I'm going to get these

3 more weeks...364 days to go..

So I turned 23 yesterday. Another year older, another year wiser, and another year closer to retirement. Lately, I've been doing some serious thinking as my time at Fresno State starts to dwindle away slowly but surely. I'm not all too sure where my life is headed. That freaks me out, but excites me at the same time because I've always tried to be three steps ahead of the game. People tell me that I'm going to do great things. Some days, I can see it perfectly. On other days, I can't.

It's been a little hard living life day by day not knowing what's going to happen. But that's what gives all of us the zest in our life to live it to the fullest.

Like I said, yesterday was my birthday. I had an awesome birthday this year. My mom was in the country (unlike last year), I got an awesome birthday present from my brother (KanYe West tickets to the show in Sacramento), and celebrated with great friends.

At the KanYe West Concert, he gave out his book that he first published called "Thank You and You're Welcome." The book is pretty concise, to the point. It gives out basic tips that everyone thinks, but can't say. The book I thought was really neat. One thing that really struck me in the book was he talks about friendships/relationships with people. He makes it a point to say that every situation you're in, you can control. It's just up to you as to how you go about it. I know people out there who always complain about how things aren't going right for them, and how much they hate this town, and so on and so forth. I really feel blessed that I've got great optimism in my life knowing that I can control my own destiny, not others. But even more so, that I've got that motivation and fire to make a difference in not only my life, but other's as well.

At my birthday dinner, I felt very blessed that I've got friends who push me to be better than I was the day before. Despite the fact that we're all so far away from each other because some have graduated or some have careers, I love that when we all hang out, we never miss a beat. I feel that in life, it is important to surround yourself around greatness. Being good in my life isn't good enough. Being great is what I strive to be. Greatness brings out greatness in others. It's that desire to not only make yourself happy with your success, but others can enjoy it with you also knowing they'll say "See, I knew he'd do it."

Friendships are important in my life, as you may know already. I find it hard to believe that when you let someone into that door that is your heart, mind, and soul, they'll quickly walk right out without saying goodbye. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't upset this happened, but it did. The lesson I learned from this all was maybe I shouldn't give so much of myself anymore. Maybe I should let people earn their way in. I guess the moral of the story is, when someone gives you a lot of themselves to you, and vice versa, don't be so quick to write this person off and walk away. To me, walking away has never been an excuse. Rather, they walk away because it's what they've done their entire lives. When shit gets tough, they can't handle it, so they fold their tents, and move on. I don't want people like that in my life.

Anyhow, that's enough for today. Til then, enjoy and remember..bow to the presence of greatness.

Here we are

Well, here we are..

Almost three months since my last post. I really don't know what to say to be honest. I suppose I'll just type as the words come to me.

I just pulled up my calendar and counted the week til it's officially my last week of school. 7 freaking weeks. I shouldn't put a timeline on everything, but lately that's what my life has felt like in the last few months. Deadline after deadline after fucking deadline. I know years from now I'll look back on this and laugh because my life was so simple. But really, if this is as good as it gets, I'm a little freaked out about the future.

I'm sitting in my office staring at piles of paper. Not any sort of insignificant piles of paper, but rather graduate and law school applications. I've decided to take a break from staring at my screen and take a break from writing in general to kind of reflect on a lot of things. In class today, I got into it with one of my good friends over google talk. I know, I should be paying attention but I know all the stuff in the class already. Anyways, we talked and he flat out told me that I would probably be a happier person if I didn't try so hard with women and just focused on what was important in life. He said that Fresno women aren't worth it.

I digress...

I saw a movie I hadn't seen in a long long time. The movie was Jerry Maguire. I don't like to compare my life to movies, but in a way mine is kind of like how his was in the movie. He's at the top of his game and then it's all taken away from him. But he finds a way to rebuild himself back up. I suppose that's what life really is about. Learning from your shortcomings and making sure they don't happen again.

I can't believe I graduate in 7 weeks. I feel like I've accomplished so much, yet there's more out there that I must achieve.

I ran into an old old friend today on campus. For those of you that read this and went to Clovis High, he went to HS with us. He was a senior when I was a freshman. This guy was one of the nicest, most genuine guys you'll ever meet. His name is Sam Duran. When I was walking to grab a bite to eat, we were talking about what my plans were after graduation. I told him that I was applying to law and graduate schools. After I told him why I wanted to go to law school, he said I should totally do it. It's always great hearing from people who've known you for a long time and they encourage you to do those sorts of things after not seeing you for a while.

Anyways...more to come later..

Hello 2008!

Well hello there! It really has been quite sometime since I've written in this. A lot has happened in the past few months so I guess I'll get started.

