Part 1
Family Interview

My brother Rick is the best demonstration of my families traditions and morals. In my mind he is the hardest worker, deepest thinker, and most athletic person i know. He’s constantly training to complete in five mile races raising money for cancer patients and cancer research ever year. Professionally he is a financial adviser at Scott & Stringfellow LLC. He said his life is rather dull now, how ever i laugh at that remark. When asking him about memorable stories he told me about the craziest time of his life, and how it wouldn’t have been possible if he didn’t follow the families traditions. It all started in college when he decided to join Kappa Sigma fraternity and join ROTC at Wake Forest University, to help him pay for college and to work hard while receiving a fully flourishing college experience. After college he entered the U.S army in Psychological Operations Command and held a rank of First Sergeant commander of 190 soldiers. He said that days never felt so real, that anything can happen in any instant, to be ready and alert, while remaining calm and collected. His favorite time spent in the Middle East was his second tour where he and his men provided security to a royal Saudi families dinner party. It was extravagant, at least 10 types of meats, breads, fruits, vegetable, golden silverware, golden tables and decorated rooms… everything you would see in a Hollywood movie right in front of him. He said it was one of the best days of his life… little did he know what the US army had waiting for him back at base. The ranks above my brother, like the “head honcho” in command for the base had surprised ranking officers with a few days off after the time at the royal dinner. In one of the events he headed off for an evening with friends to a special guest meet and greet. He had no idea, he said he was expecting an older officer or disabled veteran, instead Vince Vaughn awaited them, he was standing in front of the tent with a microphone, performing a sketch comedy. “I never laughed that hard in my life” said rick, “one of my favorite actors less than five feet in front of me. I wasn’t about to not say whats up, after the show i got an autograph and had long conversations with the man, he was a spitting image of a mixture of every character I’ve ever seen him in.” “When they say the army introduces you to new experiences you never can really appreciate it until you know and experience all that it has to offer.” From our conversation i realized his path wasn’t easy, my brother worked hard, sweat and bled for where he is. To follow his path would be far from easy, but its possible with determination, and strength of the mind and body.

Part 2
Family Artifacts

 

 

 

 

 

“Sugarloaf” At Sugarloaf i broke my shoulder and almost lost my life one year in an accident in the woods. Its a place that exposes you to your inner strength and outer strength.

 

 

 

 

 

Grandfathers 100,000 card collection. It has been around in his life, my fathers life and my life. It has taught me its not bad to hang onto things if they really mean something to you. Sports have always been a part of our life, so this really means something to all of us.

Part 3
Your Story

An incident that shaped me was when i joined Phi Eta Kappa, it changed the way i thought about school, life, myself… everything. The turning point in my life was last year when i figured out i still had two years left in school, and most people i knew were graduating. At first i thought that i just needed to join for the social aspect, but then i realized what else we do and what else it was about. After this decision last year i started changing my life, it wasn’t easy, in fact it was pretty tough i told my self i would also be taking my health into serious consideration, i promised my self i would train and work out everyday for at least two hours a day. I also took a turn with my studies, if i was going to work that hard on my body, i would prove to my self that the strength is in my mind as well. So i started spending the same amount of time on studies. After i did that i received my highest GPA in my college history. Life isn’t easy, you have to be ready to fight for things, every day, every year.

Part 4
Your Education

My goals now clearly show that education is no longer a burden or boring, but its an opportunity to equip yourself, its a ticket to survival and prosperity, and of course happiness. I also hope that everyone will someday see things this way as well. We all know they’re are some people that still cant wrap their minds around this cruel world we live in. But is it really that cruel? We all get an opportunity, its just our choice with what we do with it.

Part 5
Your Future

The story of my family and my own story helps me realize that things in this world are reachable, they’re not impossible. Impossibility exists only in our mind in the same dark place that fear and worry exist. When one can break free from all then they are truly in the best state of mind and body. There’s nothing i would change about my current self, i feel like the correct lessons have already been put into motion. It is now my job to continue executing and teaching it to my brothers, or children.

In the Future i will wake up in my bed around 8 or 9, ill look out the window… one direction will show the city, the people and chaos. The other window will show the forest, natures beauty and innocence. Ill walk out the door, head to the gym, or maybe for a run along the beach. Ill talk to people and share my experiences of my travels and accomplishments. Ill head to work… my money making scheme, to pay for research and help others destroy things that is only harming our lives, i will push to position our selves to spend our time here on earth as students, our greatest gift is our mind. It sets us apart from every other living thing on this earth, and maybe this universe.