Ever been called a Jack of Trades?  A Renaissance Man?  I've been called this way too many times...

Being a "jack" (for sake of not repeating the same expression) can have its advantages, but in the long run, according to what I'm seeing, it won't really take you anywhere.  So, having the ability to perform several things is both a blessing and a curse.  Here's why:

Blessing (in no particular order of preference):

1. Makes you look and feel cool.

2. Brings independence (to some extent) from relying on people to do things for you.

3. Makes you very versatile for job options.

4. Easier to be an asset to any job you work for (if you tell them your awesome secret).

Curse:

1. "Do-er" of all things, but a master of nothing ('nuff said).

2. Never able to go all that far with anything, unless you choose ONE thing. (Ever seen someone make a career of being a little good at everything?)

3. Telling people your "awesome" secret can result in you being exploited.  It's always great to go the extra mile, but it's not great to try to perform 7 jobs to then fail,  when you applied to perform 2 and can do it well.

4. The more you talk about be able to do everything, the more people will expect from you (which can eventually lead to many disappointments, if you're not careful).

I start reflecting on my young career and education and try to bring some type of closure to them both.  I think to myself: where do I go from here?  What do I focus on?  What is my passion?  What can I be REALLY good and make a significant impact doing?...I'll answer these questions when I get the answers to them.  Maybe we're both on the same boat?  If so, I hope and pray that you find the answers that you seek as well.

Thinking of this kind of brings to a point where I'm STRONGLY considering Grad School.  We'll see what happens y'all!  I'll keep you all updated.

Song of the Moment:

Rolling in the Deep - Adele (she's quite amazing, isn't she?)

Hello my fellow Larsians!

I want to start off by saying that I’m sooooo sorry about my hiatus from sharing my thoughts with you guys over the past few months.  It’s hard for me to get some time to sit down and just write.  Remember that job I told you guys about?  Yea, the A/V Director thing, yea, it’s been kicking my behind.  I love it though!  It keeps me real busy.  My personal motto over the past few months has been, “it’s better to be stressed with a job, than stressed without one, right?”  Aside from my job keeping me busy, I’ve also gotten lazy in the respect of sitting still to write, to learn, to listen, to practice, and so many other things.  In a sense, I’ve lost touch with a part of who I am, because I LOVE learning, but I don’t have, and don’t make, the time to do it.  I once heard a sermon, a few years ago, by a friend of mine, who emphasized a very important detail that I’ve kept in my heart since then; it was the notion of “learning in silence.”  Let that notion resonate and sink in for a second....A moment where you hang up the gloves of your busy lifestyle, your intellectual discourse, discussion (that can be reserved for later), and overall questioning (that can come later, too).  I find the moment a bit divine, in a sense.  One stands still for a moment in time, shuts up, and just listens.  Living in the city, we New Yorkers seldom have moments like that.  I miss those moments with all of my heart.   So, it’s not just blogging, that I’ve taken a figurative hiatus from, it’s also music, technology, and most things that I hold dear to me.

I, now, sit here in seat 31C on American Airlines flight 678 going back home from Puerto Rico.  My past week here hasn’t been the most ideal vacation experience.  It’s not to say that I didn’t have a great time, because I did.  But what comes to your mind when you think of a vacation in Puerto Rico?...Yup, I didn’t do any of that.  I took this vacation to simply do nothing and relax.  I would’ve LOVED to do nothing sitting on a beach, but it’s hurricane season, so it has rained pretty much every single day my friend and I were in PR.  It was great, however, to touch base with my adoptive family from Villalba and eat food that was cooked over wood.  If you’ve never eaten rice, beans, and chicken, or any other food cooked over wood, you have NOT lived.  It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  I also had a lot of time to sit down to think and reflect.  I did most of that in the shower.  I normally do a lot thinking, brainstorming, and even praying in the bathroom (aside from the obvious).  Now, in a sense, I feel rejuvenated, renewed even.  Biggest perspective?  You can’t wait for things to happen.  I’m not, by any means, implying that you should be impulsive and do things irrationally.  On the contrary, it’s more a call for you to make the careful decisions that will allow you fall into yourself and press forward with the goals you’ve set.  I hold the firm belief that God has laid out a destiny for all of us. Our destiny may not always be aligned with God’s, but that’s where free will comes in.  We choose what we want.  We decide what road to take, what paths to follow, and what destiny we want to fulfill.  Whatever the case may be with you,  the truth is that destiny doesn’t wait for you, it’s something you have to walk into. 

Have you ever gone through a moment where everyone around you is getting somewhere and you’re not?  It happens, at least in my experience, for two big reasons: First, it may not be your time.  As scripture says, “there is a time for everything, (Ecc. 3:1)”  and when you read between the lines of that verse, you learn an important lesson of patience.  Sometimes we need to learn to wait our turn.  It’ll come soon enough.  And second reason is that you could be stalling your own destiny, or stalling yourself from walking into it and ultimately fulfilling it.  You have the potential, you have the charm, you have all the right things, but you’re just not quite ready yet.  What’s stopping us? Could it be laziness?  Could it be lack of motivation?  Could it be fear?  You be the judge of that, but if you remain that way, life will just breeze through and pass you by.  Don’t EVER get comfortable with where you’re at. ALWAYS seek progress.  I know the aforementioned points may seem a bit contradictory, but believe me that there indeed is a difference between the two.  I’ll use myself as an example.  I used to be a pretty slim dude in my early teenage years.  However, over the years, I’ve gained a significant amount of weight.  Before July of this year, I weighed in at 247 pounds.  Now, I’m only 23, I’m young, strong, and still am a bit athletic.  However, me simply wanting to slim down didn’t resolve the issue.  I had to make disciplined decisions, and be on top of myself in order to see actual results.  It’s now September, and I now weigh 217 pounds.  I didn’t make any New Year’s Resolution this year, because I always mess those things up.  I just got up one morning and started running, and stopped eating so much junk (I still do, but moderately). I just went ahead and did it, and by God’s grace, I’ve gotten this far.  Nike’s slogan, “Just Do It,”  holds new meaning for me today.  I still have about 30 more pounds to go, but I’m proud to say that I’m half-way there.  I know I gained weight out here in PR, but I’ll burn it off soon.  Actually, I’m going to post some vlogs for you guys about my progress and changes, so stay tuned.

Back to my point: Think of my physical goal to lose weight as a comparison for our lives (bad one, I know).  My weight-loss goal being destiny, and my laziness being a factor in me stalling myself from getting to my goal, or in this case (for argument's sake), my destiny.  I have everything going for me; I’m still pretty healthy, and (thank God) have no physical complications that would impede from working out. I just didn’t bust my chops to make things happen.  An example like this applies in so many situations in life.  You have the tremendous potential to do something real special, but you’re stalling yourself.  Life does not, and will not, wait for you. It will just keep going.  You have to take advantage of it in order to get to where you want.  I hope I didn’t lose you guys with being so verbose.  It’s been a while since I’ve blogged.  Anywho guys, I hope the lessons that I’ve learned this past week will serve as a blessing to you, as it did for me.  I’m not going to promise anything, I’m just going to make things happen (like blogging more, and fixing this site up a bit, right?).  Until next time my friends!  Peace!

Song of the moment: “Words Darker Than Their Wings” by Alter Bridge (I’m pretty much addicted to this song.  It’s been on repeat the entire flight.)