Flying

30 June 2012

Today is a day of anxiety for me. At four o clock this afternoon I along with my dad and brother will get on a flight to California to attend a family reunion. Whenever I fly I always am amazed and the technology and physics that are involved in taking such an enormous object and being able to keep it up in the air so high up for so long. Some people fear flying and yes some aspects scare myself as well but for the most part I find flying to be a very neat experience. The feeling calms me and it is such a rare experience for me that I truly soak in everything that goes on. From the creepy looking police men who force you to take off half your clothes, to the beautiful flight attendants who fill the small plastic cups with soda. It is going to be such an awesome experience to fly because I have not flown in a plane since I was fourteen. The last time I flew in a plane I was by myself taking a trip out to visit my cousins. Anyways I am not sure what I am really trying to get out of writing about this but I just want to let the reader know more about who I am. Flying in planes sends this rush of adrenaline through me that makes my heart thump out of my chest. The taste of the winter mint gum as I chew like a mad cow in order to pop my ears is always entertaining. There’s so many aspects of flying that make me smile as I think about them and I am super excited to experience them shortly. So for the next two weeks my posts will be coming from the sunny state of California. If you look up today you might see a plane, and just possibly, it might be have Brady Shanklin cozied up inside of it.

Lifeguarding

Today has been a long day and sadly it is not that much different than almost any weekday of my life! I spend four of my seven days of the week at my neighborhood pool "saving lives." In the two years that I have spent lifeguarding I have not had to save or help a single drowning person. There have been a few times that I was on the edge of my seat heart pounding prepared to jump in when I soon noticed a mom or sibling rushing to the drowning childs aid. My jump would have been useless and unnecessary due to the closeness of the family aider. Lifeguarding is terrible but it is important for me to earn money and develop good habits that will greatly benefit me in the future. The sun beats on my face and it feels as though at some points during my day that my skin is literally frying. The layer of sunscreen is a mere speed bump in the full speed travel of the burning sun. There is nothing I can do at points except for reapply over and over again until my body is coated in the oily white mess. The hours go by at turtle like speed and it seems as though the hands on the clock are refusing to obey father time. The money is incredible but I am often stuck wondering if my job as a babysitter at the neighborhood pool is worth a few dollars over minimum wage. The parents who take it upon themselves to drop their kids off and go have a couple beers are only the beginning of what seems to be an endless nightmare I never wake up from. I am glad that this journey will soon be over and that I can move on to bigger and better things. If anything my time as a lifeguard has shown me that I want to challenge myself and grow into something that I can be proud of. By no means to I want to spend my life as a glorified, sunburnt, babysitter. There are bigger and better things in the world for Brady Shanklin than lifeguarding.

Getting to Know Your Audience

The question that I loved most that was asked by this class was, "What would you do if you had 24 hours left to live?" I think that you can get to know a person a lot by the choices that they make when they think that they are in danger or near death. The answer to this question showed very much what the people in this classroom are like and what they value most in their life. Through reading responses I found that the people in this class love their family very much and that they are most often the thing they hold closest to their heart. However, one thing that surprised me when I was reading responses is to find out how old and mature some of the students in this classroom are. I was shocked that most of the class has kids already and that only a very few of the students are coming straight out of high school. When I imagined college I thought that there would be mostly high school students but I was surprised to find the desire that a lot of older persons have to go and obtain an education. I very much respect this and now have a desire to work ten times harder in this class. I want to share with these people the knowledge that I have and do my best to help them in the education that they are giving up family time and jobs to obtain. I noticed that people were finding ways to bring their family into almost all of their writings and then realized that their families are most likely the reasons that they are going back to school. I expected that most students would have a desire to learn but I did not know for what reasons they would have this desire. I cannot wait to work with this class and greatly respect the efforts and challenges many have overcome to be able to take this course. My hope after the Know Your Audience discussion is that I can help everyone around me grow, develop, and achieve in ways that will lead them to success.

Word Count: 360

Feeling the Beat

28 June 2012
Whether it is a song on your iPod or a band that comes across the radio, I truly believe that music can play a major role in setting our attitude and mindset. This weekend I had the opportunity to purchase an album from one of my all-time favorite groups. Maroon 5 released an album and at midnight the night of its release I could be found in the comfort of my super comfy, but a little bit too small bed. The music moved me in ways that I cannot even begin to describe. I began to take each and every word to heart and try to apply the messages that they share through music directly into my life. Whether it is the sappy song about missing the one you truly love or the upbeat one that inspires you to live life to the fullest, the music I hear always changes my mindset. I often wonder and conclude that maybe this is why athletes listen to music before they head out to compete. I imagine that as they listen to the music they travel into their own world, I world where there are no limits and a dream is reality. To embrace the words of those who dedicate their lives to changing us with their songs and compositions. As I sat listening to these songs I realized that I was immediately inspired. I wanted to change who I was and take the advice that a young thirty year old rock star unknowingly was giving me. Treating the people I loved better and cherishing them with more care became a priority, and selfishness was not an option. It may seem ridiculous that someone could be moved so intensely by a song but why not. Music is nothing but a speech or a sermon, put to a beat. So instead of listening through a three hour long sermon on how to improve my life, I choose to lay down in the comfort of my bed and listen to my three minute song. I love to relax, take in the message, and feel the beat.

