The times have me thinking. About my full twenty years of life thus far, things I've done, places I've been and people I've known. I remember several years ago my father told me that I am becoming the man I will be for the rest of my life...thinking about this is deep. According to this philosophy, the way in which I interact with people, appreciate each moment and go about each day probably wont change. Can people change? Can I change? I know I have regrets, it must be possible to learn from my mistakes and become a better person from it. Becoming who you want to be in life is one of the hardest things to do, that's why everyone is given a whole life to do it. As each day passes, it will take you one day longer to become who you want to be.

Even though its 1:15 in the morning on July 13th, tonight is one of those nights where the black silhouette of the trees clashes with the fading gray sky. It looks like a winter night right after a snow storm let up.

I'm glad I'm writing this, its really therapeutic to just let your feelings flow. The conscience is an interesting thing, its like an emergency alert system right before a huge storm. I recently just re-experienced this feeling, of disappointment, guilt and shame. The more I reflect on it, the more meaning I can draw out. Its important to make mistakes and get checked by your conscience, the more guilty your conscience makes you feel, the better.

Strangely enough, the sky has become pitch black like it should be at this hour. One of the most important things in life is believing that things will become great again, no matter your current situation. If you lack this hope, I think you miss out on life. What is life? My best answer so far is what you can appreciate. Its how much you can understand, relate with and care about. Again, the more of this, the better.

I love remembering things that I thought I had entirely forgotten. No matter how important they were, its an amazing feeling to remember the smallest, most random things. Life must be lived with an open mind, a caring heart, forgiveness for others and redemption for oneself....all of which I plan to improve on.

Another blog coming soon, I feel like I'm more in touch with my blogging roots than ever before.

-Shaun

Up late and at it again!

Firstly, the title applies to me writing another late-night blog (and nothing inappropriate!) Lol! For some unexplainable reason, some of my best thoughts are created after hours, so that's when I let the blog flow. I always look forward to starting Spring semester more than Fall, because the weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer and my classes always seem to be better (hopefully other people share the same feeling!). That's not even to mention Opening Day is creeping up around the corner (on April 1st, the only ones looking foolish will be the Arizona Diamondbacks). Life without baseball is like living life without purpose, I question if getting out of bed every morning is worth it....
Of course I'm kidding about that, I have become much better about the whole positive mindset issue. One thing I like to do is to think of a really happy or funny thought RIGHT when I wake up, it just seems to really help. Another thing that seems to work is to avoid negative expectations. You may be like, "What the heck is Shaun talking about?". Let me explain, when I go to work (at the anything-but-glorious King Soopers (Yes, I still work there), I no longer have that dreaded thought of having to work on any given day. If you go into things with a clear and happy mind, positivity is what you get out (That's true for life).
You may be asking, What else is true for life? I think self-expression is. If you can be yourself, treat others with care, have a good head on your shoulders and be accepted by others, then you're in a GOOD place. That means that you have true friends and when you're surrounded with good people, good vibes influence everyone. At the end of the day, you have to live the way YOU want, because that's all we really have. It's important to take pride in yourself and be confident in what you do. As they say, "Haters Gon' Hate", its a law of nature. So, if they're gon' hate anyways, might as well make your life the best it can be!
Yeah, I know I went a little soft with this blog, I used a little blogging-charm (Sometimes, you just have to use some). I think the best way to describe that word is when you re most in touch with your feelings when dropping a blog (best understood by fellow bloggers). I also wrote my Grandma a letter today, so I'm still feeling pretty good about that :)

January is such a beautiful month with the Bears in the playoffs!

Much love to everyone out there doing their thing.

-Shaun

Living for the moment

Yeah, I know it's been a while...But its a new blog, so appreciate it (cuz I'm appreciating just writing it!). I'm in a real good mood tonight, which is a rarity after just getting off work (@ the Soopers). There is one thought that gets me through tough days at work; The time I spend at work is what I make of it, the fact that I'm at work won't change, so might as well make the best of it. In extension, I believe this is true in life. You may not always appreciate things, or take things for granted, but things can only be as good as YOU make them! So make them the best they can be!

A new experience I have gone through since working at the Boulder King Soopers is dealing with homeless people on a daily basis (to the point of name recognition). Through the lingering odor and lack of hygiene, you can usually find extremely courteous and friendly people, simply without a place to live. I'm aware the majority of these people have mental or substance abuse issues...but one thing they all share is a general appreciation for being around others. Being homeless means a lot of lonely nights, which may be the reason they go out of their way to be friendly to everyone (either that, or they want your spare change!).

The entire reason I mentioned this is because homeless people genuinely appreciate every moment they have around other people, because they don't have to face their problems in quiet, lonely despair. In dealing with them, I thought I need to genuinely appreciate every moment I spend with others, no matter who they are. On my deathbed, I believe the only thing that really matters is how meaningful the relationships you have with other people are. It would be cool leaving this earth, with no regrets about the time you've spent with others, but proud of what you've done with your life.

