2009 - The Time is NOW

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to Make The World Smile after an extended time off from authoring any blog posts. Unfortunately, I have failed to manage my time properly between working at my 9-5 and committing myself to my passion for writing. This reminded me how easy it is to lose sight of our dreams and ultimately brought me to write this post tonight.

Right before the holidays, I stopped by my local Starbucks with my family to enjoy a warm chai latte on a frigid December night. While searching through the variety of coffee beans for sale on the shelves and the holiday gift packages, I found a few light books that aroused my interest. Never quick to judge any book by its cover, I flipped through several pages when the words swiftly grabbed me by the arm and screamed for me to make a transformation in my life. Ten dollars later, I took the book home and began to realize that I wasn't living the life I yearned for. Every page, every sentence, and every word encouraged me. The compilation of motivational quotes delivered an animated necessity to take control of my life. It wasn't until I reached halfway through the book when the message was conveyed through a different channel. Fear dove into my body as I quickly ran the calculations through my mind of how many days (based on averages) I had left in this world. The author had presented a convincing, yet frightening argument - what am I going to do with my time left in this world? The calculation goes as follows:

Multiply your age x 365 days. (This will give you your current age in days).
Subtract that number from 27,375 days (That's an average life-span these days).

Perspective is a fascinating thing. Once I viewed my life through this unnerving lense, I realized that there is no day like the present one to make changes. With that being said, I am going to have to step onto the cliche train and discuss what comes along with the start of a new year. The beginning of every year delivers a sense of freshness, the capacity for change, and the thought of finally being resolute with everything you meant to do last year and never did. We all make resolutions to ourselves - to exercise, to eat healthier, to spend more time with family, and even to manage our finances more efficiently. But we also tend to break those resolutions when the promises of the new year vanish, and routine once again mandates our short-lived hopes for finally making the change we've always wanted. Changes do not and usually cannot happen overnight, but it has to start at some point - why not make that NOW? As previously stated, this is far too easy of a cliche to often say and often fail to do. However, if you are reading this and you know in your heart that you are not currently living the life you want, you have the POWER to make the changes in your life TODAY. You are the sole controller of your path, and you are the one who has to take action to initiate changes in your life. You will not be able to attain your dreams unless you concede to the idea that the only thing stopping you from what you want is yourself. Change is in each of us - we just have to make it come alive. Do not let everyday mundane tasks avert you from reaching your best potential. Manage your time and prioritize what's significant to help you and what's insignificant in the process. Surround yourself with individuals who will believe in helping you achieve and do not let negativity from others hinder your ambitions. Put yourself on a path now so that when you do reflect upon your life you can be proud of what you've achieved in this world. Today is the day. And most importantly, see the world and enjoy the small wonders in life while on your journey. Happy New Year - may you learn to live your dreams this year and be happy every year thereafter.

Barack Obama: The 44th President of the United States of America

Following the election results within the past hour, we have learned that Senator Barack Obama from Illinois will now be the 44th President of the United States of America. I am certainly bias in being ecstatic about Obama's historical win due to my political beliefs and support of his stance on issues. It is late, I am exhausted, but I must leave you with these simple and concise thoughts tonight. Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, or whichever party you may affiliate yourself with - we have an undeniable urgency to unite now more than ever. This is an extremely divisive time within our political landscape and if we wish for this country to move in a positive direction, we HAVE to show our support for President Obama as a whole. We need to find ourselves hand in hand, with benevolence and the audacity for change in our hearts, and be unafraid to coalesce the blacks and whites, the young and old, the rich and poor. On November 5, 2008, I ask you to put your candidate choice behind you and show your devotion to the future of this country by supporting our next President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

John McCain's Own Bailout

While the decision of the $700 billion financial bailout plan by the federal government is pending, President Bush had summoned for the two Presidential candidates to come to Washington to help lawmakers decide on the resolution. Before their arrival however, members of congress had reached an agreement on a bipartisan counter-proposal to Bush's plan, which some argue that the candidates' trips to Washington weren't necessary.

John McCain's unexpected decision Wednesday afternoon to temporarily halt his campaign has thrown into doubt whether Friday's first presidential debate will go on as scheduled. McCain said he would stop campaigning and pull all his campaign ads after Thursday's appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. But the idea was treated with a cold shoulder by his opponent, Barack Obama, as well as the nonpartisan debate organizers and the University of Mississippi, where the debate is scheduled to take place.

"I believe we should continue to have the debate. I think it makes sense to present ourselves before the American people to talk about the nature of the problems we're having," Obama told reporters Wednesday afternoon at a hastily called news conference in Florida.

"We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved," McCain told reporters in New York City on Wednesday afternoon. "I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the Commission on Presidential Debates to delay Friday night's debate until we have taken action to address this crisis.

But who pulled the biggest political red card of the last 48 hours? Our Republican nominee John McCain. He attempted to be the superhero candidate by announcing yesterday to the public that he does not plan on participating in the Mississippi debate on Friday night until the bailout plan is finalized. While I understand his intentions, I do not think that this type of action is what the country needs right now.

