3 Everyday

Today, I've been relaxing and thinking about some of my short-term and long-term goals. I'm still formulating these goals, but I have three concepts that I want to live by everyday moving forward:

1. "Bring It" Everyday!

2. Do My Best! 

3. Be The Best... Period! 

The first idea comes from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Back in the day, in the attitude era, The Rock used to tell his opponents to "just bring it!" Now, he has this social media concept of #TeamBringIt. For me "Bring It" Everyday means to come prepared and do what I need to do each and every day. 

Secondly, there is no reason why I should not "do my best," but the word "do" is the most important thing here. I'm focusing on "doing" and not thinking about it or doing it tomorrow; now is the time i.e., "do" now. 

Finally, I want to the be the best... period: the absolute best. I'm going to be perfectly honest here: I want to be the best Project 55 Fellow in the program. And there's nothing wrong with this. Instead, think about it this way: (1) It's the idea that if you think you are and you act like it, you will become, (2) I want to do my part in contributing to enhancing the technological opportunities available to our students, and (3) and a little competition is healthy. 

After writing something like this, I need to make sure I back up my words; it starts tomorrow! 

 

A Whole New Ballgame!

Wow... the past few days have just been unreal! I received the call on Thursday night, gave my commitment on Friday morning, and will start a week from tomorrow (Monday April 30th).

I am now a Princeton Project 55 Fellow and member of the Digital Promise team. And it's a whole new ballgame!

Here the background information:

The Princeton Project 55 Fellowship Program is a nationwide program that places recent Princeton graduates with non-profit, service-oriented organizations in order to give them experience and insights into civic engagement and public service. The placements take the form of one-year fellowships with various organizations in a variety of fields including education and public health. Moreover, each Project 55 Fellow is paired with a mentor who has also pursued a career in non-profit and is available for advice/guidance.

My organization is awesome and is based in Washington D.C.! Digital Promise - I need to use the exact language from the website:

"Digital Promise is an independent 501(c)(3), created through Section 802 of the federal Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, authorizing a nonprofit corporation known as the National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies (Digital Promise). According to the statute, Digital Promise’s purpose is "to support a comprehensive research and development program to harness the increasing capacity of advanced information and digital technologies to improve all levels of learning and education, formal and informal, in order to provide Americans with the knowledge and skills needed to compete in the global economy."

In other words, we work to bring in the latest and most effective technologies into America's classrooms.

I'm super-pumped! I can't say too much yet, but I'll be working to support Digital Promise's mission in various ways; hopefully I'll be able to share more soon!

April: The Season Finale?

I'm a TV fanatic and "back in the day" my two favorite shows were 24 and Smallville. Every April and May, I would watch both of these shows obsessively each week - even in college when I had major papers and other assignments due. And of course, there was the finale of both of these shows. For Jack Bauer, all of the business and chaos of the previous 22 hours would wrap up in a two-hour finale, thus concluding the day. Conversely, Smallville season finales were cliffhangers and followed a certain formula: Clark Kent would complete a villain or complete a task in the season finale, only to introduce (or strongly hint at) the villain or task  that would span the entirety of the following season. I need to explain this for those folks who never watched Smallville: At the end of the eighth season, Clark defeats Doomsday, but in that every same episode, Zod (or at least his younger clone Colonial Zod) was unleashed upon Earth and served as the primary antagonist for Season Nine. Anyway, I feel that April is going to be the finale of this "season" of my life.

I can best describe this period of my life by naming my two primary activities: (1) "Figuring things out" and (2) volunteering with the Princeton Club of Washington. In terms of "figuring things out," I now know what I want to do: pursue a public service oriented career with an emphasis on public policy and education. Although I'm not going to reveal too many (actually any) details here, I'm happy to say that I have an interview soon for a position relating to these aims and I'm pumped; I need and what this. At the moment, I'm doing my homework so I'll be prepared to "bring it" when the time comes. For months, I've spent entire days in D.C. area libraries researching and applying for opportunities - I'm tired of doing that and I'm sick of being on the sidelines... like I said, I need this! 

Secondly, since the beginning of the calendar year (2012), I've had the pleasure of serving as the Programs Chair for the Princeton Club of Washington. I've enjoyed putting together various programs for my fellow alums and meeting some amazing people. Later this month, I am going to have an opportunity to meet some more amazing people: potential members of Princeton's Class of 2016. I'm happy to say that later this month, on Tuesday April 24th to be exact, I will have the privilege of speaking to these (hopefully) new Tigers at our new admits reception on Capital Hill. Even though I've done this plenty of times before on campus at the Carl A. Fields Center, this is on another level. For five minutes, I'll be delivering remarks to these new Princetonians in front of their parents, siblings, relatives, my fellow alums, and members of Congress - this is a big deal and I'm looking forward to it! But I'm not doing this alone. If you are a Princetonian (active undergraduate or alum), you can help me by commenting on this note: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150886920249046

It looks like things are coming to a head. I know that some things never end such as continuing to "figure things out" and being a Tiger - that's for life; however, this stagnation is over. 

P.S.: This is for you NS <3: #AprilTheSeasonFinale 

#DoOrDieMarch: The Conclusion

Wow, what a month...

Thanks to everyone who supported and encouraged me throughout the month of March. It's only fair that if you followed me, you also know how this little slice of my life wrapped up:

After I left N4A, I had expected to begin an internship with a local public schools system. Unfortunately, the arrangements fell through and I am currently back on the sidelines; however, this development turned out to be a positive (and that internship may yet develop, nothing's off the table). I've had a chance to focus and zero in on what I really enjoy: youth development and creating supplemental educational opportunities for kids. I'm happy to say that I've identified some potential opportunities and am now pursuing those aggressively. Moreover, I've had another positive interview that may lead to another promising opportunity - let's see what happens.

So that's the practical side of things; here's the life lesson: "just go for it"

I think that one of the feelings that I experienced (maybe because I manufactured it lol) was a sense of urgency. Every time I wrote a blog entry about #DoOrDieMarch, didn't it seem like there was a tone of "OMG, I need to get this done" or "it's sometime right now?" I enjoyed having this feeling and it made me feel alive. Although I already knew this, this past month reinforced the idea that most of the time (85-90%) you just need to go for it. Here are some of the best examples of me "just going for it" from recent memory:

• Action: Just talking to that random person sitting next to me on the back of the Megabus, Result: befriending an awesome person named Rachel

• Action: Deciding to take Black Queer Studies (a class with a large writing component), Result: most moving, touching academic/intellectual experience of my life 

• Action: Taking that phone call and interview from a temp agency, Result: having an incredible experience at N4A 

 

Overall, last month was awesome! #DoOrDieMarch is officially in the books and now it's time for April. It's going to be a BIG month, but we'll skip the hashtags this time :) 

P.S.: Wrestlemania was freakin' amazing! My favorite match was HHH vs. Undertaker in Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee - that was storytelling at its finest. Also, I'm glad the Rock won. And what about Daniel Bryan? 

YES, YES, YES, YES!