I'm doing my best to not bore my readers to death, which is why I'm not blogging very much. I have many things to say, but not always worth others valuable time.
For some, time is money, but not for me. I enjoy getting in touch with my inner thoughts and speaking on behalf of what's really going on, all why trying to be informative.
That "informative" part, might not happen here so just warning you in advance.
I've decided that above all things, no matter how hard you try and no matter how hard you look, how smart you are, or how savvy you are in your ways, sometimes, the doors that are usually just waiting for you to open them, won't.
Though I have The Golden Key, the door that unlocks levels which would not exist otherwise had I not continued my education as I graduated from high school, are failing to open faster than normal.
"It's not about what you know, it's about who you know" couldn't be more true, nowadays.
I believe that most people are honest and we're all trying to help each other get to the next place we most desire to be. There's very few dishonest people in the world and most of us have made embarrassing mistakes that we are not proud to admit, but it's OK. Are you learning from them? That's all that matters.
Moving on.
I had had an idea sitting in the back of my head for quite sometime, only because I was a lifeguard for 3 years and was an assistant teacher for swimming lessons. I loved it. Though I was in college for six years, I continued in my search after graduating looking for jobs I could apply for, not just because I 'wanted a job and would do anything,' but I was looking for a job that fit my personality best.
You can't fool an interviewer as an interviewee. If you think you can, either you're a natural, or you haven't found what makes your heart sing and are allowing yourself to settle for anything but what makes you the happiest.
I typed the job title "lifeguard" into the a Web site search engine I'm currently a member of called LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanr09) and looked to see what the outcome of job postings were. *Jaw. Hit. Floor* I noticed that Lifetime Fitness was in the process of hiring, though I didn't know how many people had applied for the same job.
What did I do? What most people are afraid to do -- I called Lifetime and asked to speak with the Aquatics Director.
I told her my background, why I wanted to work for Lifetime and our conversation lasted at least 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes!! And let me just say that I was pumped by the time we were done speaking.
I see myself being in Aquatics, taking classes to become a certified Swim Instructor and staying with this company for quite sometime. Not only this, I can eventually use my Mass Comm degree and put it to good use.
I hope that someday soon, I can be the hero and the "best swim teacher" (according to a future student of mine) while thoroughly enjoying my co-workers, the company I plan on pursuing a career with and the success that will occur each and everyday. Because I've chosen to take on a career in Aquatics, I'm also choosing to save lives and possibly be the swim teacher I've longed to become for the past two years.
What I desire is quite simple: a level of responsibility some may take for grantide and everyday challenges for not only myself, but my future students. This has become my own Golden Key.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
"...yet I feel empty"
Society has this image:
- Graduate from high school (18)
- Move away for college
- Study hard
- Find "The One"
- Graduate
- Find a job
- Get engaged/married
- Buy a house
- Start a family (sooooo by the time you're 26??)
Well, I'm not exactly 26, but I HAVE completed 4 of the 9 things. But the clock is ticking...
I have every right to feel behind because of society's "expectations" and it's not any fun. Society is making me feel empty and is draining me of my "belonging."
There's a quote about college that I know of and this part of it (off the top of my head):
You have "four years" here to goof off, be irresponsible, date, spend money that you may or may not have, stay up all night and become someone you never knew you could be or had the ability to become.
It's Vegas without the slot machines.
(HA. Did I really just say that? *laughs to self* That's the first time that's ever come to mind.)
This image I have in my head is starting to bug me and I'm losing sleep over it. Quite literally.
I'm at this point in life where everything is competitive though...and I feel that the world is way too competitive. Here's a question for you:
Are you a robot? Is your best friend a robot? Is your boss a robot? How about your co-workers?
We are choosing to live like robots. Yet we've been giving the ability to become anything we want. I like social media. Don't get me wrong. Gosh, I enjoy talking to people a lot. I'm one of those people never wants the night to end, usually. But I think that we sometimes need to treat each other like the human beings we know we are, not always demand.
