Leaders Unite!

I had the most awesome experience this past weekend!  As a student at Texas Wesleyan University, I am a Hatton Sumners Scholar, which provided me with the honor of attending their annual Student Leadership Conference at the University of Texas at Austin.  WOW!  I honestly had no idea what to expect because well, let's be honest, I am MUCH older than most of the students who were attending.  I was honestly afraid that I wouldn't have much to discuss with these kids...man was I wrong!

First off, let me start by saying that I was blessed with the most fantastic team.  Yes, the majority of them were much younger than me, but that did not stop them from welcoming and accepting me anyway.  And it was so cool to meet these students that came from all over the country and Mexico!  In the end, regardless of our ages, we were all there for the same reason:  we were selected by our universities as future leaders.  This was all we needed to connect and form a bond.  And boy did we!  We laughed, we cried, we gave a phenomenal karaoke performance...the best of all the teams in my opinion.

But it was not all fun and games.  We had the opportunity to hear great speakers talk about leadership and expecting more of ourselves so that we always lead by example.  These speakers inspired me to never give up because as I have always believed, anything worth having is working hard for.  We also took workshops and learned what our own strengths are.  Mine did not surprise me very much.  My number one strength is "belief," which basically means that I am guided by my beliefs and values--which for anyone that knows me, knows how very true this is.  At the end of the conference, we participated in a goal setting exercise that we are supposed to implement after coming home.  I made my goal about managing my time better.  As a wife, mother of two kids, and full-time student, this is not something I have done very well with.  I always get my stuff done, sometimes it's just very last minute.  I want to do it more efficiently so that I can be more productive both at school and at home.  After announcing my goal to my team, they made me cry!  They were so sweet.  They told me that I was an inspiration to them and that I should be proud of all I have accomplished.  To hear that from this group of "kids" that had only known me for a few days made my heart smile.  It truly did make me feel like it's all worthwhile.

After three days with this awesome group of future leaders (and all the ones that were not in my group that I had the chance to get to know as well), I feel as if I can do anything.  So I thank them for that.  I thank them for their friendship, I thank them for the laughs, and most of all I thank them for a weekend I will never forget.  It was amazing!

9/11 Remembered Ten Years Later...Where's the Unity?

 Ten years ago today, I was a secretary at American Airlines corporate headquarters in the Revenue Management department.  The planes actually flew into the Twin Towers as I was driving to work.  It wasn't until a little while after I got into the office that we found out that it was one of our planes that flew into one of the towers...and then the Pentagon.  It seemed like all hell broke loose after that and everything began to spin out of control with everyone trying to piece together any information they could possibly get.  We were all heartbroken, but with all of the chaos of the situation, we weren't really sure how we were supposed to react.  Non-essential employees were allowed to go home and be with their families. 
 The one thing that I always remember about that day and the time immediately following it is not all of the media coverage and the horrific things that we witnessed and went through on that day.  I remember those as well, but I always remember the unity that came to this great country out of this horrible act of terrorism against us.  I remember having the hardest time finding an American flag to purchase.  They were sold out everywhere.  I ended up buying one on Ebay and it couldn't get here fast enough.  I felt like not having one made me a horrible American.  When that happened, I made a decision that I would never not have a flag again.  And I have flown one almost every day since then.  I look down my street today, and there are a total of 4 American flags flying--including mine.  This makes me so sad.  What happened to the unity that we all felt ten years ago?
 Darrell Worley has a great song called "Have You Forgotten?" about 9/11, and sometimes, I really think that people HAVE forgotten not only what that attack on our country felt like, but also what that unity felt like.  It seems that all Americans want to do these days is fight about which political party has the right plan for this country, but in reality, all they have done--along with the current president--is divide us even further.  To me, this helps the terrorists win because we are showing the world that the citizens of what is supposed to be the most powerful country on the planet can't even get along with each other, which makes us appear vulnerable.  If we are all fighting with each other, then perhaps we aren't paying close enough attention and they can attack us again.
 I will never forget.  Never.  I will never forget the feelings of horror and helplessness that I felt, but I will also never forget how proud I was to be an American as I witnessed so many people unselfishly join in the efforts to recover those that were lost in the towers.  I will also never forget the change that this day instilled in me.  I woke up that day and became a patriot when I realized just how awesome our freedom and liberties are that people would attack us in that way because they despise it so much.  I don't understand why so many others don't think about this. 
 God bless those that were lost in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., and those they left behind.  God bless those who are still fighting for our freedom every day around the world in the war on terror.  In your honor, I will NEVER forget.

