

Feel free to google these topics as you see necessary.

1. Evgeni Plushenko-in case you dont know this the Russian ice skater/dancer who won silver just recently

YOU JUST WON THE SILVER MEDAL AT THE OLYMPICS!!! Instead of displaying respect and self-dignity, he decides to bash the gold medal winner in every possible way. Including referring to his medal as "platinum" and not silver. It really frustrates me that this is the guy who basically ruled the mens ice skating world and I have lost all respect for him.

2. Tiger Woods

Do I really need to say anything? This guy claimed to stand for so many things. Well, I guess not Tiger. It is really difficult to accept his apology and I am not even a fan of golf?!?!

3. Professional Cheaters

Anything that gives you an unfair advantage in any sport is cheating. I am specifically talking about baseball. I am guilty of falling for the Sammy Sosa/ Mark Mcguire home run race. It was all a lie. All of the players, known and unknown, who have taken any kind of steroid, HGH, or whatever, have lost ALL respect from me. I would not even consider them baseball players and for surely dont have any place in the Hall of Fame.


All this to say, I have realized I will have to carefully watch who and how my son looks up to professional sports athletes as he grows. Which qualities is he really attaching himself to in these people? It truly is a shame. Maybe there is hope after all, I turned out OK and I looked up to many sports figures who...well, were much less than any kind of role model.

Any thoughts or tips for a young Dad?

~Will