My main problem? Not all companies are hiring, even though there's always "demand" for 'this or that.' It's far and few in between when it comes to call backs. So, I'm supposed to take whatever I can get, right? Right. *paused* Wait...what if my dream job is currently not available because of the economy, even though there will always be demand in this world? Do I make it happen by my own free will? I just personally feel very stuck. I'm graduating and society is making me feel as if I'm drowning into nothing. Yet, I asked for none of this.
I know I'm not perfect, but I promise, I'm worth it.
- Graduate from high school (18)
- Move away for college
- Study hard
- Find "The One"
- Graduate
- Find a job
- Get engaged/married
- Buy a house
- Start a family (sooooo by the time you're 26??)
Well, I'm not exactly 26, but I HAVE completed 4 of the 9 things. But the clock is ticking...
I have every right to feel behind because of society's "expectations" and it's not any fun. Society is making me feel empty and is draining me of my "belonging."
There's a quote about college that I know of and this part of it (off the top of my head):
You have "four years" here to goof off, be irresponsible, date, spend money that you may or may not have, stay up all night and become someone you never knew you could be or had the ability to become.
It's Vegas without the slot machines.
(HA. Did I really just say that? *laughs to self* That's the first time that's ever come to mind.)
This image I have in my head is starting to bug me and I'm losing sleep over it. Quite literally.
I'm at this point in life where everything is competitive though...and I feel that the world is way too competitive. Here's a question for you:
Are you a robot? Is your best friend a robot? Is your boss a robot? How about your co-workers?
We are choosing to live like robots. Yet we've been giving the ability to become anything we want. I like social media. Don't get me wrong. Gosh, I enjoy talking to people a lot. I'm one of those people never wants the night to end, usually. But I think that we sometimes need to treat each other like the human beings we know we are, not always demand.
My main problem? Not all companies are hiring, even though there's always "demand" for 'this or that.' It's far and few in between when it comes to call backs. So, I'm supposed to take whatever I can get, right? Right. *paused* Wait...what if my dream job is currently not available because of the economy, even though there will always be demand in this world? Do I make it happen by my own free will? I just personally feel very stuck. I'm graduating and society is making me feel as if I'm drowning into nothing. Yet, I asked for none of this.
I know I'm not perfect, but I promise, I'm worth it.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Liberation vs. Terrorism
I'm taking a class called Intro. to Speech Communication 190.
It's all online material and the lectures to me, are boring. Well, most are. Some students have been engaged in this art of rhetoric material, though every once in a while, I'll hear my professor more clearly in other parts of these lectures than I do in others. I heard him loud and clear just moment ago.
I came across this part in my professors lecture:
What is the nature of the world created by Rhetoric?
Social-Constructivist
Through the use of language, individuals come together & build a community. It is only through language that we can understand one another, it is only through language that we can understand the world, live & affect the world.
Therefore, the world is both a reflection and creation of our use of language.
The language we use, the symbols we use, create the world in our image.
Terministic Screen
Is like a filter that stands between each person and the world that s/he observes. The symbols that we use, create a screen or filter, and that screen changes what we’re able to see out of it. A screen or filter lets in certain things and keeps others out. As screen or filter distorts what we're able to see in the distance and magnifies other things that we can see.
Example: when we were little kids, the symbol "dog" meant just about anything with four legs and fur. We drove by a field and pointed to the cows and said, "dog." We saw a cat and said, "dog." We saw a bear in the zoo and said, "dog." All we could see through our screen, were dogs.
When we got a better screen, we could see the difference.
"A choice of words, is a choice of worlds." - Kenneth Burke
Simply put: When we use one symbol, rather than another, we create a different world.
When we say "Terrorist," we create one world. When we say "Freedom Fighter," we create another world.
When we name a situation, that situation is so devine, it requires certain actions. Those actions are discint to that situation.
Rhetoric allows for people to choose the most appropriate action for each situation.
For instance: We are at war in Iraq. We term that situation a war against terror.
