Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "rejuvenate".

For those that work in student affairs, it should be no surprise that these posts have been very sporadic in the month of October. With the combination of student midterms, homecoming, wedding events, Halloween festivities, and many more events on campus, things have gotten fairly hectic. 


One of the projects I'm currently working on with our new school counselor is a group counseling session for a group of about seven students. Although everything said in the group is confidential (and should stay that way), I started our first session with an ice breaker. A few years back I had created a question ball with over 200 questions on it and it is always a fun way to ease a group into different discussion points. While throwing around the ball, one of the questions that came up was, "If you could go back and change anything in your life, what would it be?" I honestly forgot I had written that question because it is one of my least favorite questions to break the ice. It's kind of hard to explain, but it puts the participant in a bad position. 


First and foremost they are recalling a negative aspect of their life and then have to share it with the group. In many ways this may bring back old memories that a student may have wished to be forgotten and then they have to relive the embarrassment of that event. If the event was bad, they may not share it and then feel guilty for not being honest with the group.


The second aspect is part of a bigger element of rejuvenation. We see this in skin care products all the time. Return your skin to the way it looked five years ago! Undo those stretch marks and winkles. By no means am I telling anyone what to do with their bodies, they have the right to do whatever they want, but it is the society principle of youth is beauty. Getting older is just a way of life, by fighting it, in many ways you are just losing over and over again. We cannot live forever, nor should we ever! Read 'Tuck Everlasting' if you disagree. In many ways you have to follow the direction of the river and enjoy it instead of restoring a previous time in our lives. Too many people live their lives fighting the current and becoming exhausted from this experience. I've found the happiest people in life are the ones that enjoy the ride. Wear the wrinkles and past experiences with pride, they tell a story and realize this is usually a sign of wisdom and knowledge. It is okay to be scared of the unknown and scared of death, heck that is one of my biggest fears! But it is also important to not worry about things you don't have control over. If you spend your whole life worrying about things that may happen or things that have already happened, are you really living in the first place? Caution in life can be healthy, but worry will not get you far. 


The last point I would like to end up on is to look at your past with fondness, but also look to the future and live in the present. You can't go back in time to change who you were, but you do have the power to change who you are now. If you are happy with who you are, don't wish to undo previous experiences, those experiences have led you to who you are right now. There is nothing that says if you undid a prior experience, you wouldn't turn around and do the same mistake later in life. Things happen for a reason and often enough, they happen at a right time as well. It is human to make mistakes, but it is also superhuman to take those mistakes and own them. When someone asks you "If you could go back and change anything in your life, what would it be?" I hope you simply smile and respond, "I wouldn't change a thing!"


Question Time: What are some events in your past that have made you who you are today?           

Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "destiny".

Sometimes life doesn't work the way you had originally anticipated. They say the easiest way to make God laugh is to tell him your future plans. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, but we also are given the choice to follow the reason. 

One of my favorite chick flicks is "Serendipity", in many ways this movie is just funny how "things happen by chance" and sometimes they just fall together in the end. In many aspects the movie goes a little over the top with these happenstances, but it really makes you wonder if we are just not seeing the workings of the world around us because we are too close. If we cannot see the air we breath, can fish not see the water? Maybe we are too close to the problem to see the solution.

Many years ago, I ran into a church out of the rain and wasn't in the best of moods. I always went with a group of friends to this church every Sunday, and because it was raining, they had all ditched out because they didn't want to get wet. The rain was coming down pretty hard that day, so I really don't blame them, but as a younger student in college who didn't know many people, I wasn't very happy to be by myself. The pews were already filling up pretty fast, so I picked a pew at random and dried myself off. Right before we were about to begin, a few people sat down next to me. I didn't really notice them too much. When we were starting to sing the first hymn, I realized our pew did not have enough books, so I had to share with the person beside me. As the service continued, I noticed how pretty this girl. The last song was a nightmare to sing, it sped up and slowed down uncontrollably and this girl and I kept getting stuck on the verses. This opened up a conversation at the end of the service and the next thing I know, one thing led to another and after dinner together we were dating within the month. This girl was my first kiss (I was a late bloomer) and had a big impact on my life.

Although it has been years since we broke up and moved on, I constantly think, "what if". What if it hadn't been raining and my friends had joined me, what if I had picked a different row to sit in, what if we had enough books in the pews, what if the last song was a normal song, what if we hadn't struck up a conversation after the service? There were so many variables to consider and all of them happened to fall right into place. Of course I believe things happen by a sweet chance of serendipity, but I also believe we have a destiny to fill as well. Of course we will always have free will, but sometimes when you step back in order to see the world around you, just make sure you don't miss something. 

Some of you may have noticed I have not been keeping up with the "daily" blog as much as I should and although I will try to continue on a normal basis, sometimes there are also bigger things at play. Sometimes my destiny may be calling me in another direction. A big goal of mine is to finish this 365 post project. I'm moving into post 130 tomorrow and I'm almost half-way done, but there are still many more beautiful things that might come up between then and now. The world works in mysterious ways, sometimes you just have to enjoy the ride. :)

Question time: Do you believe in destiny? 

Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "patience".

For those that do not know, I am a big fan of the game, 'Scrabble'. Maybe it is because I'm good at it, or maybe just because I'm competitive and any game is fun to me, but Scrabble is usually my go-to game. I always love when you start seeing the potential of a big word coming into focus and once you lay down the other unneeded tiles in hopes of getting that final big word, you have to just beam as soon as you pick up the letters you need. Boom! 50 points! 

When I was being interviewed for the job I have now, my boss told me that I would be literally building the department from the ground up. As someone who enjoys a challenge, of course I immediately jumped on the band wagon and was ready to rock and roll! I am moving into my fifth month of working at Piedmont and we have already started seeing some amazing things in our department! 

Michelangelo once said, Lord, grant that I might always desire more than I can accomplish." I've always liked this quote because it shows that there is never a finished point to your work (or a least there never should be). Just like my work at Piedmont, I am still working to change the department and school mentality for the better and greater good for the students. It will never be a finished job, there will always be new obstacles that come into play and there will always be a need for improvements (that's just life, there is going to be change), but just like that scrabble game, if you see a goal and play your little successes as you can see them, you will eventually get that 50 pointer! 

Patience is essential for getting what you want. Things are not simply handed straight over to you within the second of you asking for them. Trust, respect and success are things that must be earned over time. With this being said, however, things don't magically happen if you just wait. Patience is only one side of the coin. As you wait for some goals to mature with time, you must also continue playing the game. It is necessary to play the other smaller tiles to get them out of the way before you can win. If you are simply sitting at the board and waiting, it will be your turn forever and the game will come to a sudden halt. 

Patience can be a wicked concept. If you wait long enough and you play the game while you wait, you might get what you want, but time is also someone you are playing against. If you are waiting for the big pointer and are playing 5 point words here and there while your counterpart is playing 10-20 point words, your patience was in vain and time got the best of you. The best solution is to figure out what you are wanting to fight for and keep fighting, sometimes you manage to get that 50 pointer, sometimes you have to cut your loses and go for some smaller wins. This can be said about any work goals you might see. I didn't convert them over to being in the student affairs world, but I know they are living a better life because of me. The magic thing about this concept is that the smaller wins could eventually build up to be bigger than the big win. Win as many battles before you try to take on the war. Patience will win out in the long run.  

Question time: What is a goal you are aiming for which needs a little patience before you obtain it?

Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "promise".

So with the combination of being tired and sore from bubble soccer (click here to find out what bubble soccer is!), I PROMISE I will give you a good post tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the video below, simply hilarious!