Last time I wrote, my friend Chris had cancer. Keyword there is had. He's beat it and things are fine now. I was pretty sure I was going to law school in the fall, but that looks like it's going to be put off for at least a year or two just because I'm not mentally ready yet. I've made some amazing friends and ended the year on a good note, but started the New Year on an even better one. 

Christmas was fun, as always and ended up being pretty fun. We didn't go out of town and I hung out with a friend of mine whom I haven't spent much time with this last fall. At any rate, we had a lot of fun, ate dinner with her parents, and went to a movie. 

January has literally come and gone. Just this last week, I was in Nevada (not pronounced Nevahduh for you non-Californian's). I was an intern/volunteer for the Barack Obama Campaign there. As many of you know, him and Hillary were tied coming into Nevada. Hillary won the popular vote, but Senator Obama won the delegates which is all really that matters. 

During my week's stay there, I met some incredible people that I really hope to keep in touch with. So if you're reading this, let's all make it a point to be in touch with each other. I really hope this fun continues until November and keeps happening for the next four years. 

While I was in Nevada, like I said, I met some awesome awesome people. One of them whom I'll talk about is my incredible field organizer (FO), Brenna. The moment I knew why I do the things I do really opened my eyes when she said, "Its so great to see all of you here. I love getting involved and getting people involved." I'm almost 100% that's not verbatim what she said, however it was along those lines. Seeing her passion for what she did made working for her fun. When things were not going so well, she would always be there to cheer me up and keep encouraging me to go out there and work that much harder. The moment I knew that I was going to give more than 100% for this campaign was Wednesday of the trip. we had all been up since 5:30am because the Senator was making an appearance and we were going to help work the event, see him, and eventually meet him. We had been canvassing a neighborhood for quite sometime and the weather was getting the best of me. I told my friend Matt that we needed to head back because it was getting too damn cold for me. When we got in the car, I knew what I had done was wrong. I felt horrible. When we were halfway back to the office, I told him to turn the truck around, and head back to our precinct to finish what we started because Hillary was not going to win the state that I've worked so hard in. 

So the internship has come and gone. Hillary won the popular vote and Senator Obama won the delagates. To me, that's all that matters. Tomorrow is officially my first, last day of school as an undergraduate here at Fresno State. It hasn't exactly started how I pictured it many years ago, but to say the least, the ride has been fun. 

I'm going to get this poster framed tomorrow that I took from our office. The poster is from the rally that was held by the Washington Monument when Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. In the picture, it says "Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better." In the spirit of Dr. King, I use that to keep me motivated to do good things in this world. Even if it is one door knock or phone call at a time.

11 years ago on this day

It's crazy to think that 11 years ago, Lance Armstrong, a nobody to the American populous was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer. The only reason I bring this up is because my best friend, Chris, of 12 years, was diagnosed with testicular cancer on July 20, 2007. To say the least, as I sit in the seat here in my office where he called me with the news, my life has been changed forever.

Cancer isn't a beautiful thing. It's a terrible thing that have taken the lives of many people that are close and dear to our hearts. But despite the ambiguity (that's a GRE word) of this terrible disease, it makes us very appreciative of what we have. Ever since I've been in SigEp, I've naturally become one of those people who step up for community service events.

I remember my very first community service event that I was a part of. I actually helped rally support in the Greek system for it to bring awareness out there for it. It was for Rachael Donaldson from the Women's Softball Team who was diagnosed with cancer. There was a walk-a-thon for it at the track. It was a good time.

As I sit here reminiscing on that day, three years later, I'm doing the Susan G. Komen run to help raise money for breast cancer research at the end of October.

Anyhow, here's that email I got from the Lance Armstrong Foundation earlier today.

###

Dear Mark:

Eleven years ago today, I was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer. I probably felt the same as anyone else who has ever been diagnosed — I was in complete shock. I can now say that my life is better because of my cancer experience.

Cancer gave me focus, a purpose and a lot to live for. This is a life I owe to cancer.

To celebrate my cancer anniversary, I am dedicating myself to achieving another critical victory: passing a historic constitutional amendment in Texas that will invest $3 billion in cancer research, prevention, early detection and control programs that we know will save lives. If passed, Texas will generate research and advancements that will apply to the fight against cancer across America and the globe.

On my anniversary, I'm asking you to take your own steps to fight cancer. Please pick just one—or all three—of the opportunities below to celebrate cancer survivorship and help gain victory over this disease.

Order a free LIVESTRONG Survivorship Notebook for yourself or for a loved one who is fighting cancer. The LIVESTRONG Survivorship Notebook contains helpful survivorship information, worksheets to get organized and stories shared by other cancer survivors.

