I’ve taken a hiatus from writing here, and I’ve let this site slowly slip away into the background of priority for me. I wanted to take some time to re-strategize and re-focus my efforts while also allowing my existing pieces their respective opportunities to breathe. The messages in anything I’ve ever written about here are built to last forever, with no sequential order or time stamped relevance. I’ve felt proud of letting my work here live on its own, consistently unsure of what would strike up the next post.

I’ve also accomplished what I set out to do, change lives and perspectives while breaking the same old social media mold. Creating my own “place where I can reach people who care about the real stuff that life offers, good, bad, or ugly” Which can be found word for word in the About tab).

Continue reading “Room 814”

Hopefully you found the time to enjoy the holidays this year, taking time to slow down and celebrate. With the constant influx of new information and intimidating statistics, I hope you’ve also found ways to free your mind and enjoy life. I look forward to 2022 being a big one, which brings me to today’s conversation. Every year, like most, I try to pick a word to set the tone for the year.

Last year, my word was manifest, meaning to show or display or create or grow. To make certain aspects of my life more apparent. I feel at peace with how that went in 2021, especially in maintaining and building relationships. I also feel like it became extremely relevant on the baseball field for me, being able to show what I can bring to the table by being myself. It was an authentic year of creation and showing an appreciation for what’s important to me. As we move into 2022, it’s time for us to pick a new word.

Continue reading “Trailblaze”

After a three-month hiatus, I’m finally back to sitting down and working on a new piece. Almost exactly a year ago, I collected some thoughts about dealing with the stressors and uncertainties of change in ‘God Wins’: https://thesuper8.blog/2020/11/04/god-wins/

In a majority of my posts since, I’ve worked through the concepts of faith and mental health, dealing with the anxieties of the unknown, and comprehending change. I often times suggest that I write out of my own emotions and needs, and I think I’ve put together some evergreen writings that even I refer back to when needed.

I’ve even learned of some individuals who really appreciate these writings on a personal level; I see and hear you. I appreciate you. In my world, I feel very content and accomplished when I look back over the previous year and how I’ve grown, and I hope you do, too. But I’d like to remind you that we are not in complete control.

Continue reading “God Wins (Part II)”

Athletes are weird people. Many find motivation in the smallest things… whether it be something someone told them seven years ago, an opponent, a recent game, superstitions, and so on. For a good handful of athletes, their number means a lot to them. Some don’t care, and just take what they’re assigned… but others will offer cash payouts and trades to their teammates to ensure they get the number they want.

Numbers are in essence a form of identity. They’re simply in place for statisticians, fans, and observers to be able to tell who is who on the field of play.

For me, my number has always mattered. From my very first day of baseball until the time I graduated high school, my number never changed. When I was preparing for my first coach-pitch baseball experience at six years old, my dad got his old softball bag out from the garage for us to use. It was black with a white embroidered 14 on the side. I obviously wanted to be just like my dad, so I decided that this too would be my number.

Continue reading “Numbers Game”

The courage in the face of adversity. That’s what fortitude is, and before I personally dive into it, you deserve credit for exhibiting it, too. This past 15 months has been nothing but consistent physical and mental adversity for most of us, and now as we start to enter the clear, don’t be afraid to give yourself props for working through it all.

In the time since my last post, this has been a word that has stood out to me time and time again. At most times I’ve carried fortitude with me, and at other times I’ve lost it completely. So, once I found the words to express these thoughts I’ve gained from my experiences, the first thing I wanted to do was share them with you.

Continue reading “Fortitude”

In my last post I briefly talked about the idea of belief. Belief and faith go hand in hand, and I really harped on the positive side of belief, the side that makes you trust the process of life. The side that gives you hope. But, there is a side to belief that contributes to our anxieties that most people don’t even realize.

Per usual, I write when I’m emotionally compelled, which includes all emotions from thrill to defeat, because the emotional spectrum happens to us all. Today, I write from two opposing sides of emotion, the ugly anxiousness of worry, and the calm triumph of control. We often struggle with thoughts that trigger anxiety and stress… it’s natural… but how can we control it?

I’ve said it before, but I’ve been somehow blessed with the mentality to get myself through stressors, and I very rarely feel anxious or in distress. When I talk to people close to me that go through struggles and pain, I give them the same advice that this post contains. I figured that it was time to open up and share with everyone, especially following Easter weekend. Like I said, I write when I’m compelled, and often times as a reminder to myself.

Continue reading “Seeing is Knowing”

It’s great to have the opportunity to be back and writing again. It has been a month and some change since my last post, because since then a lot of life has happened.

I’ve always said I’d never force posts if they didn’t feel right, or if they weren’t genuinely applicable to my life. I’ve been holding on to certain ideas and fragments of a post for the last few weeks, but haven’t had the one keystone point to help me put all of my thoughts together.

As I sit on the bus this afternoon on a 12 hour ride to Georgia Southern, I found it to be time to dive back into it all.

Continue reading “Best Belief”

Today’s post is essentially a ‘year in review.’ I started this site just over a year ago, in the second week of January for a multitude of reasons, but mainly for myself. I realized through having conversations and meeting new people that I had been blessed with many experiences, stories, and ideas that were versatile and unique to me. I realized that I’d have fresh things to share, things that would attract people, but no way to relate them together under one umbrella.

When I look at my life, as I have said many times, I take on numerous different identities. As we all do. For me to be the best athlete, son, brother, Catholic, diabetic, whatever… there are these Super 8 concepts that transcend the borders of those roles. But, when I first started this journey, even I didn’t understand that.

Continue reading “What’s Your Why?”

Happy New Year to you and yours. This is the prime time for a post because everyone is sitting around today trying to brainstorm resolutions… but I always wonder why it takes a new year for change and growth to be inspired.

New Years is always a bittersweet night for me. Obviously, there’s the refreshing and joyful feeling of a new year, but there is also a ‘damn, time is flying’ aspect to it, too. This can be an overwhelming stretch of time for people, even more so now considering how 2020 treated us. Right now, it feels like there is a great yearning in the air for everything to be better. So here’s how we make that happen.

Continue reading “365 Opportunities”

It’s been a long handful of weeks for me. Between finals week, the holiday season, catching up with people, doing podcast interviews, and training, I’m glad that I’ve finally found the time to convey a new message. This is one that I’ve chewed on for a while because I came up with it in my brain and had to figure out a way to articulate my thoughts. I think this is a valuable way to think about relationship building and doing good for others, which is appropriate for Christmas being this week.

Often times you hear people say something about their “inner circle,” or their group of people that they have close relationships with. I’m sure you have a group of people off the top of your head that you think of when you hear that as well.

Continue reading “Inner Star”