Thanks,
-Shaun H.

Just a Blog.

Its been raining all day, I feel like I live in Seattle or something (even though I have never been to Seattle, I hear it rains a lot there). Maybe its just me, but I think Sundays are boring, or at least not as good as Saturday. This is how I feel; On Friday and Saturday, the weekend is still new and you can do whatever you want and its all good. But then Sunday rolls around the thought of school on Monday lurks in the back of your mind. I mean don't get me wrong, I love a day off, but I don't think I appreciate Sundays as much as I should. Maybe I just really feel this way because I have a final tomorrow and I'm blogging.......(a creative form of procrastinating). But its a multiple choice Geology final, I might just have to play the lotto and hope my guesses are lucky.......
I kind of feel like a little kid again, because I'm super excited for summer time and nice weather. Immediately following finals, I think 18 holes of golf in the day, and Rockies games at night could become my daily routine. I have definitely hit the point in the semester where any interest in my classes has faded, just like my grades. I'm just kidding, my grades aren't bad, but my classes are crazy boring. I sometimes wish I was the type of person who feels comfortable ditching classes, but I guess that's just not me. Sometimes I guess you just have to man up and take care of business. I think its impossible to regret hard work, but becoming motivated is the only hard part. I think once you start working hard, you really appreciate things more and its all worth it. That's true for life.
I just had a positive thought; If everything goes accordingly, I wont be working at King Soopers this summer. There's something about being inside King Soopers ALL DAY, while watching customers stroll by laughing, on the way to the pool......It Sucks! At times, it felt like I was trapped like a rat in a cage. But not this summer, this summer I'm going to really enjoy what life has to offer. I'm still undecided on running the Bolder Boulder this May. I haven't been running as much as I would like, but I think I'm going to do it anyways. The best part of running 6.21 miles is the overwhelming cheering and support you get from complete strangers, I love it. That's what the world needs more of.
Hopefully everybody's doing really well and if you're not, keep a positive mind until things turn around (Because they will). I also heard something really interesting lately, that got me thinking like I haven't in a while. This is a brief summary of what hooked me; If you ask God for patience, he wont just immediately make you patient, he will instead provide you with an opportunity to be patient. If you ask God for courage, he wont immediately make you courageous, he will provide you with an opportunity to be courageous. That's just interesting to think about at the end of the day. It finally stopped raining and the sunset is peeking out of the clouds.
Sorry if this blog got too religious, but it felt really good dropping a blog during my moment of inspiration. Make the world a better place, punch a Padres fan in the face. Rockies in October.

-Shaun

Bloggin' On The Spot

I'm not totally sure why I'm writing this blog, or where I'm going with it, but it just feels right. I don't even care if anybody reads it, it just feels good writing it. Ya Dig? I just kind of got that blogging spark back.........so here we go!

Winter Break is an interesting thing, it gives you time to relax and hang out with cool people who are home for the holidays. But more importantly, it gives you a real good chance to just sit and think. By just letting my mind wander, I've actually come up with some inspirational thoughts (these can even be considered New Year's resolutions). If you're not into this sort of thing, then that's cool, but I just really wanted to drop this blog for some reason.

With the semester over (thank the Lord!), I found myself really needing to regroup. Through this process I have come up with a couple of realizations. My first one is to always think and act positively. Sometimes this may seem hard or frustrating, but it's well worth it for yourself and others. I like the thought that you should always treat others in the way you want to be treated, it makes sense. I've really been trying to improve on that and trying to make my relationships with other people the best they can be. I honestly believe that if you can do this successfully, you WILL live a happy life (which is pretty damn cool, if you ask me).

This brings me to my second thought, appreciating the time you spend with people. As lame as this may sound, it's so true. I really wish I could always be bursting with joy and have fun every second of my life when I'm around other people. Unfortunately, this is pretty difficult to accomplish. That's why I'm also working on making the best out of every experience. Let's face it, we're all going to face hardship and struggle, but if we make the best out of what we have, things will work themselves out pretty nicely.

My last thought is a little more internal. It's all about being proud with who you are at the end of the day, and having no regrets. I think this is possible by having good people in your life and being true to yourself. I also want to work on learning from my mistakes. By this, I mean not making the same mistake twice.

This has already been a rock solid winter break and I have honestly enjoyed spending time with my family and friends (which to me, is what the holidays are all about). I think it's the coolest thing when you picture the time you've spent with close people, and can't help but smile. I really think that's the way life is meant to be lived.

I'm fully aware that this blog was soft and it lacked some humor, but that's how I meant it to be. It was nice and gentle.

Thanks for your time, and I hope everybody out there has an AWESOME NEW YEAR'S!

Go DU Basketball. Also, please feel free to vote in the NEW POLL located at the bottom of this page!

