I MUST BE CRAZY

I’ve recently made perhaps one of the most difficult decisions in my life, I’ve decided to go back to school. Many of you would probably assume it’s for my MBA but it’s actually for physical therapy. Even when I think about it, I wonder if I’m crazy. I’m completely switching career paths going from business to science when the last real science class I took was physics in 12th grade.

Since college, I’ve had one friend in particular always stressing to me to do something in life I’m really passionate about. He brought up the fact that I’ll be doing this for the next 40-45 years of my life. Although I am very blessed and fortunate to have been hired by Accenture, after experiencing it for the past 5+ months, I’ve come to the realization that I can’t see myself in the office setting 40-50 hours a week for the next 40-45 years of my life. I know many will say it’s way too early to judge but I’d much rather be doing something I enjoy then doing something where I am simply going through the motions. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with office work but it’s just not for me.

There is a lot of competition in the business world and the way it works at Accenture is you are matched with people who are around your start date and experience level. You are graded by a reviewer on several points based on whether you exceed, meet or are below expectations. Each level has a set percentage of raises to be given out ranging from 1% to 8%. Although I see the necessity in creating a competitive work environment, I’ve realized I am not as cut throat as I thought I was. Also, there is almost a set plan as far as when you should be promoted. Currently I am a level E and I believe it goes from A to H. I believe every 2 or so years you are expected to be promoted to the next level which means more responsibility and more hours. My manager probably works up ends of 60 hours a week including weekends (I see emails on Saturday nights), he is extremely good at what he does but again that lifestyle isn’t for me.

I want a job that will allow me to interact and help people and isn’t repetitive (it’s a lot to ask I know). After hearing my PT and her co-workers talk about how I’ve progressed and how rewarding it is to see patients improve, I wanted that feeling of helping others overcome obstacles. I also like the appeal of a therapists job, in doing what’s best for the patient and helping them get better. There is minimal to no competition as far as promotions (from what I know). After speaking with Chris, Martin (both currently in PT school) and being around my therapist, they’ve all inspired me to make this decision and I believe this a job where I can be passionate about. My friend asked me, would I rather make double doing what I do now or be a physical therapist and my answer was physical therapist with no hesitation and that excites me.

Tentatively it looks like I’ll be leaving Accenture in December so that I’ll have three full semesters at Montgomery College to finish my pre requisites. This will also allow me to save up some money so that I can pay for PT school. I still need to meet with a friend to have a plan in place before I apply, but I believe I will be applying October-December of 2011 and plan to be in PT school by 2012.

I KNOW this will be extremely difficult but I do believe God has put me in this situation for a reason. Thinking about the events which have led me to make my decision from getting hurt, getting a job which allowed me to have insurance, to getting surgery, meeting my therapist and talking with people about my future, every step has been almost perfectly set up for me to make this decision. I spoke with a former coworker about my future and how I was thinking about changing career paths, he explained that if it’s something I really want, I need to go for it because I’ll live my life in regret if I don’t even make an effort. Obviously there are HUGE risks with my decision, I’m giving up a comfortable job with a big company, venturing to a field which I have minimal to no experience in and the drop rate in PT school is relatively high. Believe me I am scared out of my mind but I’m more scared not to even try. If I try and fail, I can honestly live with my decision that I made an effort.

I challenge all of you to really do something you enjoy. I thought I wanted to do business but it’s really not for me and I’m glad I at least have a chance to do something I can see myself enjoying. Don’t do something because it’s safe or the right thing to do or your parents say so. Do it because YOU want to and don’t worry about what others think. It’s your life and your career and make an active effort to doing what you want to do. There is no doubt in my mind I’ll be miserable numerous times throughout this whole process but if I focus on the ultimate goal the rewards will far overshadow the hardships.

I’ve already told some of you about my decision to return to school and I’m glad to have the support from all of you. Many of you were in disbelief I’d make such a big decision but also offered words of encouragement. My mom was shocked to hear my final decision but ultimately wants me to be happy. I’m thankful and blessed to such an amazing group of family and friends and appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

James 1:2-6
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

Giving back

So I've put this off for some time now but I've finally come around to sponsoring a child through Compassion. Starting from high school, Pastor Joseph had always told us about giving back. He always told us about the children in Compassion and the type of lives they live. They live in areas of high poverty and some even live in areas which has AIDS. Sponsoring a child provides them with food, school supplies, clothing, medicine and ultimately the feeling that someone cares. All of us have been blessed enough to grow up in probably one of the best areas in the country and many others are not as fortunate.

