What I love, or at least what people told me I love

Either I'm not cool enough to have my friends type my answers to the questions or my friends and family aren't tech savy enough to do it. In my opinion, some people are just a little lazier than others. Myself being one of the lazy ones of course, I can't really complain can I? Any way, in seeking out people to tell me about myself in the first five years of my life I chose to ask my dad, my grandmother, and my grandfather. Lets begin with my dad...

In asking him what I was like in the first five years of my life, the first thing he said was that I was a happy child and I was always smiling. He said that that I also liked to run. Mainly because when I was a baby, maybe two or three years old, I had braces on my legs, Forrest Gump style. So as soon as I got them off, I did what I couldn't do before which was run. My dad said I was a huge Sesame Street fan. My favorite characters on the television show were the count and Big Bird. He said I was a little jealous of my little brother because he was taking the family's attention away from me. However, I was also very protective of him. My dad, along with my grandparents said that I loved sports, I loved singing and performing, and I loved music. I was told that I would hear music and attempt to imitate the whatever song I was hearing. Its' kind of hard for me to believe, but he actually told me that I enjoyed to draw when I young as well.

As for my grandmother, she said that I showed interest in anything an every thing within the first 3 months of my life. She said I was a very observant baby.  She also said I was obsessed with the little bear from the snuggle dryer sheets commercials. She also mentioned that I loved to read the books that she would buy for me but I enjoyed any game where I could run around.

My grandfather, who I spent the majority of my time with, said that I would not let him out of my sight. While my parents worked my grandparents took care of me, but my grandfather would spend the bulk of his time playing with me, cooking for me, pretty much spoiling me. So I could understand that. He said I was really into video games, and I wanted to play all of the time. He said I would do anything as long as it involved some type of fun activity. He also mentioned that I never wanted to go home. I always wanted to stay outside and play. Which makes sense, I'm still the same way now.

As far as things that my caregivers thought was unique about me, my grandfather said that whatever activity I was doing I wanted to be the leader, much more than some of my other friends. My grandmother said the think that was most unique about me was that I very determined, intelligent, and I had an ability to think on my feet. When I asked her to elaborate, she said that, if I had it made up in my mind to do something, then I would try my hardest to do whatever it was that I wanted. She also said that whenever I was confronted with a problem, I would always try to come up with a solution, even though the solutions may have been wrong at times. My dad said that I had a unique ability to do a lot of tasks on my own. He said that when it came to school work, it was so easy and I would finish so much faster than many of my peers that teachers were running out of work to give me. He said that I was so much smarter than him when he was my age. Things that he struggled in school, I breezed right through.

As far as what my caregivers believed I would become when I grew up, the responses from my dad and grandparents are somewhat the same. They all agreed that whatever I decided to do I would be extremely successful; and whatever profession I chose, it would be a high paying job. My grandmother is the only one of the three who had a specific idea of what career field I would be in. She said that I would follow my uncle and go into the health profession. FYI, my uncle graduated from University of Illinois - Champaign with a degree in dentistry, got bored with that and went back to school to be a surgeon. Got his certification, but he felt like he wasn't making enough money so he went back to school, now he's a plastic surgeon. Yeah, I have pretty big shoes to fill if I go that route. 

I didn't want to just limit my answer to question number three to only my friends so I asked my relatives as well, but since the assignment only requires 5 responses I'll keep it to that. When I asked various people who have had a tremendous impact on the 20 plus years I've been on this Earth, here are some of their responses. 

Mike P. former physics lab partner and future business partner says a good example is my relationship with one of my other former lab partners and future business partners Rob M.

Mike says "It shows your ability to not only keep it real, but give advice that empowers others to think outside of the box". He also says that I have the strength to realize faults/problems and make solutions to those problems, first, verbally and then with my actions, by staying true to myself as well as to others. Mike adds " the gift you have is person-ability", I guess that means I'm very personable, and "networking. This gift shows inner strength"

My cousin Rick C., who works for my uncle, says "your sociability, your outgoing personality and your drive to be successful are you greatest strengths. You are also optimistic and you try to keep a positive outlook on life no matter how bad things are or may seem".

Omari G., my best friend for 20 plus years,  says my greatest gift is my interpersonal skills. He comments on my ability to get along with and communicate positively with people of all cultures and lifestyles.

Jamaal G., Omari's little brother says pretty much the same thing. He calls me a people person. He said I can go into any environment and fit right in. He says that I have the ability to come around his family and fit right in and get along. He notes that this is quite difficult for many of his friends to do. I understand him, but I've known his family for decades... of course I'm gonna fit in! 

Lastly, Sarah S., my (former) girlfriend, the only person who probably knows me better than I know myself, we kind of recently broke up so I had to remind her that her comments had to be nice and couldn't be negative LOL! She says " I definitely feel that you are a very passionate person when it comes to things you love. You are always optimistic and look for the positive things in life an in others. You are funny and can always others laugh and feel better. You're also a very fun loving person, and extremely intelligent... whatever you set you mind to, I know you'll do great!" 

Wow, all of the people who participated in this assignment are very, very, very, very very, important to me and are so much a part of why I strive for success. They believe in me, and in turn, I believe I can do anything. They are my foundation and my support system. I know when the poo hits the fan and I need someone to call on, their numbers are on speed dial and they'll be there for me in an instant. Thats not taking away from my other friends and family who chose not to participate, I still got love for ya! (just don't expect anything from me next Christmas LOL!) 

Thanks for reading, I know it was pretty lengthy. If you feel the need to leave a comment, if not see you when I see you!

1st Blog Entry

I'm taking the class because I read the course description in the course catalog and I thought the class sounded like it would be interesting. As far as what plan to get out of the course, I would like to gain a better understanding of myself, and possibly improve some of my innate qualities that will help me achieve a high level of success within the next few years. Having attended the first class, I am interested to see what the "pump fake" is, if any, in reference to the video we watched. 

As a child, I really was fascinated by anything and everything, if you can believe that. I was always excited to learn new things all of the time.  If I didn't know what something was, I wanted to know what it was, where it came from, how it worked, what made it work... things of that nature. I remember always taking things apart and, at least attempting to put them back together. It didn't matter what it was. Whether it was my toys and games or my trophies. As long as I couldn't get into too much trouble for breaking it, I was definitely going to investigate what ever it was to the fullest. I think the senses I lived through most was my sight and my sense of touch. As a kid, my two favorite things to do were watch cartoons and play video games. I loved cartoons because they were always so extremely random and outside of reality that I was fascinated by almost every cartoon. Although I had I few favorites.  I can't forget about playing. Whatever that entails. I used to love to play all the time. Especially outside. I remember loving to be outside for as long as my parents would allow me to be out. I loved being out and having fun. I also loved music, and I think I was really into the performing arts, like theater plays and concerts. I can't think of any secret dreams or fantasies I had as a kid, but I think I  knew I wanted to have a lot of money be a successful adult. 

I do feel like all of these things are still somewhat a part of me, and some part of me loves those things. I think always having a thirst for knowledge and a and a drive to just want to be out exploring, helped me develop a love for learning. I feel like I always want to learn at least one new thing everyday. I also think I have really strong interpersonal skills good for networking. Sorry, I can't think of more. I guess I'm having a brain freeze.