Girl Power Unites!

So as much as my husband HATES it, I am addicted to Facebook.  Even though I swore I would never get one, once I did and connected with current friends and found some long lost friends, I was hooked.  In the process, I stumbled upon a group called Mom's Who Drink and Swear and I could not get enough.  The "leader" Nikki is hysterically funny and has a blog of the same name that will pretty much make you pee your pants.  Anyway, as I settled in and got comfortable I began to make new friends with other moms who are just like me.  Many of them are stay at home moms while others have actual jobs they have to go to every day on top of raising their kids, keeping their husbands happy, and maintaining their sanity.  I had found my home.  I would find myself laughing until I cried and bonding with these girls as if I had known them my whole life.  We shared stories and struggles and jokes and music videos--LOTS of music videos!  And these girls became my sisters.

This past weekend, many of us converged on Chicago, and a glorious time was had by all.  Although I'm not sure Chicago will ever be the same again!  I came from Texas, while others came from Utah, Arizona, New Jersey, Philly, Rhode Island, Michigan, and we even had one that came all the way from London.  We shared rooms and ate and drank and danced but more than anything, we laughed.  A LOT.  This was, to me, what being a woman is all about.  I have never understood why women feel the need to cut each other down and be so catty, but these girls proved that women of all different backgrounds and financial status can come together and pile into a few hotel rooms and still come out loving each other on the other side.  We all climbed aboard the El and proceeded to take over the city on a fabulous pub crawl where everyone asked who we were and why we were so loud.  We drank in the middle of the afternoon and had fantastic sing-a-longs to 80's music, and when we were done, we jumped back on the train and continued our sing-a-long--much to the dismay of the other riders.  We had the best time ever and I'll never forget it.  And I was so sad when I had to leave these girls behind and come home.

Maybe it's just me but I think that if more women took the time to have little excursions like this, they would be much happier and they might even figure out a way to get along with each other.  I know my group of girls cannot stop talking about everything we did and saw and we keep repeating little inside jokes that no one else gets.  And none of us can wait to do it again! 

Check out these awesome women and laugh and love them as much as I do:
https://www.facebook.com/momswhodrinkandswear
https://www.facebook.com/groups/momswhodrinkandswear/
http://www.chicagonow.com/moms-who-drink-and-swear

Happy Birthday America!

Some people have forgotten what Independence Day is really about. For many, it is nothing more than a day off of work to eat hamburgers, drink beer, and blow stuff up. For myself however, I have come to see it as something much more important—a day that we should take a little time to reflect upon the gift that the founding fathers gave us by declaring their independence from Great Britain, by the sacrificing of their own lives of our military to defend our liberties, and most importantly, the gratefulness I feel knowing that I am able to enjoy my freedoms because of those two things.

Now don't get me wrong. I will in fact eat hamburgers, drink beer, and watch some stuff get blown up and I will have a great time doing it. You can count on that. But I won't take for granted the fact that I am fortunate enough to do these things because I live in a country that encourages its citizens to do so with the freedoms it provides them. If we don't live in the greatest nation on earth, why do we have so many people coming here both legally and illegally? And even still, why are there so many nations out there that want to attack our freedoms and our liberty because they fear that their own citizens will get the crazy idea that they want the same for themselves?

I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be a patriot. And I won't apologize for either. I saw a post by an immigrant under a picture that said “100% Unhyphenated American” that I think may very well qualify as more “American” than what I hear coming from a lot of people that were born and raised here. He said “ As much as I love my native country El Salvador, I find myself so blessed to be an AMERICAN. I've embraced it full, language and culture and will die on my knees praying for it or fighting for it on my feet and against any enemy foreign or domestic. I'M AN AMERICAN BORN ELSEWHERE! GOD BLESS THE USA.” Why can't the rest of us appreciate what we have in this country like this guy?

Now go eat your hamburgers, drink your beer, blow your stuff up, and don't catch anyone on fire! That wouldn't make for a very fun 4^th of July celebration. Happy Birthday America!

Passion Is A Good Thing...Isn't It?