When we used that term, it sets up the rules that we have to live by and we have to play by in this war.
Had we used something else, such as a term we used in the 90s, a Liberation for example when we removed Iraq from Kuwait, all we had to do was take care of moving one person out of another area.
Now we use the term "War against terror," and we have a whole different set of rules we have to deal with.
Rhetoric tells us how we should feel about situations, rhetoric tells us what behaviors are appropriate, rhetoric tells us how to draw comparisions and distinctions.
Rhetoric provides a map of that world and also provides a key for that map.
If you want a definition of rhetoric, I do not have one for you.
Go here: http://www.amazon.com/History-Theory-Rhetoric-James-Herrick/dp/0205566731/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240778279&sr=1-1
and you'll see the book I've been studying out of for this class.
I thought this was an interesting example he used. Let me know your thoughts!
It's all online material and the lectures to me, are boring. Well, most are. Some students have been engaged in this art of rhetoric material, though every once in a while, I'll hear my professor more clearly in other parts of these lectures than I do in others. I heard him loud and clear just moment ago.
I came across this part in my professors lecture:
What is the nature of the world created by Rhetoric?
Social-Constructivist
Through the use of language, individuals come together & build a community. It is only through language that we can understand one another, it is only through language that we can understand the world, live & affect the world.
Therefore, the world is both a reflection and creation of our use of language.
The language we use, the symbols we use, create the world in our image.
Terministic Screen
Is like a filter that stands between each person and the world that s/he observes. The symbols that we use, create a screen or filter, and that screen changes what we’re able to see out of it. A screen or filter lets in certain things and keeps others out. As screen or filter distorts what we're able to see in the distance and magnifies other things that we can see.
Example: when we were little kids, the symbol "dog" meant just about anything with four legs and fur. We drove by a field and pointed to the cows and said, "dog." We saw a cat and said, "dog." We saw a bear in the zoo and said, "dog." All we could see through our screen, were dogs.
When we got a better screen, we could see the difference.
"A choice of words, is a choice of worlds." - Kenneth Burke
Simply put: When we use one symbol, rather than another, we create a different world.
When we say "Terrorist," we create one world. When we say "Freedom Fighter," we create another world.
When we name a situation, that situation is so devine, it requires certain actions. Those actions are discint to that situation.
Rhetoric allows for people to choose the most appropriate action for each situation.
For instance: We are at war in Iraq. We term that situation a war against terror.
When we used that term, it sets up the rules that we have to live by and we have to play by in this war.
Had we used something else, such as a term we used in the 90s, a Liberation for example when we removed Iraq from Kuwait, all we had to do was take care of moving one person out of another area.
Now we use the term "War against terror," and we have a whole different set of rules we have to deal with.
Rhetoric tells us how we should feel about situations, rhetoric tells us what behaviors are appropriate, rhetoric tells us how to draw comparisions and distinctions.
Rhetoric provides a map of that world and also provides a key for that map.
If you want a definition of rhetoric, I do not have one for you.
Go here: http://www.amazon.com/History-Theory-Rhetoric-James-Herrick/dp/0205566731/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240778279&sr=1-1
and you'll see the book I've been studying out of for this class.
I thought this was an interesting example he used. Let me know your thoughts!
Friday, March 13, 2009
LINKEDIN [easy access to my page]
I figured I could blog about this on here.
Go ahead and take a peek if you're interested!
http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=23667340&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro
Go ahead and take a peek if you're interested!
http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=23667340&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro
Thursday, March 12, 2009
All right. For those of you who don't 'get' it, or want to 'get' it, or are on a balance beam and haven't found your focus yet:
http://www.twitip.com/how-to-follow-alot-of-people-on-twitter-and-still-be-engaging-using-tweetdeck/
Thanks to Kelly Olexa from Chicago.
PRSSA members: I'd get in contact with her if I was you before you leave for Chicago in April. I don't know whose interested in what though. Your main focus might be agencies, but as pr people, we do know it's good to keep our horizons open.
http://www.twitip.com/how-to-follow-alot-of-people-on-twitter-and-still-be-engaging-using-tweetdeck/
Thanks to Kelly Olexa from Chicago.
