Profile: The Ultimate Enthusiast

It was one of those run-ins that is so strange that you feel that you just have to write about it. That, or the journalist in me is compelling me to write. Who can really tell?

I honestly hadn't run into this guy in over five years. But even when I did see him back in high school, I had never talked with him or anything. I always knew him as that guy who dated that -- and let's just throw out widely-used adjectives for the girl -- stupid, slutty freshman back when I, too, was a freshman in high school.

"Have my babies!" she would yell from over fifty feet away so that everyone could hear her. Man, did she enjoy the attention.

In any case, my brother and I are throwing around a Frisbee when I see him approaching in the distance. Initially, I think it might be a creeper wanting to join in on the game because he doesn't say or yell anything as he approaches. As he gets nearer, I then assume he is one of my brother's high school friends. I am only partly correct. He greets my brother, handshake and all. Then, as if it were some sort of an epiphany, it hits me and I realize that I, too, know this guy.

"Do you remember me?"
"Um. No." He guesses a few names, but they're all way off.
"Dave. I was in band with you."
"What instrument did you play?"
"Horn. I was a year younger."
"Sorry, I don't remember. I guess I'm just getting so old."
"No, I just never really talked to you."

He explains that he had stopped his run prematurely to see who was throwing around the Frisbee. He takes off the weights he had on and sets them down on the grass. My brother had told me previously that this guy was some sort of an alumni coach at my alma mater. Ultimate Frisbee, he coaches Ultimate Frisbee and is friends with all of my brother's friends. I always find it strange being friends with people that much younger than me. It may only be three or four academic years, but trust me when I say that there is a huge difference.

Though I knew full well that he had stopped going to a four-year university, I ask him what he was up to these days and where he was in school.

"Oh, I'm at NCTC right now."
"That's not a bad thing."
"Ya, I know. But when I think about how I should be graduating, it is."
"That's actually why I had asked you. I didn't know if you were graduating."
"What about you?"
"I just finished my third year at UT."
"You remember Ross and Kyle and them?"
"Ya, I remember."
"They're probably graduating right now. But I don't keep up with them anymore."
"Oh, why? Remember, Lisa? I think she's graduating, too. I don't know. I don't really keep up with anyone either. "
"I don't like keeping up with them because I feel like I'm so behind."

...

"I think I'm going to blog about him."
"Wait, you are? You're not going to say anything bad about him are you?"
"No."

He taught me a couple new Frisbee moves that I can now add to my repertoire.

"I probably sound like a nerd right now."
"Ya, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Upon arriving at home, I checked out his Facebook. He isn't friends with any of those people.

"He doesn't like them anymore."

Fascinating.

The Absolute Most Boring Activity

That you can do with friends is bowling. That's what I heard from someone once (God, I never remember who says things anymore). I think this statement is true 98% of the time.

But I think it all depends on the friends with whom you bowl. Yes, I think it all really just depends.

Emotional Breakdown #1

This is just to document:

That was really strange. I couldn't even help myself; it just happened. I was writing a pretty meaningful email to someone while listening to Elliott Smith's XO. The song, of course, was "Between the Bars." And then I recovered when "Angeles" ended which means the whole thing lasted a whopping 19 minutes.

Fascinating.

Goals for the future: Creating a scholarship

It seems that during the final lecture of every class I take, my professors tell me, "Figure out your goals, write them down, implement a strategy that would be most effective in realizing these goals."

So I figured I might start doing it via the blog that I have been neglecting because school and interning and work consume my life.

As my two readers may already know, I fund my education through a mix of personal loans, scholarships, and a part-time job. And to maximize my earnings, I have to budget heavily as my discretionary income is minimal. Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice. So much hard work, but it'll all be worth it in the end.

They also say, "Give back." I can't even begin to think how much higher education will cost in the future. And I can't (don't want to) imagine how many students will choose not to attend because they don't think they can afford it. I mean, the numbers are pretty astounding today (I really don't have any statistical facts; I'm just basing this on my own personal experiences) so I can only imagine what they'll be like in 20-30 years.

Anyway, every time I learn I have received a scholarship (God, that makes it sound like I am always receiving them, but that is not the case), I am so grateful. My burdens lighten and I can't help but get excited, eager to write my thank you letter to the committee that selected me as a recipient.

I'm wondering already: Would I want my name attached to this scholarship? Doesn't that sound like an act of self-glorification? Shouldn't the reward be in rewarding? Maybe if I died, I wouldn't mind it being named after me as a memorial, but I just can't imagine that happening if I were alive. It's like volunteer work. Do we do it for the self-satisfaction or do we do it so we can tell others about it? Let's be honest here, it's probably both.

In any case, the few scholarships I have received have been memorial funds, which means I have never been able to meet my benefactors as they have all long passed away. I'd have loved to though. That would be a nice feeling, wouldn't it? I would imagine that meeting the recipient -- and I'm talking to my future self here -- would be the best feeling about the whole thing.

Will future self accomplish this goal? I hope so.

POST.SCRIPT.
Is this an arrogant goal? Am I really just saying that I think/hope I'll be making enough money in the future that I can actually establish a scholarship? Or does my desire to give back far outweigh this arrogance, if it even exists? No, no. That's not it at all. Why did I even bring up this point?

Lastly, goals aren't goals if they aren't time sensitive. So, let's try to have this done by the age of 50. This is plausible as I plan to not have children. YA!