I've decided to sponsor Rico Goyongco from the Phillipines. His short biography states that he is 8 years old and enjoys basketball, singing and art. I chose Rico because I plan on sending him some basketball cards, construction paper to draw on and other such things which he can play with. I ideally wanted to send him some color pencils and coloring books but objects that are sent to the kids must be able to fit in a 8x11 envelope. I've put sponsoring off for way too long and I should have done it early on in college when I had a steady income. It's only $38 dollars a month ($456 a year) and this small amount of money makes a huge difference in a child's life. Crystal has also inspired me to finally do this because she has sponsored a child for years. I hope that I can be a positive influence in Rico's life and hope that he realizes that someone cares about him. I look forward to exchanging letters with him and sending him gifts as he continues to grow.


God is good.

Untitled

"Sometimes we expect more from others because we'd be willing to do that much for them."

A friend posted this on facebook recently and it's been stuck in my head since. I think every person relates to this quote in some way. I feel like I make an active effort into keeping in contact with people and lately I've been thinking perhaps its too much in some situations. Specifically I'm talking about when a relationship is more one sided as far as doing the little things which make big differences. Don't get me wrong, I know I am FAR from perfect and I've probably done this to people too.

I've started to realize that I should maintain and build on those friendships who are close to me and not worry about those who don't care as much. This is coming from experiences of me being close to someone and at some point for one reason or another we just drift apart. I think I take it more personally than I should and I try to rebuild the friendship when they don't seem to care as much. I'm definitely not talking about the majority of people but after looking back there are times I've asked myself why am I trying to make such an effort to talk to this person if it seems like they don't care? I enjoy talking to and meeting people so I hope this isn't coming off as bitter or anything of that nature but more so meant to act as a learning experience. I think for those of you who know me well enough know we're I'm coming from and I appreciate all of you who do make an effort to talk to me.

Patience

I am now 6.5 weeks post surgery. I am still recovering well for all of you that are wondering. I am finally out of my huge brace. I've had to wear it for the past 6 weeks, locked straight while walking which has been a pain especially going up and down stairs. I'm thankful and blessed to have been recovering quickly and am now able to walk relatively normally. Here's a picture of my previous brace and the one I'm using now. The current one is the one I'm going to be playing in once I can play sports again.


The anticipation continues to grow as I inch closer and closer to playing basketball again. Words can't really express how excited I am to start playing basketball again. I'm working hard doing therapy and am optimistic for a full and complete recovery. I'm hoping that my attitude has changed for the better through this experience. I'm hoping my attitude will improve and play basketball simply for the love of the game.


Song of the moment:

Heartbreak

So I've been neglecting this thing for a while, mostly due to my laziness. I guess the most eventful thing that has happened to me recently is watching Maryland in the NCAA tournament. Even though its been over a week, the shock and disbelief is still with me, particularly because the sweet 16 games are finishing up and elite 8 games are approaching with the thoughts of what could've been still lingering. I have never felt so connected with a team in my life. It's sad that it had to be after I graduated but regardless my heart was with this team each and every game. The fact that we were projected to be in the middle of the pack in the ACC, and ended up finishing tied for number one in the conference says a lot about this season and Maryland basketball as a whole.
It's true we didn't have anyone like John Wall, Evan Turner, or Wesley Johnson but we do have the less known but equally appreciated Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne. Our beloved seniors poured their hearts into this season, especially in the last game against Michigan State. Although it may not have been the "must watch" game of the year, it could very well end up being on of the top five for the tournament. I'll admit I was beginning to lose hope in the game, especially being dominated on the boards all game and having the announcers repeatedly mention our lack of size didn't help. Of course in typical Maryland fashion ( this season at least ) we fought our way back and showed more heart than I've seen all season. Even though we fell short to a buzzer beating 3 pointer, I'm proud of the way we fought back to come within one bucket of winning after being down by 15.
Albert, Eugene and I have had a tradition this season of either watching the games together (Georgia Tech and Duke) or being online talking to each other in a chatroom online. I believe we've done this since the Georgia Tech game, probably 10 or so games and it's been a fun experience this season with other devoted fans. As the season went on our chatrooms got more intense and the last game of the season just topped it off. We were all going crazy, smashing our keyboards, hearts racing as Maryland fought back to take the lead with 7 seconds left. As Lucious hit that shot I just sat in disbelief, did this REALLY just happen to us? Did we REALLY just fight out back just to have it ripped away from us on a last second shot? I couldn't even talk to anyone and left my computer to sit on my couch and stare at the T.V. blankly. I only wish we could've moved on and played Northern Iowa and potentially Tennessee.
I'll admit I wasn't a fan of Greivis his first couple years. The turnover prone, loud mouth, awful shot selection, cocky player wasn't a fan of many. Now, I am truly going to miss his play and his style. Even though he took bad shots most games, his swagger brought confidence throughout the entire team and carried us to the becoming one shot of being in the sweet 16. I don't think there is a more opposite player of Greivis than Eric Hayes. He is always cool, collected and never says a word. He was definitely one of the nicer guys on the basketball team as far as talking in person, taking pictures (haha Cristina still bitter that I have a picture with him and you don't?), shaking hands and what not. Landon Milbourne is probably my favorite senior leaving this year. I like the way he plays for the team and is willing to do whatever it takes to win. He's been playing out of position for 2 years now, playing against people who are stronger, bigger and taller than he is. He doesn't complain but just goes out there and does his job. I'm truly going to miss these seniors and I wish them the best in the future. Thank you for THE most exciting sports season I have ever been privileged enough to experience first hand, things are looking up for Maryland basketball.