PRSSA members: I'd get in contact with her if I was you before you leave for Chicago in April. I don't know whose interested in what though. Your main focus might be agencies, but as pr people, we do know it's good to keep our horizons open.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Green (but not with envy) and ready to go!
"Believe in Yourself," is a small book --maybe a 3"x 5"-- is a great inspiration to me. And once again, I'm keeping this one short. I'm exhausted.
"Don't be frustrated by your inexperience -- all green things inevitably grow."
"Sound the note that calls to your soul." - Sanaya Roman
"Be courageous. It's one of the only places left uncrowded."
"If you don't take control of your life, don't complain when others do."
"If at first you don't succeed - try setting more realistic goals."
"Being busy doesn't necessarily mean you are being productive."
"Apologize, don't agonize."
"There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from." - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
"Falling's part of the game. It's like my dad always says: "No matter how good you are, the ice is still slippery." - Michelle Kwan
I have very little experience in public relations, but I know that once I get going, I'm going to do great things. Mankato, for me, plays a different tune and I'm not so good at playing along with it, especially because my first reaction isn't to call my friends on "Thirsty Thursday" and ask them to go to the bar. I'd rather go skiing, to a movie, a theater show, or to some restaurant downtown Minneapolis that I've never been to.
I do find it difficult to be courageous in this world today, because I feel inferior. But that right there...that word "inferior," isn't an option today or tomorrow especially if I wake up and I'm given the gift of being able to awaken to the sun shining. I don't know exactly what it's like to have somebody take complete control over my life either, however, I know what it's like to be pushed into something I'm not comfortable doing. But soon, I'll have the option to be able to be the interviewee and ask questions. I'm putting myself in the interviewers shoes, for now.
School just...quite simply, isn't my thing. I'm all about entertainment.
I'm currently, busy, being me. Donating plasma twice a week, doing homework, going to class, watching The O.C. (I own all four seasons), hanging out with my friends and finding out what my "dream job" is. I'm not being productive...at all. I'm doing what I need to do, to get to the next step.
It's so, so, so, easy, to point fingers when we make mistakes. But each time I do so, I've got three pointing right back at me, unless I have an actual story.
I'm learning though, in this life. Roughly a quarter of a centry old and I'm finally starting to get this life.
It feels good and so awesome to know what it's like to really start living. Are you truely living?
I believe in myself = key ingredient. How do I know?? Because I know. I am inexperienced, but all green things must inevitably grow.
"Don't be frustrated by your inexperience -- all green things inevitably grow."
"Sound the note that calls to your soul." - Sanaya Roman
"Be courageous. It's one of the only places left uncrowded."
"If you don't take control of your life, don't complain when others do."
"If at first you don't succeed - try setting more realistic goals."
"Being busy doesn't necessarily mean you are being productive."
"Apologize, don't agonize."
"There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from." - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
"Falling's part of the game. It's like my dad always says: "No matter how good you are, the ice is still slippery." - Michelle Kwan
I have very little experience in public relations, but I know that once I get going, I'm going to do great things. Mankato, for me, plays a different tune and I'm not so good at playing along with it, especially because my first reaction isn't to call my friends on "Thirsty Thursday" and ask them to go to the bar. I'd rather go skiing, to a movie, a theater show, or to some restaurant downtown Minneapolis that I've never been to.
I do find it difficult to be courageous in this world today, because I feel inferior. But that right there...that word "inferior," isn't an option today or tomorrow especially if I wake up and I'm given the gift of being able to awaken to the sun shining. I don't know exactly what it's like to have somebody take complete control over my life either, however, I know what it's like to be pushed into something I'm not comfortable doing. But soon, I'll have the option to be able to be the interviewee and ask questions. I'm putting myself in the interviewers shoes, for now.
School just...quite simply, isn't my thing. I'm all about entertainment.