I Believe Impossible is Nothing

Whenever I sit down to watch a sporting event or anything of that nature it always comes to mind that those athletes are accomplishing something that they probably never dreamed of doing. For them it probably seemed impossible that they could win five NBA championships or that one day they would be scoring the game winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. I love to see the look on athletes faces as they accomplish a spectacular feat. I feel as though I am watching a young child who just pulled a chair up to the counter and successfully stole his first cookie. They look so pure and innocent and as though they don't have a care in the world. I am often jealous of this and believe that in comparison to these superhuman athletes I am only a mere mortal. How could someone as simple and childish as me ever accomplish anything great in my life. Is it possible that as just a normal Missouri kid that I could one day make a difference in at least one other persons life. It seems far stretched but the more I think about it I realize that this idea is the one that prevents the weak from becoming strong, and the poor from becoming rich. If Kevin Durant told himself that he was a worthless basketball player who would be lucky to anything with his talent, then I seriously doubt he would stand where he does today. I find it hard to believe that Kobe Bryant set his life goals at becoming a failure and begging the streets for money when he grew old. I truly believe that these men and many others told themselves that they could do the impossible. That one day they would stand on a podium because they chose to. The movie The Pursuit of Happyness quotes, "Don't you ever let somebody tell you that you can't do something....." I find that the more I think about my life, the more I want to be great. The more I think about who I am, the more I want to be remembered. Nobody can tell me what I can or can't do. For Brady Shanklin the sky is the limit, and even then I can choose to go farther, because for me impossible is nothing.

Word Count: 385

I Believe

I believe in God
I believe in families
I believe that having true friends is awesome
I believe that people should not change for others around them
I believe that I need my Iphone
I believe that you can do anything you set your mind to
I believe that we are so much more capable than we can even begin to comprehend
I believe in forgiveness
I believe that compassion for others can bless numerous lives including your own
I believe that everyone should be loved
I believe that life is not fair
I believe in competing
I believe that nothing clears the mind better than doing what you love most
I believe that families should always have each others backs
I believe that our leaders deserve respect
I believe that patience is a divine attribute
I believe that everyone is talented in some way
I believe in Jesus Christ
I believe in trying new things
I believe that education is a gateway to understanding who we are and what we want to become
I believe that we can always learn more
I believe that trust can bind people together
I believe that mothers should always love their children
I believe that we are given challenges for a reason
I believe that the world is a cruel place
I believe that I am a good runner
I believe in perfection
I believe in staying up late
I believe that OKC will win a championship next year
I believe that if anyone would be cool to meet, it would be Kevin Durant
I believe that college will be an exciting opportunity
I believe that love can heal even the deepest wounds
I believe that impossible is nothing

Jung Typology Reflection

 This afternoon I sat down at my computer to take the "Jung Typology Test". After taking the test I got results that showed my personality being overwhelmingly dominated in one category. According to the test I have is a much expressed extravert. Some of the other results included that I am a tad judgmental and a little bit of a thinker. Honestly after taking the test I felt as though it was mostly accurate on the type of personality I have. As a student I usually always am outside of my comfort zone, I never like to keep my opinion bottled up.  I rarely ever keep to myself and feel that the best way to learn is to get your opinion out there and see how others respond. In the past when I have been open and conversing with others, especially in a classroom setting, I find that I learn a lot from what other people have to say about things. When you keep I keep to myself and never meet new people, I feel as though I never learn anything new either.

As I continue to write in journals and in schoolwork daily I feel like I am continually growing as a writer and as an individual. This test proved in some manner of a suspicion I have had for quite some time. Whenever I got into high school I stopped caring about what people thought of me in certain aspects. Instead of writing my English papers so that my opinion would fit the norm, I began to write how I truly felt. I found that my teachers began to appreciate my writing much more because I was being honest and not worrying about what others would think of my opinions. Ever since then I have been really open and honest with people. In life and in school I tend to put myself out there and make new friends and meet new types of people. This is exactly the type of person that the test pinpointed me to be. I really am an extravert type of person and I love to go out and experience new things. This type of personality led me to some of my best friends and some amazing experiences.

The test was very interesting but I must say that no matter what the results said I am planning on sticking to the style of writing that I have always had success with. The style I write with is very open and straight to the point that I am trying to get across. If it is fitting for the essay than I do best to put my voice into the composition and share how I feel in a positive way that others can learn from. This test was fun to take and I feel like I continue to learn and develop as I take tests such as these. My writing style is and always will be different from others around me, but that is something I can be proud of. I love being an extravert type and I am always doing my best to gain knowledge and experience.