-Shaun

The Bounce Back

Some might compare my blog to an Avalanche.......Because it just keeps gaining momentum! (WOW that was lame!)

So anyways,

Today was a pretty interesting day and I'm still not totally sure what to think about it. It all started at about noon, in my really fun math class. We had a class workshop day (which meant you are allowed to work in groups) on the assignment. As the kids in the class scrambled around to find friends to work with, I suddenly found myself alone, working all by myself. At the time, I didn't really care, I just started working. Things were going pretty well in group Shaun, until I got to problem #5, which was WAYYY over my head. Having no freaking idea even where to begin, I asked the three girls who sat in front of me for help. They also happened to be the three cutest girls in the whole class (so I must have really looked like a nerd working alone next to them). I simply asked, "Hey guys, do you know how to do #5?" It was obvious they heard my question, because they immediately stopped their conversation about what to wear and how drunk they got last weekend. All three of them stared at me in silence, then started ruthlessly laughing at me. I dont even know why they were laughing at me, maybe out of pity, but it was sure as hell embarrasing. I think the whole class stopped to watch me get embarrassed, and it seemed like some even joined in. I'm not even gonna lie, this cut me deep. These girls I don't even know teamed up and laughed at me, it was like they didn't even take me seriously (but I really needed their help). After straight up dissing at me, they just went back to their conversation and the assignment in their extremely exclusive group. I honestly felt lower than these three freshman chicks (I was down, but not out....).

At the time, I honestly didn't know what was wrong with me, I felt kind of pathetic. These three girls had me questioning myself, I felt like some kind of freak show! I was trying to figure out what I did wrong to get humiliated by these three freshman sorority girls. I played the question I asked over and over in my head to try to find a reason why I got laughed at.

So I just tried to shake it off and return my efforts back to problem #5. Hopeless and humiliated, I was just kind of sitting at my desk with my head down, staring at my paper. Then, out of nowhere, a girl from across the classroom came up to me and showed me how to do the dreaded problem #5. She was kind of a quiet, nerdy girl, who was nice, and happened to be my savior. I completed problem #5 with her help and turned in my workshop with pride. When I looked back, the three mean girls were frantically trying to figure out how to do problem #5 in the final minutes of class. They looked up at me (exiting the classroom in glory) and stared jealously, while I stuck my tongue out at them. The best part is, they never finished the workshop and they seemed PISSED about it.

So like I said before, I don't really know what to take away from this experience. Maybe it's to not question yourself or lower yourself to anyone.....ever. Or maybe its to appreciate the kindness of strangers who help you with math. One thing I do know is, The final result: Group Shaun (+ the help of the nerdy girl) 1, Three Mean girls 0.

Hopefully errrrrbody's doing well out there,

-Shaun

P.S.- Big Ups on the D.U. win tonight, I think they could be real contenders come March.

Realizations on the RTD

Your initial reaction after reading this blog will be similar to touching a stove......shocked by how hot it is!

Lets get things started (that's what she said). (not really). So I was riding the bus home from campus today (I know what you re thinking...Shaun's a loser for riding the bus!) Anyways, I stepped onto the all-but-glorious RTD, and silently took my seat, as usual. It was just the ordinary Tuesday, not great, but not horrible either. A few moments later, the bus pulled away, destined for the next stop on the route. When we arrived at the next stop, an Asian girl sat down in the seat in front of me. At first, she looked like every other passenger on the bus, kind of bored and unhappy (like my Dad!). She must have been only 15, still in high school. At the time, I didn't think much of it, I just kind of stared out the window, like I usually do. Reminiscing about my classes, homework I have to do and tests I have to study for, I found my good mood starting to deflate. Just about then, the young Asian girl in front of me pulled an Etch-A-Sketch out of her purple backpack. For those of you who dont know, or were robbed of a childhood, an Etch-A-Sketch is a little, red, plastic drawing device that utilizes two knobs and powder to create an image. Immediately, she started to play with it, like she had just gotten it as a present on Christmas morning. It was hard to ignore the fun and sense of excitement this Etch-A-Sketch brought to her.
After witnessing this event, it put me back in a really good mood for some reason. I started thinking about bright and happy memories. It was like the Etch-A-Sketch was contagious, spreading positive vibes, and I caught the virus of happiness. After seeing how a simple Etch-A-Sketch brought this girl so much happiness, I asked myself, "Is it possible for such a simple thing to bring me happiness?" "Why cant I always be happy like her?"
As the bus continued on, I realized that to be happy, we must have a source of happiness in our lives, like that girl's Etch-A-Sketch. We just need to find whatever it is that makes us happy and hold onto it, or else your life will disappoint you (which really sucks). And to think all of this came from a short RTD bus ride is pretty cool. If you think I went soft because I wrote this masterpiece, then forget you. Make the world a better place, punch an Atlanta Braves fan in the face. Rockies in October.

As always, thanks for reading and I hope everyone is feeling good out there.

-Shaun