Looking back at our favorite moments from this past season

Cliff Tucker buzzer beater against Georgia Tech 2/20/10

Jordan Williams posterizes Jon Schyer 3/3/10

Grevis scores 41 against Virginia Tech in double OT win 3/1/10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcOY8ujw69E

M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D

This season of Maryland basketball has to be the most exciting season I have been fortunate enough to witness and be a fan of in any sport. This even tops the Redskins season when we ran off 5 straight after Sean Taylor's passing to make the playoffs. We started off the season playing mediocre basketball but these past few weeks have been absolutely amazing. That Georgia Tech game when Cliff Tucker hit the game winner was so ridiculously sick. Then avenging our early season loss to Clemson. Followed by the DOUBLE OVERTIME game against Virginia Tech and of course the most recent victory against #4 Duke.

I was fortunate enough to watch 2 of those games with close friends which makes watching games that much more exciting. Last game we just all kept screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG????" especially that last shot Grevis made which more or less sealed the game putting us up by 4. I am extremely excited to watch us play in the ACC tournament and then the NCAA tournament.

So after the Duke game last night, all of us decided to go to Route 1 to see the riot. I still use my crutches as support so I didn't go to close. At one point, two cops with shields and sticks were walkin torwards the group of people I was around and everyone started running. I thought I was going to get beat so I started crutching for my life. Luckily the cops started walkin back so all the excitement was over nothing. Michael Wilbon talked about Maryland winning today on PTI and said the rioting is ridiculous and unnecessary and it happens far too often at Maryland. I think rioting can be fun and is ok to a certain degree but setting things on fire is way to extreme, 20 some kids got arrested and who knows how many got beaten and maced is completely unnecessary.

Once I got home from watching the game, I went online to ESPN hoping to see something exciting and seeing Maryland getting recognition on the homepage brought a smile to my face. LETS GOOOOOOOOO MARYLANDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Hooked on Ads?

I've never considered myself a person susceptible to advertisement but it does get to me on occasion. Most recently, Mcdonald's new chili sauce. I'm sure most of you have seen the commercial with the members of the Olympic indulging is this new amazing sauce. The sauce is decent but nothing amazing. It's not spicy at all but it is definitely sweet. I'd recommend Mcdonald 's fans to try it once before it goes away because its the Vancouver Olympics limited edition sweet chili sauce.


In other news, I've started to walk a little ( still using my crutches as support/stabilizers ) but it definitely feels good to be able to walk again. I'm medically cleared to drive now which is also good news. I also got my stitches taken out today which means I can finally shower normally. I've had to stick my leg out of the shower because my leg had to stay dry which isn't the easiest task. I've been doing a whole lot of things these past couple of weeks and I'm somewhat read to return to work on Monday. My doctor and physical therapist both say I'm progressing well and I believe I'm ahead of schedule.

Song of the moment:

David Archuleta - She's Not You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx6hUpabFUU