I'm currently, busy, being me. Donating plasma twice a week, doing homework, going to class, watching The O.C. (I own all four seasons), hanging out with my friends and finding out what my "dream job" is. I'm not being productive...at all. I'm doing what I need to do, to get to the next step.
It's so, so, so, easy, to point fingers when we make mistakes. But each time I do so, I've got three pointing right back at me, unless I have an actual story.
I'm learning though, in this life. Roughly a quarter of a centry old and I'm finally starting to get this life.
It feels good and so awesome to know what it's like to really start living. Are you truely living?
I believe in myself = key ingredient. How do I know?? Because I know. I am inexperienced, but all green things must inevitably grow.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Job--less . . . Fear--less: the future is my own.
I've been out of a job for longer than I expected.
What I have more time for -and more time than I desire for- is homework. But I haven't been doing homework every waking moment.
I'm using this time to find out what my desires are and finding out what happens when the sun doesn't want to shine and I feel like somewhat running out of time.
Point blank: it's a rollercoaster ride, but I'm not just sitting on my couch waiting for something to just 'fall into my lap.'
Nowadays, I'm taking control over my next destiny and I have the opportunity to take all the time in the world to find out what opportunities are out there. Just read an article by Glamour [http://www.glamour.com/] and take a look at who is on the front cover. I read this and I like it. Gave me another piece of motivation.
Right now, I'm standing up for me, even when everything is seems to be falling apart.
The life I lead isn't stressful, it's uneasy, but I have all the control in the world as to where I want to make my next move.
I know what I want and who I am: I care about people and listen to what they want, I may not always have the words I'm looking for when I need them, and your dang right I stumble, but I am picky about detail and notice the little things and then speak on them. I'm strong-willed, sometimes carefree.
Here's another thought: If the bills are being paid, I can take my vacations and still enjoy my time with family and friends and then have some left over for whatever, that's what I'm looking for. Comfort. Not a huge paycheck. I wouldn't know what to do with $1 million.
I do know what I'd do though if I won the lottery. As I mentioned before, I'm a care-giver. I'd pay off my debt, my families and a few others. I'd also buy my parents their dream retirement home, invest, buy a few cars that I'm interested in and then I'd continue working. And heck yes, I would donate a big portion of it to charity.
If you don't think you quite get who I am by now, then I don't know what you're not getting. Especially if you've kept up with the pieces I'm writing.
What I have more time for -and more time than I desire for- is homework. But I haven't been doing homework every waking moment.
I'm using this time to find out what my desires are and finding out what happens when the sun doesn't want to shine and I feel like somewhat running out of time.
Point blank: it's a rollercoaster ride, but I'm not just sitting on my couch waiting for something to just 'fall into my lap.'
Nowadays, I'm taking control over my next destiny and I have the opportunity to take all the time in the world to find out what opportunities are out there. Just read an article by Glamour [http://www.glamour.com/] and take a look at who is on the front cover. I read this and I like it. Gave me another piece of motivation.
Right now, I'm standing up for me, even when everything is seems to be falling apart.
The life I lead isn't stressful, it's uneasy, but I have all the control in the world as to where I want to make my next move.
I know what I want and who I am: I care about people and listen to what they want, I may not always have the words I'm looking for when I need them, and your dang right I stumble, but I am picky about detail and notice the little things and then speak on them. I'm strong-willed, sometimes carefree.
Here's another thought: If the bills are being paid, I can take my vacations and still enjoy my time with family and friends and then have some left over for whatever, that's what I'm looking for. Comfort. Not a huge paycheck. I wouldn't know what to do with $1 million.
I do know what I'd do though if I won the lottery. As I mentioned before, I'm a care-giver. I'd pay off my debt, my families and a few others. I'd also buy my parents their dream retirement home, invest, buy a few cars that I'm interested in and then I'd continue working. And heck yes, I would donate a big portion of it to charity.
If you don't think you quite get who I am by now, then I don't know what you're not getting. Especially if you've kept up with the pieces I'm writing.
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