October 4th-Day 4

Its Thursday so that means there is only one day left in the school/work week. You gotta push to the end everyday to be the best you can be. Today I started reading Drew Brees' memoir Coming Back Stronger. I usually don't like when people write an autobiography while they are young, but this book is incredible. Brees isn't just an incredible quarterback. He is a terrific man in every sense of the word. He works as hard as he can, he volunteers around New Orleans, he is a great father and husband, and is devoted to God. I highly recommend reading this book, it is an inspiration to anyone who picks it up. I was able to wake up early this morning to get my run in as I hoped. Hopefully I will keep being able to get up early and get a head start everyday. I practiced my handstand, moonwalk, some magic tricks and learned a new trick for winning a beer (even though I don't drink). My shading is improving and I will keep working at it as long as I can. I tried to start composing the song today, but I couldn't think of a good melody to start it off. I'm sure it will come to me I just have to keep at it. I am using my old Spanish textbook to refresh my memory of the language and it is helping me a lot. Today I'm writing about Taylor Cocciolone, who I got close to during my sophmore/his senior year of high school. We had a bunch of fun during Tour Choir in the bass section and during Les Miserables and Cabaret. I will always remember having the huge box of goldfish in the dressing room and when someone shouted when he did the Nazi salute during the show. Taylor was another who showed me the ropes of being an older guy in choir and the shows and it is great knowing him. Until tomorrow, here's to life!

"You build walls and boundaries when you give into your mind. Fear nothing and take control of who you are and who you are meant to be" -Joel Brown

Become Great

October 1st-Day 1

And October begins with a wonderful fall day! I hope everyone had an enjoyable Monday and is ready to take on the week. I haven't been able to hold a handstand since I was in sixth grade and that is one of the reasons it made it onto the list. I practiced today be doing one against a wall to get re-acclimated to the feelings. And I love to dance, hence why I want to learn how to moonwalk, one of the coolest illusions out there. I understand how it supposed to be done, I just need to make it look smooth as I do it. The physical challenges for this month are to increase both my strength and endurance to become healthier. I haven't tested myself with either of these exercises in a while so there is a chance that they will change soon. I've always been fascinated by languages and want to become fluent in as many as possible. I've been studying Spanish since seventh grade and want to maintain my abilities while I am studying the basics of Italian this semester. I met some new people as I played soccer tonight, where I took the picture above. I found a series of books that has captured my attention and I finished the first book today. It is The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. This series is geared more toward a younger audience but still incorporates a lot of historical ideas and myths which is the main reason I like it so much. During one of my classes today, I left a note on the desk telling the reader to smile and enjoy the wonderful day. Today I'm going to write about Alex Kasznel, one of my friends from my brief stint at Dickinson College. We were roommates together for the month I was there and I couldn't have asked for a better person to live with. Alex is an extremely talented musician (he can play multiple instruments and is in a band) and is down-to-earth, which was hard to find while I was at Dickinson. Today is his 20th birthday and I hope he had a great day and has an amazing year to come. My quote for the week is “You build walls & boundaries when you give into your mind. Fear nothing & take control of who you are & who you are meant to be” by Joel Brown. Until tomorrow, here's to life

October Challenges...

With a new month comes new challenges. This time I want to try more measurable tasks so I can better gauge my progress as I go along. Here is what I plan to do:

1. Hold a handstand for at least five seconds
2. Learn to moonwalk
3. 10 pull-ups
4. Run a mile under 6:30
5. Learn a new word in both English and Spanish each day
6. Talk with a stranger each day
7. Read for at least 30 minutes everyday
8. Take a picture
9. Practice a random "party" skill
10. Learn how to shade objects to give dimensions
11. Stop biting/chewing on nails
12. Memorize a new quote each week
13. Compose a dance song
14. Leave a note somewhere for a stranger
15. Write about someone new

*All these are subject to editing, especially the fitness goals*