It was made clear to me today why nothing gets done in D.C. I had an eye opening experience in class (okay, I was actually a part of said experience—and it was awesome!) that made me think about how bad it must really be over on the Hill.  In philosophy class we were discussing ethics, morals, Utilitarianism, Libertarianism, and the philosophers who introduced these concepts to the world.  So today we get to discuss the three principles of Libertarianism:  no paternalist legislation, no moral legislation, and one of my personal favorite topics to debate-- no wealth redistribution.  I became completely giddy inside just thinking about how much fun this is going to be since I have learned that my passion for the subject outweighs what anyone thinks about my opinion.  Anyhoo, it starts off easily enough because this instructor, who may be young and kinda hot, is no idiot, and we build up to the finale.  Let the fireworks begin!  He insists that everyone in class HAS to vote either for it or against it.  Before he could finish "if you are AGAINST redistribution of wealth, raise your hand" my hand was in the air.  Which he notices, and I think after our discussion yesterday on whether murder is morally wrong, he totally expected.  Up to this point I have been fairly quiet in class and had not really asserted my opinions, "politically speaking," until then.

So after he completes this part of the exercise, he comes back to me and says "Tell me why you are against it" and I explain to him how many ways I find it wrong that anyone who works hard for their living should have to "share" it with those who are not willing to do the same work--or any work for that matter--just because the government says it's the right thing to do.  Our founding fathers didn't put it in our constitution, so as far as I'm concerned, no one should have to do it if they don't want to. If they do want to, there are plenty of charities that would LOVE to take your money.  So the debate begins with "well why is it fair for people like Bill Gates who has a gazillion dollars to not 'give back' to those who are less fortunate?"  For those of you playing along at home, Bill Gates gives more to charity than just about anyone in this country--more than $30 BILLION --so I think he's done his "fair share" on top of the taxes that he pays.  After the Bill Gates comment from a woman in the front row, she is countered by another woman sitting two seats down from her with "Well, he earned it, he should be allowed to keep it.  He pays taxes and I don't think it's fair for me or anyone else to expect him to take care of me.  What about personal responsibility?  There is a certain amount of pride that I get taking care of my girls MYSELF and showing them that you work hard and you EARN what you get.  I have family members making $5,000 a month and getting nearly $1,000 a month in food stamps and it makes me sick."  GO ON WITH YOUR BAD SELF, SISTER!  The other girl says “Well that's an individual case and not everyone does that” and the other woman says “but the MAJORITY of them DO.” There for a minute I thought we were going to have a cat fight right there, but the instructor jumped in and told them to settle down. All the other girl could say was “It's just not right for anyone to have THAT much money that they will never spend. The RIGHT thing to do would be to give some of it away to those that really need it.” Says who? You? Then how about you give them YOUR money? Don't tell me I have to if I don't want to. It should be my choice. If I remember correctly, we all have personal liberties in this country (at least for the moment). We all get to make our own choices and I believe it should be THEIR choice to want to better themselves if they are not financially able to support themselves. I see help wanted signs all the time at fast food joints, Wal-Mart, and even 7-11, so you can't tell me no one is hiring. That is a load of crap. The reality of it is they have no incentive to find a job because the government will just keep giving them a check and food stamps. And don't even get me started on the whole California welfare benefit “ATM” card fiasco where people were using them in strip clubs and casinos. That's a whole other Pandora's Box for another time.

I raised my hand again when he asked if those of us who were initially against wealth redistribution were still against it after hearing the arguments for and against it and said “My husband has a saying: I am willing to help those who help themselves. Plain and simple.” And the girl from the front row's husband says “Well what about single moms who have kids and can't afford to work and pay for daycare? It's not cost effective for her to keep doing it.” To this I replied, “I have no problem helping single moms who are trying to feed their kids. They are TRYING and making an EFFORT. My mom did it with FIVE kids, in the 70's, so YES, it can be done. I know, I lived it. There is no reason why they can't too. And if you want to be so mad that we have so many starving people in this country, why don't you tell me why it is our government sends BILLIONS of dollars to other countries while people right here at home are starving?” He didn't have an answer. Class dismissed. 

And let me say this:  Just because we don't have the same views, THANK YOU for having an opinion and being passionate enough about your beliefs to get fired up and debate it.  Too many people are lacking the passion our founding fathers had for this country and their belief of how great it could be.