Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

I just saw a great movie today called Invictus. As I was watching it, I had to constantly remind myself that it was a real story and not some made up Hollywood "feel good" thing. It was so perfect how they won the world cup and united the country.

My sister has been reading up a lot on Nelson Mandela throughout the past few weeks and I've been hearing second hand from her about what an amazing man this is. He is a prime example of what a person should be. He rose above an insurmountable amount of adversity and brought together a country that was absolutely torn apart. He is a leader. He is the leader that I want to be.

Last year during my blue and gold officer interview for the Naval Academy, I was asked who my role models were and why. I prepared so much for the interview but for some reason I didn't even consider this as a question to prepare anything before hand, stupid I know. Well I said Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, and Franklin Roosevelt. Now what I find interesting with those three is that they all were great leaders and knew how to unite people towards a brighter future, they were all so humble and down to earth. The one thing that they all have in common is that they have had tremendous setbacks in their life that I can't even fathom. Roosevelt with paralysis and for Martin Luther King and Barack Obama they faced the cruelest of discrimination. I just wonder how someone can face fear and overcome it stronger than ever, inspiring others. It's amazing to see how hardships can have a polarizing effect on a person. Some take pain the exact opposite way and give up but these men persevered.

I know I'm sort of rambling but I was just thinking how if I were asked that question again today Nelson Mandela would be atop that list. He inspires me and I have never even met him. He inspires billions around the world to be better just by his example and presence. That is what a role model and leader does.

What does a leader do to inspire others? He perseveres through the toughest of days and puts others before himself and in doing so he unites the masses and lets them be the master of their own fate and the captain of their own soul. I was reading a book the other day that said a true leader is one that empowers others to fulfill their own potential and do the task on their own. That is what Mandela did with that rugby team. He didn't do it for them but he did inspire them to greatness.

Mr. Mandela happy belated birthday. You inspire me to be all that I can be and I hope to one day have an impact on people in the way that you have had an impact on me.

This Summer

Well it's been awhile since I've written a post and it's because I really never know what to say. My summer has been pretty boring. I feel like I'm not being very productive but I don't really have anything to do. I've been doing a lot of working out because I have to be a frickin iron man for this soccer team at vf. Golf has actually become one of my main hobbies this summer too. I love the peacefulness of the course it really mellows me out. I got a camera for my birthday and I gotta say it might be my favorite present ever. I really love taking photos. I've never had a good camera before but I've always been one to say what a good picture something would be and now I can actually take the pictures!!! I love it. (by the way I posted a couple of my pictures). I'm a little nervous for school. I've heard that the plebe summer is pretty darn hard. I can't talk to anybody for 6 weeks after I report so that'll be interesting. I find myself being very antisocial lately. I don't really know why... maybe it's like a separation thing before college... I don't know. I have heard for a while that this would be the greatest summer of my life, no commitments and all fun. Well it hasn't necessarily been that great. Beachweek was a waste. I have never been one to not be able to tolerate drinking but it was disgusting down there and people that I cared about were getting taken advantage of and hurting themselves and it was sad to watch. I can only hope that it won't be like that for them at college because it can really hurt them. Stuff like that makes me happy that I'm going to the Naval Academy because I won't have to deal with any of that stuff. So anyway that happened. I came home early to get away from it and then I went with my family to Charleston. It was pretty fun nothing too crazy just a pretty relaxed week. I found myself getting a little irritable though. I think sometimes I get a little to caught up with my own problems that I get pretty selfish with my own mindset. Well I had that selfish mindset that whole week and I was a party pooper. Whatever I'm sorry family and egey if i pissed you guys off a little bit. Since then its been just a routine of work, lifetime, golf, pictures... every single day the same thing. Whatever it's the calm before the storm I guess and I'm trying to appreciate the slowness. It's just one of those things where I want what I don't have cause I guarantee I'll want this back in about 3 weeks when I'm gettin my butt kicked. Oh well. Despite what it may seem from what I've written, I'm very happy with my life and I'm proud of where I'm at. If I would have been told a year ago that'd I'd be where I am today I would have been ecstatic. Life is good and I'm happy.