Malcolm Gladwell

Today, I was one of probably 2,000 students who lined up early and waited in the cold just to hear Malcolm Gladwell give a guest lecture. If you don't know who he is, he's a writer for the New Yorker and author of 3 very famous best selling books. If you haven't read them yet, I highly recommend them, but back to the story!

They introduced him as a man who did so bad in school that he had a hard time getting jobs. People didn't think much of him. But he was good at one thing and he excelled at it - writing. He started conservatively and moved up until he wrote a few books. Time magazine listed him as one of its 100 most influential people (2005). People from CEOs to soldiers to college students relate to his works, and he has a powerful name known amongst book readers, philosophers, political figures, economists, psychologists...etc you get the point.

His whole speech was about two married anthropologist, alcoholic studies, and Yale. It was interesting, but not really important to me. At the end, he talked about how the NFL would probably not be a sport in the next 50 years, and especially not at Penn in 10-15 years (I'm writing this to see if he's right. OOPS, I'm diverging again.

The point is, this all got me thinking. I'm currently deciding between doing Teach for America or waiting for other job opportunities. They're both wonderful job opportunities, but one comes with more security, the other, more experience in an industry I'd like to eventually go into. One promises a life's experience that you cannot get anywhere else, the other promises good pay and a sure path into areas of business that I'm interested in. Teach for America calls everyday about how joining them is the best decision anyone's ever made and the other doesn't care if I join or not because so many people apply to be with them. I'm lost, because I feel like any decision I make will be a big, life-long decision.

But I looked at Malcolm Gladwell today and I wondered... when he did so bad in school and couldn't get many jobs, did he think he would have this much influence? I mean, the guy made the Goldstone Forum famous in one day after 10 years of small numbers. This year, people were standing in the back just to see him.

I'm not saying that success in that way is good. I'm not saying you should be that influential and that life is about all the attention. But I AM realizing that no matter what happens, what decision I make, that I will probably be okay :-).

I need to learn to trust God more.

This was a rant.

Good night. Retreat tomorrow :-D

Finding the Source isn't the Solution

When I was back at home, we ran into a problem. - gnats.

They didn't crowd us by the masses, but there would also be one..two..three gnats every so often flying around my head, landing in my food, chilling in my bathtub. Every time I saw one, I'd kill it. Heck, it got so annoying that once, it landed on my food that was going into my mouth, and I just ate it with no hesitation.

I ate a gnat. On purpose. And it felt good.

You see, each gnat was a minor problem to me. It was annoying, and the longer I had to deal with this problem, the more annoying it got, until it reached a point where I got used to it. But I knew that this was a problem, and killing it one by one was obviously not working. I needed to find the source. What was causing all the gnats to come!?

Obviously, if I find the source and get rid of it, then I could get rid of all the gnats right?

Nope.

I looked online and found that these gnats were probably fungus gnats that are attracted to plants and soil in the house. My mom's favorite, ten year old plant was the source. We tried everything, sprayed pesticides, tried some vinegar/soap trap, hairspray, coffee filters, and even stopped giving it water so the soil would be unattractive to the gnats. It didn't work.

Finally, we told her to send the plant out. At least for a few days. But she was afraid it'd die. She would rather live with the gnats than part with the plant (I guess moms just like to grow plants when their kids move out). This caused some stress in the house because I always complained about the gnats and about how I hated it going up my nose.

The problem with these gnats is that if you don't get rid of it. Then they spread to other plants (they did). These plants gradually get "diseased" by the gnats and in the end, all the plants lose out, not just one. If we act too late, the gnats will spread and multiply and conquer!

Yes, that was a little dramatic, but it's true.

Sometimes, we think that once we find the source of a problem, then it's easy to solve it. But are you willing to go the extra mile to solve the problem?

It's one thing to know what's wrong. It's another to have the willpower to act upon it.

GPA

I woke up this morning and immediately checked my grades through my iPod. I thought that all the grades would finally be updated and that I could see my new, awesome GPA. Much to my demise, I saw that I got a B in a class I hoped to get an A- in. I was disappointed.

Shucks... I thought I could really do it this time I said. Why am I so incompetent?

I zoomed in on my iPod and then I smiled. The "B" was actually an "S" for satisfactory in my senior design class. That grade doesn't come out until the end of my senior year. My grade for the class I expected to do alright in hadn't come out yet. Dumb me. How did I mistake a S for a B?

Worse. Why did I devalue myself just because I got a B? Grades shouldn't define my worth. We live in a society or... school where GPA matters when it comes to jobs and programs but does that grade or number really tell people anything about me? About you? It sure seems like it does right now, but people who value you by grades or scores are in the wrong. I was in the wrong today.

Forget the grades if you don't do as well as you expected. Pick yourself up and prove them wrong. So what if you got a B instead of an A or even a C? Are you going to let one mistake on a big test ruin you? You are what you think you are :-).

Privileged?

While meeting with a friend over coffee tonight, I ran into an acquaintance whom I haven't seen in years.

Me: "Wow! Long time, what year are you in now?"
Her: "I'm not in college."
Me: *oops* "Oh... how old are you now?"

Nice save? I don't think so... haha.

I think it's wrong for me to automatically assume that everyone I run into goes to college. But at the same time, that's what I'm used to. All my friends and I went to and talked about going to college. But how do the ones who don't go feel when I just automatically assume that they went and ask them that question? Do I make it look like I'm better than them because I went to college and they didn't?

I was going to say...maybe some people are more privileged than others. It's no doubt that going to college helps prepare you for a better, stable future. But then, wouldn't that be me thinking I'm better than her just for going to college? People can be privileged and not go to college either. In fact, why must education be a measure of privilege or status?

Maybe I should be careful of what I say and assume. God has different plans for everyone. No matter what our differences, in the end, everyone will come together to glorify God :-).

What do you think?

Revenge

Today, at church, a 5 year old little girl started crying. An older boy was playing with her. She went in to give him a slap on the hand when she missed and hit the chair.

Funny thing about life: when a 5 year old girl cries in a room full of older kids and adults, everyone goes to her rescue. Of course, me, wanting to be her hero, goes to her and starts blowing on her hand. "The air that I breathe out of my mouth is medicine. You should feel better now!" She didn't stop crying. Then, I playfully said, "here, hit him back." I picked up her hand and acted like she hit him.

My church teacher said, "Don't teach her that!"

Stupid move. That's when it hit me. What am I teaching the kid!?
That revenge is the way to go? Why was that action such a natural instinct to me and why did I think that it would make her feel better? Aren't we supposed to leave revenge up to God?

I want to be a man of God. A man of God loves because God is love. I never realized that something so small could lead to big problems later on - especially to the children who are growing up. Not only should we learn to love in all circumstances, but we should also be careful of who we're influencing.

"Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:21