Speak out in the fight against cancer. The LIVESTRONG Army and the historic LIVESTRONG Presidential Cancer Forum made cancer part of the national dialogue. Sign the LIVESTRONG Army petition or send a message to presidential candidates.

Donate to the LAF. Your tax-deductible donation today will help the Lance Armstrong Foundation continue to unite people in the cancer fight through programs, experiences and the LIVESTRONG Army. Our efforts focus on preventing cancer, ensuring access to screening and care, investing in research and improving the quality of life for cancer survivors.

Cancer affects everyone. Actions you take for yourself, in your family and in your community will help us all realize the dream of ending suffering and death due to cancer.

Join me in celebrating cancer survivorship today.

LIVESTRONG,

Welcome to the Real World they said to me condescendingly

Wow. This is crazy. I haven't done of of these things in a really long time. Anyways, I figure it's always good to put down thoughts so people can see what you say and take a small peek inside of my mind.

###

So this last week has been an interesting one to say the least. Fresno State's on campus, student run publication, The Collegian, printed an article that really got a rise out of a lot of people. Particularly, it came from the Greek community. The article, has raised a lot of issues, particularly how credible is this student run publication? I'll be honest, when I read it, I wasn't sure what the heck the writer was trying to say. Whether she was pointing fingers at us (the Greek community) for what happened, or the sorority in question. Either way, I felt that it was my duty as a leader in the Greek community to write a response to the article since a statement had not been issued. The following is my response to the article at hand.

###

Believe it or not, since the publication of this article, there has been an uproar from the leadership in the Greek Community. Many of us, including myself, ask ourselves why such blasphemous accusations against Greeks here on campus have been made. We understand that it is the duty of The Collegian to report stories and to educate the general populous. However, when erroneous statements such as the ones made in the article written by Katrina Garcia have been made, it tarnishes the reputation of not only the reporter, but also the publication.

It is a fallacy to say that “All Greeks Drink.” The conclusion that could be deduced from that statement is that “All people who drink are Greek.” If you think about it, it is wrong. Very wrong. It is stating that people who you find at restaurants and bars who are drinking are in fact Greek, when, more times than not, they are not.

Although the school does a great job with promoting that “7 out of 10” students drink safely, it makes me personally question the validity of the research made to prove those conclusions. The general stereotype among Greeks nationwide is that we all drink. I am here to inform you that there are individuals out there who refuse to drink until they are 21 who are in Greek letter organizations. There are those who just chose not to drink out of choice. It is unfair to target Greeks in this matter because we are such an easy target for ridicule.

Before you start pointing fingers, we as a community want to know why a student athlete who has a domestic dispute with his girlfriend, who alleges he hit her, make the front page? It made headlines on the Fresno Bee. I would think that as much as we all are educated individuals attending an institution for higher education that we should be educated on real world matters such as that.

Furthermore, the main reason why those sorts of stories don’t make front page news in a student run newspaper is because of the outcry that will come from the student population because a student athlete got involved in a domestic dispute. Heaven forbid that an average student gets drunk at a party, and because of the location of the party, it makes the front page news.

As a realist, I understand that drinking has been portrayed as part of the college experience. However, there are many isolated and undocumented incidents regarding alcohol too that have occurred here on campus. Questioning whether or not members are being punished or not within their own fraternities and sororities for actions that have been reported in The Collegian is ridiculous. Each fraternity and sorority holds each member accountable for their actions.

Within the four governing bodies of Greek life here on campus, each of them has a judicial board that handles disciplinary issues ranging from violation of rules to substance abuse for the Chapter in question under their jurisdiction. Because the general populous doesn’t hear about disciplinary action being taken, they think nothing ever resulted from it. To say that accountability is not there is absurd.

I, along with the Greek Community Leaders, and the Greek Community here at Fresno State hope that facts are proven correctly in the future and that fingers aren’t pointed immediately at the easiest targets. It’s unfortunate that we need to nitpick at the finer details such as “Who’s responsible for this?” and “Why isn’t there accountability?” Rather we should praise the sisters of Delta Zeta, who took the humane approach, and took care of the individual rather than leaving her high and dry with nobody to take care of her.

###

To say the least, I'm pretty passionate about what I'm a part of. I've realized that I'm part of something that's so much a part of me, I don't realize it. So I could get the message out there, I went as far as posting a bulletin on MySpace to get the point across. I've received nothing but good praise from people regarding my rebuttal. Heck, even when I was out this weekend, people who read it came up to me and said "Good job on that response." It felt really good knowing that people who aren't even associated in the Greek system had our backs. If there's one thing I'm really proud of is the fact that it mobilized a lot of people in a positive way to show that even though this publications words could try to cause us harm, we wouldn't go down without a fight. And for that, I'm thankful because I'm not the only one who's standing up for what's right.