Lessons Learned
#1
Tonight I played "Life" with some friends from the apt complex. And you know, even the most simple games will teach you interesting lessons. In the game, you choose which route you want to take in "life:" education, work, family, or fun. The boys I played with both chose family (Go BYU, eh?). I, on the other hand, chose work. I was interested to see how the results panned out: I happened to get low numbers, and since we were playing a shorter time frame, I didn't have time to really get onto other things: I was making significantly more money than the boys, but they were on the married phase and having twins. No lie, I was JEALOUS! Yeah, it was a game, but we were all laughing and "naming" our spouses, etc. They would say, "How many kids do you have??" to each other, and all I could ask was, "What's your salary?" I'm not saying live a poor life and don't try to make money, but where was the gratification? I had the nicest car, so I moved the fastest in the game, but I only needed that to cover up the lack of other successes I wish I'd had. I got to thinking how often we really try to do interesting things to cover up our insecurities:
- we tell white lies to cover our discomfort in a situation and call ourselves saints for doing so
- if you are still living & loving the dating game, you feel obligated to play the *stupid* *cough cough* cat-and-mouse game
- brag up a strength we have or feel we have because we're afraid if we don't have a quality, trait, or desirable hobby, then we are invalidated
- compare our "accomplishments" to other peoples'
Just a few.
Aren't we all interesting people? Isn't it crazy you can learn so much from a Saturday night Life game in Apt. 12?
#2
I went to a meeting talking about the Foreign Service; this is a career choice I am exploring. Several points he made were so poignant that I had to blog about it, for goodness sake! INFO meetings are happening places, little did you know.
He said, and I quote: "We are from such a stifled, tight-ass culture we forget people are either your murderer or your lover for but the way you treat them. If you just treat people decently, they will roll out the red carpet. Please and thank you , if they were part of the U.S. International vernacular, would move mountains. Just say please and thank you. Listen to your grandma, for heavens' sakes, and you will go places."
Apart from snickering to myself in that a speaker at BYU swore, I found such great meaning to his words. I saw this in a real sense while in Africa: there, the Ugandan people treated the "mzungus," or white people, like gold. And we responded with (I think) grace and gratitude. I was...honored... to be treated so nicely. We really needed leave a mark that Americans were good people who displayed kindness, understanding, and love at all times.
The next part of what he said gave me CHILLS, and I hope to be the type of person he describes.
There are people where, when their names are mentioned, you'll say, 'Wow, I want to work there. With her.' You do not make a reputation or lose a reputation in one act, or one day.
No pressure, but, to borrow from Footloose:
The end.
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