Jay Merrill

Today I had a short conversation with a geology professor. We hadn’t talked in a while and began to discuss the weather (classic) before shifting to deeper topics such as post college choices he made and I would be making. He explained that when he was a young adult, after the little square cap had been tossed into the air and the celebration was over, he was quite glad to have immediately sought a job. He chose to take a deviation from the path of continuing education and broaden his horizons. This made me think. What are the benefits and drawbacks to specialization?

Look at any famous athlete, musician, scientist, or entertainer. These people have completely dedicated their lives to their trade and the world wouldn’t be what it is without them. They are respected and known for what they do. The expert is very good at one thing rather than being an amateur at many things.

Personally, I would like to live a life in which I get to engage in a broad spectrum of cultures, trades, and activities. This, to me, ads a spice to life that I think people who specialize in one thing don’t get to see. I may not be famous for what I do, but I am definitely satisfied with where I’m at. If you could be an expert in one discipline but sacrifice others would you?

I have two exams tomorrow. One at 8:00 am and one at 11:00 am. As I type this I am sitting in the basement of the Colorado State University Library. It’s quiet and people have their noses in their books (or phones).

Have I studied? Yes. Have I studied enough? No. Is this the end of the world? No. I got a bite to eat with a friend of mine for dinner. As we caught up and talked about our lives the conversation drifted from topic to topic, but it was great. We each got to share some of our opinions on life with each other.

I could have been studying during that time, but instead I took a nice little hiatus (well, two now with the blog post, but who’s counting?) from the books to spend time with a friend… And you know what? Time well spent. The chill time helped me recenter and now I can focus on studying for the rest of the night. Off to review more PowerPoints…

My sister Rachel hanging out in our front yard with our infamous cat, Floof.

Life is stressful. Especially in American culture, I’ve found that our time is filled with a list of things to do and accomplish. Relaxation seems to be either a thing we have to squeeze into our schedules, or somewhat of a silhouette of its true meaning. When we spend too much time trying to seek out relaxation in the form of Netflix, surfing the internet, and picking up the controller, we don’t feel satisfied and refreshed afterwards, and the list pops up again.

My suggestion? Pick up a book. Go outside and take a walk. If it’s dark out, grab a friend and go stargazing. There are so many fun and creative things to do outside of screen time, if you choose to do something out of the ordinary, you’ll feel much better for it.

Hey y’all, here’s a little video of one of my favorite past times: Downhill Longboarding. Got to do a fun session of longboarding today in the beautiful January weather. Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Deer Creek Solo Run

longbaording — A fun downhill longboard race I did a couple years ago.

God controls everything. From the moment we are born to the final breath we take, we have been given the opportunity to make choices to follow his lead, or turn from that path to pursue our own satisfaction.

I had a talk with my roommate this morning about what brings true satisfaction to life. We agreed that the stories we choose to write can be full of easy and comfortable decisions in the moment, but further down the road these choices stack up to a weak foundation of what we’ve become.

This telephone pole has seen bits and pieces of many stories. Countless staples remind me of all the people that put them there.

Almost all good stories involve conflict. Some obstacle in the hero’s way. Without this conflict, the reader is not drawn into the story, and the protagonist becomes a mere shadow of his or her true character. The same is true with our own lives. Sometimes we must make the hard decision to pursue what is right though it may mean a hit to our reputation or pride. In retrospect we begin to see that these conflicts, “stick it to the man” decisions, add a unique meaning to our story. We grow because of it.

In lieu of finals week and graduation, I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on the story you’ve written, as well as the story you want to write.

Author: Jay Merrill

Specialization

Focus

Take a Break

Fun Start to the Year