Today was a Character Builder...

...And so is this blog... its kinda long, and random. Sorry.

I’m becoming more like my dad every day.  It’s definitely a good thing.  My dad is a great leader and teacher and today/this week I’ve seen more of him in me than I ever have before.  One of the great things that he is able to do when leading large groups of people is to see the entire picture. I think that as I learn more about myself through student teaching, I have been able to take a step back and look at the bigger pictures and how each thing affects another.  I’ve always been a very detail oriented type person (which is good, because God is in the details!), but it’s also nice to be able to see what else is going on on other planes. 

I’ve also learned to “man-up” when dealing with people.  Maybe it is just about facing my fears, but today, I was forced to do one of the things I hate the most in life… confront people.  And I had to do it multiple times, with different people.  I HATE it!!!!  I don’t like being pushy or seeming controlling.  But I’m thankful for the friend today that forced me to do what I fear most of all as a leader.   It was difficult and painful, but in the end, I will have grown from it.  And I think I have.  The things in life that benefit us the most are always the most difficult to endure… or something like that…

Another thing that has been on my mind lately is living a life of authenticity.  I believe be an authentic person is the one of the most important things that we can be.  What do I mean by that?  Well, for me being authentic is kind of like the opposite of having integrity (KIND OF!).  Integrity is who you are when no one is watching.  I think being authentic is who you are in every situation around people.  For example, if you proclaim to be a Christ-follower but live a different life outside the church, you are not authentic.  It means being the same person in every area of your life.  And I don’t mean having slightly different personalities with different people, because sometimes that happens, and that’s ok.  Different people bring out different sides to our personality.  I mean having the same values and belief systems in all situations of life.  You can’t say one thing and do another.  It just doesn’t work!  And it makes me SO incredibly angry when people aren’t authentic.  Not only does it hurt people, but I feel like it decreases your face value as a person.  I mean, seriously!  If you want respect in a situation, give respect in a situation.  Practice what you preach.  And don’t just say what you think people want to hear.  Life would be soooo much less complicated if we all did this.  Easier said than done, I know.  But still.  Be who you really are all the time!  Ok.  Enough of that rant…

I’ve also learned to be extremely organized in my schedule.  Between student teaching, band winter showcase and grad school auditions, my life sometimes seems a little crazy.  But I’ve been able to stay surprisingly calm about most of it.  I’m not really sure how I’ve been able to do this other than just simply not stress out.  It sounds a lot harder than it actually is (at least for me).  I have no idea how or when this changed, but I just decided that I’m not going to stress about it and I haven’t.  If I can make it through Valentines Day, I will be golden.  But until then… teacher work sample, lesson plans, testing, band winter showcase rehearsals and preparation,  8^th grade band concert, BWS – the actual shows, brass trio gig in Michigan, a DePaul audition the next morning, KVSO concert the next day, and when I finally make it to Valentine’s Day I may actually be HAPPY to spend some time alone J  Then I can focus on what really matters… the Roosevelt audition!  Haha.  Until then, it’s a busy couple of weeks for me.  They say God never gives you more than you can handle.  I sure hope everyone is right!  I always try and think about the future in these situations.   It will be interesting to look back and see how God uses this hot mess. Lol.