Today’s fourth story comes out right after 8:00 where our fourth guest is living out in Nashville, Tennessee. This is a summarized life story of how Steve Ross learned to reach self-actualization. Just as he has always been supportive of me and my career, he is one of my favorites. His CD is always in my car player, and now his story is on my blog.

Enjoy…

“I’ve got a question for you. Are you self actualizing? Are you working on being a better version of yourself? Well, I can tell you, it’s never too late. My life’s journey has had way too many twists and turns to cover in this short story. Suffice to say I came from an extremely volatile background. One filled with death, abuse, alcoholism, lack of faith and betrayal. I never knew my mother, my father passed when I finished college and my brother took his life before he reached his 30th birthday. I spent the better part of my life in survival mode, trying to piece together some semblance of normalcy.

Continue reading “Life is a Journey”

I wanted to put this third story out earlier in the day today to give it enough time to resonate. I think it’s the most detailed and impactful account so far. When I created this week-long initiative, I did so with people like Lauren in mind. Lauren Miceli is my oldest first cousin, and she stepped up to tell us a story that I genuinely believe to encapsulate all eight values.

Here is her beautiful story about one of my personal heroes…

“It has always been my dream to be a Mom, to raise amazing little humans, teach them to be kind, compassionate, and hardworking people and to watch them make their mark on this world. Family mealtimes, bedtime stories, time spent together learning and growing and making memories, it was all those simple joys that excited me the most.

Continue reading “Logan Love”

For the second story of this series, Nina Gayleard volunteered to take us through how faith, family, sacrifice and discipline have impacted her path into the ‘real world.’

There’s not much more to introduce about Nina, she does it all and explains it beautifully. Enjoy…

“I tried to think of an interesting way to introduce the fact that I am a master’s student studying Communication Management at Towson University, but this will have to do. To understand how the Super 8 apply to my life, it’s helpful to introduce what I’m doing now and how I am involved in academia as a whole, as it is a large chunk of my short and long term goals.

Continue reading “Communicating the Super 8”

This is the first story of eight for our Super 8 Stories Series. Tonight’s account comes from a very talented baseball player, but an even more compassionate human being. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Max through the baseball community, and have always been impressed with his view of the world and how he strives to make it better.

Maxwell’s writings focus on discipline, because it took his own discipline for him to climb the ranks of Baltimore R.B.I. program baseball player to projected MLB 1st-Round pick next spring. I knew Max would give us something short and sweet to chew on from his own experiences in his life. Tonight, in the leadoff spot for the story series, is the University of Maryland’s clean-up hitter…

Continue reading “Chop Wood, Carry Water”

It has been a little while, but I’ve been at a loss for words recently. I’ve had trouble organizing my thoughts into a way that can tackle the world’s issues and personal issues as well. Although this year has felt dismal at times, there are lessons in everything. Some we see on our own, others we don’t understand until we live, and most we can’t grasp at all. As I’ve been thinking about what to post for days on end, I’ve realized most people are concentrating on hope.

Hope is a powerful feeling, ultimately synonymous to faith and prayer. It’s a feeling of wanting more, wanting betterment, wanting peace. But it is only a feeling until it is acted upon.

Continue reading “Hope Requires Action”

When I started this website I obviously did not foresee a global pandemic and so many more struggles deterring us from what used to be normal life. I had anticipated being able to share experiences as they happened, writing posts on the buses to a weekend series, and being able to share both successes and frustrations. But today, I write frustrated with the concept of being a student-athlete right now.

In a world of such uncertainty, universities, schools, staff, students or athletes don’t really have a grasp on what’s going on. None of us have been here before and it’s uncomfortable and weird. I personally have no idea how things are going to operate in the next few months. Some schools are remotely learning, some are hybrid, and some are still trying to meet in person. So let’s break down all of the perspectives involved.

Continue reading “We Need Us”

I was six years old throwing a rubber baseball off of the brick wall at Warren Elementary, right across the street from where I grew up. I was waiting for my dad, who was inside the school chatting with the director of the Cockeysville Recreation Council. I had only played one year of coach pitch baseball to this point, but I had started to develop an affinity for the game.

On our walk home from Warren, I asked my dad if I could play travel baseball. Little did I know, just moments before, the rec council director had asked my dad if I wanted to fill the last roster opening on the 7-8 team. Dad originally shook off the question, concluding that it was too soon for me and assuming that I wouldn’t be interested. So, when I coincidentally asked about playing, he was stunned.

Continue reading “How Did I Get Here?”

It’s been a little over three weeks since my last post, but with good reason. My last post was a meaningful one for the world today, and I wanted to give it room and time to resonate or marinate in people’s minds before writing again. I also don’t like to force new posts if they’re disingenuous because that hurts the authenticity of what I believe. These last few weeks have been very overwhelming to watch newscasts and stay up to date with all of the information in the world, as well. Anything that I have had to say is nowhere near as important as some other educational resources right now, so I’ve given it some time before deciding to post again.

As we transition into the changing times and lifestyles that 2020 has ushered in, handfuls of people feel increasingly overwhelmed. I wouldn’t say this year has been particularly easy on anybody. So how can we take all of the world’s stress and control it in our lives? Just slow down.

Continue reading “Slow it Down”

I am genuinely not sure where to begin. I have never chosen to get involved with politics on social media, but I don’t feel like we are dealing with a political issue. The unrest and the divide of our country directly relates to all eight values of what this blog is based upon, and it’d be ignorant of me to not address the current events. I am not concerned with my own image, or my “brand,” because I do believe there is a morally correct choice here – and it is not to sit back and remain silent. To be silent right now is to be complicit with the issues at hand. I am sorry if you disagree, and if such a statement turns you away from this blog entirely, then I’m not sure you’re living by these eight values anyway.

First and foremost, I cannot even begin to act like I have understood or will ever understand what it is like to be an African-American in America. I personally have been absolutely moved by the protest and unrest of the previous handful of days, and it’s time for me to listen and to seek understanding. Yet, before jumping on Twitter or hurrying up to type a new post, I’ve tried to educate myself on the right ways to go about sharing my thoughts.

Continue reading “Let’s Get Real.”