McCain's "maverick" attempt of being a hero has somewhat backlashed against him and dealt him strong criticism from his opponent, Barack Obama. Obama's campaign stated that they think John McCain's decision simply confirms that under pressure he is unable to handle multiple tasks while in a leadership role. Today while watching the news I heard McCain's decision being compared to the actions taken by President Bush during his excessive vacations while in office. McCain was portrayed as "more of the same."

And to the greatest extent, I absolutely agree with the above statement. As the President of the United States of America, your duty is to not only to lead the country in its current state through any crises, but to also give the country hope and direction for the future well-being. Any powerful statement he is trying to make to the public and to Congress about the urgency of the bailout plan is erroneous with the absence of his promise and direction for the country in a ninety minute debate between candidates.

Tonight's debate is the first of three presidential debates that are scheduled over the next three weeks. The only vice presidential debate occurs on October 2 at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Hurricane Victims Need YOUR Help

The devastation of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in the Gulf region has left thousands homeless and heartbroken. After seeing the horrific aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which still has hundreds displaced and in need of help, our country was at least more prepared for these two grandiose storms. Unfortunately, preparation doesn't completely stop the hurricanes from destroying homes, flooding streets, and crumbling infrastructures. That means people in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana need your help. The Red Cross has been actively involved in serving meals to those in the storm affected areas and other organizations have devoted their time and effort to ensuring individuals that their country is there for them in this time of dire need. Whether it's simply donating money online, organizing supplies to send down to the affected areas, or orchestrating a trip to help rebuild and clean-up - you can lend a hand. Go visit the Red Cross website at http://www.redcross.org/ or visit the FEMA website at http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/2008/ike/ to find out ways you can be involved in helping those that were left homeless and speechless because of the storms.

Don't forget, there is going to be a time when you need help in your life and this is your opportunity to help others in their time of need.

Remembering 9/11

Despaired, frightened, outraged, devastated, petrified. Any word in our very own dictionary could not put a finger on the range of emotions felt on September 11, 2001. Seven years later and the images of such anguish and fear still burns a hole into our hearts, giving us a painful reminder that it still feels like yesterday. No matter the age or background, time stopped for every American that day as we watched terror unfold through our television sets, or even physically through our own eyes amidst the chaos in the streets of New York. We will always remember where we were and what we were doing when the greatest country on earth suddenly felt powerless.

We leaned on strangers' shoulders for support and for comfort, we looked to friends for understanding, and we hugged our families a little tighter to remind ourselves to be thankful for being alive. Through stories of despondence and hope, we were able to give compassion to each other and prove to the world that we were strong and would pull through this with honor, dignity, and respect.

We will never forget those who were brave enough, courageous enough, and warm-hearted enough to volunteer to save lives, as well as the innocent victims who literally went to work and never came home. But despite the hurt and anger of lives lost, we cannot help but to turn this painful reminder into a positive light. We must use this day of patriotism and remembrance to remind ourselves that regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, background, or even political affiliation - we must stand united not only today but every day. We may have differing opinions, as it is in human nature to disagree, but support of country should take stronghold over such divisive issues if we wish to remain the great country of the United States of America. Go talk to a stranger today. Call an old friend. Tell your family you love them. Listen to what others have to say and embrace differences. Let these things become your nature and let yourself contribute to keeping this country united. God Bless.

The Wonders of Life

It's one of those deeper thoughts of intellect that we often tap into as human beings but we have great difficulty grasping completely. A number of people would blame it on the notion that "everything happens for a reason." You encounter certain people, deal with certain circumstances, and have certain failures for God-given reasons that may be out of our human control. Others believe more in the idea of free will, in which every move an individual makes is interrelated to how their life situations turn out. In otherwords, we control our destinies. Whatever you believe, the idea of "what-ifs" and "going left instead of right" always has, and probably always will fascinate me. When I take a prime example in my life, my best friend and college roommate Rachael, I always can't help but wonder about the "what-ifs" that involves itself in our relationship, or if the "what-ifs" scenario is inferior to a greater being determining our fate.

For four years while at college, Rachael and I always pondered this idea. It all started with being freshmen roommates. Upon entering JMU as a freshman, one must fill out a survey, although not too detailed, that summarizes their lifestyle. Whether you are clean, messy, or somewhere in between. Whether you are a smoker, a non-smoker, or even a non-smoker who doesn't mind being around smoke. Whether you study in complete quiet, study with noise, or can be content with a medium between the two. We especially liked to juggle the "what-ifs" with this simple survey that took us a painless twenty minutes to complete and submit to JMU to be placed with a roommate, and potential life-long friend. "What if that day when I filled out the survey I was feeling somewhat unorganized and I reflected that onto my answer," I asked Rachael. "That one different answer could have meant we would have never been roommates, and if you think about it there's a possibility we could have never met." Rachael said. "What! Why do you believe we could have never met? That's awful to think about," I quickly and anxiously replied. Then it hit me. We had different majors - I started out in marketing and she started out (and continued) with chemistry. Even when we went to join clubs later on that year we realized that we wanted to pursue different organizations. We shared dorm friends, but besides that, our good friendships developed mostly with those inside of our classes and clubs.

Four years later, and continuous best friends throughout it all, we still ask ourselves the same questions. Just what if? Or instead, was this destined to happen since it was out of our control? We may never know... and that uncertain facet of life intrigues me.