The past month has been pure hell. Division III athletics shouldn’t have this kind of workload. Four times a week we meet to pound our bodies into submission, carelessly working our muscles until we can almost hear them cry for mercy. Six hours a week of workouts in the offseason? Something I’ve never heard of before. I can only imagine what is going to happen to us when the season begins. Not to mention the lifting and conditioning I have to do on my own, trying like mad to stay ahead of the game. All in all I’d say I spend about 10-12 hours a week punishing my body in hopes the rewards will be a starting goalkeeper position on St. Scholastica’s soccer team come fall. The past month has been pure hell, but there is nothing I’d rather sacrifice for. 

Ran across a quote from Vince Lombardi the other day. It read, “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a real loser.” This made some sense with me as I look around my world at people accepting failure like an everyday occurence and moving on without a second thought.

There is nothing wrong with failing…everyone does it. I’ve done it, you’ve done it, and we will both continue to do it. However, there should be something inside all of us as humans that makes us never want to fail again. There should be a burning sensation in your gut that makes you work harder and harder until your failures have dwindled down to the bare minimum.

There’s nothing better than succeeding, and there’s nothing worse than failing. That’s my view on things. When I succeed a smile is put on my face and I find myself looking forward to my next victory. When I fail, on the other hand, I find myself working to make sure I never experience it again. Obviously I do experience it again, but that does not deter my drive to try to make it stop.

The world today is so akin to mediocrity, and it sickens me. There could be extraordinary things happening in society today if we weren’t so afraid of failure. What’s worse is that the outside world does not help. When a person fails, we fill their lives with scorn and shame instead of doing the right thing and lending a helping hand.

Failure mustn’t be an option, in anything. There’s got to be a better option. And once you accept losing, you are branding yourself a loser forever. Losing should spark something…something deep inside of you that makes you determined not to lose the next time. So, go out into the world, and make the old Coach proud.

When a woman asks how they look, a man has a split second to answer correctly. Without looking, and that is crucial, a man must answer, “You’re beautiful,” without a second thought.

“Fine,” “Great,” and “Okay,” are not acceptable answers and will leave said man explaining himself for the next fortnight.

Also, a man cannot look at the woman before saying this, or even while saying this. Such an act will make the woman believe you needed reassurance and that the man does not think her to be beautiful no matter what she did to herself.

So, next time you are reading Sports Illustrated and a woman asks you how she looks, do not take your eyes off the Joe Mauer and Johan Santana centerfold and answer with a smile, “You’re beautiful.” She will love you more for it, and you don’t have to take two weeks out of your life to convice her she’s one of a kind.

This wasn’t the path I was supposed to take.

I wasn’t supposed to end up in interim at a two-year college. I worked hard throughout high school, did the work, and made the grades. I was going to be an architect student at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND.

This wasn’t the path I was supposed to take.

Once I moved away, I wasn’t supposed to move back home save for the summertime. Once I was on my own, I was supposed to stay on my own. I was going to be successful and move far away from home.

This wasn’t the path I was supposed to take.

This year was supposed to be enjoyable, not taxing. Freshmen year of college is where friendships are forged, lives are changed, and adults are made. My freshmen year of college has been trying, and has probably taken many years off my life.

This wasn’t the path I was supposed to take.

My eutopian view of freshmen year never panned out. However, something else has risen to new heights in my mind, the human spirit. If this year has taught me anything it is that a person can transcend anything negative and make it a positive. For the better part of a year I have been worrying about not reaching my goals…instead of formulating new goals. I focused on the past instead of looking towards the future, and the future seems much brighter than what is behind me.

So, when people ask how I’m doing, all I can do is smirk and throw them a wink. “This wasn’t the path I was supposed to take,” I say, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

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