Who am I? Answering this question isn’t always easy for we all have numerous roles that identify who we are as individuals. Whether that means you are a sister, brother, teacher, dancer, or friend, the roles that you fulfill encompass the way you interact with the world and how you portray yourself to others. Think for a second about the way that you introduce yourself to a stranger. Most people will begin with their name and follow it with what/whom they are associated with. For example, you will frequently hear an athlete say something to the effect of “I am a swimmer.” Or “I am on the hockey team.” This tells others that they value their identity as an athlete and want to be recognized as one. (Symes, 2010) Pride in one’s identity as an athlete is understandable and should be encouraged.  Athletes are typically healthy individuals who value teamwork and determination, traits that are valued in our society. The danger, though, occurs when there is too much assoc...

I’m sure that we have all experienced a time when we didn’t want to follow through with a task at hand. Either we got bored, felt like the task was too difficult to complete, became burnt out, or couldn’t see the benefits that would arise upon completion. Whatever the reason may be, we’ve been there. The good news is that there are various approaches that can be taken to fix this problem, one of them being, “keeping your eyes on the prize.” Everything that we do is done for a reason. For example, baseball players both young and old are required to go to batting practice. It has become part of their pregame routine to take dozens of extra swings in preparation for competition. The purpose, as told by the Oakland hitting coach Chili Davis, is that “batting practice is a time to create and foster good habits. The guys who do it and do it right are the ones who are more successful.” (Caple, 2014) The same thing goes for volleyball players. “A setter will come close to ...

Every third Monday of January we recognize and celebrate the lifelong impact that Martin Luther King Jr. made on our country. We celebrate this day to honor and commemorate MLK and his strong belief in combating racial discrimination. As you all know, King was the lead spokesman for non violent activism in the Civil Rights movement, and is often recognized by his “I am a dream speech”. However, this blog isn’t to give you a history lesson on WHAT King did- stuff you already know.  This blog is to prompt some thinking about HOW he did it.   So how did he do it? How was one man able to bring about change and bring a country closer together despite significant challenges and adversity? The answer starts with a firm belief in himself and his cause (or task).  He showed immense courage by standing firm in his belief in a nonviolent approach, even when others prosecuted him for it. He knew that violence would only make things worse for his people and so instead, he led peacef...