To put it as basically and fundamentally as possible, to be a good citizen, one must be a good person. I know, right, pretty vague.
As we've already discussed our personal morals and values, I won't go into too much detail as far as those are concerned, but I believe that in order to be a good citizen (and thus a good person), this requires you to put these values into action within your community.
In this world that we live in, there is always someone in need of help, and there are always means to help them. Not just the poor and hungry people necessarily, but the old man that needs the door held open for him or the old couple across the street that can no longer shovel their driveway by themselves. We're all blessed in one way or another, and in order to be a good citizen, we must constantly look out for those in need. My dad used to always tell me to "look out for the little guy." Not only do I try to look out for the little guy, I also try to make the little guy my friend.
Another, often overlooked way to be a good citizen is to develop a community, whether that be in your dorm, your street, within Fiji or within the classroom. We cannot do everything by ourselves, and once we learn the true strength of a group and all that it can accomplish, we can value the meaning of community and citizenship.
Lastly, and likely more obviously, in order to demonstrate good citizenship, we must volunteer. Everyone likes the idea of volunteering, but I think I speak for many other people when I say that I do not volunteer enough. There are so many ways to volunteer - tutoring young children or peers, cleaning up a local park, and so forth - that we are all capable of implementing our skills and interests into benefiting the greater good of the community. Personally, I love coaching soccer as well as tutoring, so I volunteer at youth soccer camps as an assistant coach/trainer and I also make many efforts to tutor my peers in classes that I have taken or am currently taking. However, I do not volunteer nearly as much as I should or would like to, so this is something I will improve in order to be a better citizen.
Holistically speaking, good citizenship promotes the greater good. It is realizing that there is a world beyond our own day-to-day activities, and that once we recognize this world we can be a part of it by helping others.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
My Ritual, Congruence, and Commitment
For me, my personal rituals are crucial to my development and keep me focused on who I am (congruence) and what I want to be (commitment). I guess I hadn't drawn the connection between the three until now, I guess it's good I'm writing this blog.
Many (if not most) of my rituals relate to my education. As is true for FIJI, for Knowledge is one of the five values, and of course, our motto is "Scholarship, Fraternity, Self." This aspect of FIJI and more have reiterated many of my personal rituals regarding academics and have instilled new ones as well. Outside of FIJI, personal rituals I have always had include making a list of tasks or accomplishments at the beginning of each day, always having a list of long-term goals either in sight or somewhere I can find and access, and making sure to read something everyday. My daily ritual of listing my goals for the day has changed my approach to life more than I could have ever imagined; this simple ritual keeps me constantly focused, determined, and committed to my classwork. Furthermore, my long-term goal sheet has proven even more influential, for it keeps me thinking about and questioning what I am doing, what I want to be doing, and what I will be doing in the years to come. Lastly, my daily ritual of reading something every day is rather simple; the easiest way to stay committed to education is picking up whatever and reading it. Preferably something intellectual, but we all know that doesn't always happen.
Another, kind of random, ritual I have is that I sing everyday. Not always, or actually, rarely is it good, but it is one of the best ways I connect with myself and my values. I guess, in general, music has been my ritual since I was a kid. From singing in choir in high school, at my church, and generally anywhere music is playing, I can forget all the stuff bringing me down in life. Singing keeps me committed to "staying the course" and not letting the little things in life take me astray.
As I mentioned earlier, I have sang in my church choir. In addition to this, I speak as liturgist pretty regularly, help out with lawncare, and general maintenance. Each of these rituals, though not as regular now that I live 2 hours away, have kept me connected with myself and with God. Oftentimes I have found myself being pulled from God by less important nuances in life, and the fact that I always have a church and a family to go home and worship him has been the most integral ritual of my life. Along theses same lines, my daily prayer has kept me constantly in search of myself and faithful to Him. Prayer has helped me find myself when I was lost, and has shown me the way to excellence in my life. So I guess, in that regard, FIJI has instilled the same value through ritual, Excellence. FIJI has taken a misled freshman who really had no clue what to do and set him straight on a path to excellence in school, in extracurriculars, and in the Greek community.
A last major ritual, at least to my (poor) memory, is the one goal I set out to achieve everyday - serve others. FIJI, through the genuine, selfless attitude of each Brother, has surely reiterated this value of Service. Whether it is simply holding a door open for someone, going out of the way to help someone with an assignment, or helping the elder neighbor by shoveling their snow, I have always made it a ritual to affect at least someone in some way throughout the day.
Here's a link to the best illustration of service I've ever seen. Read the summary of the video, too.
So I guess these are all my rituals I can think as of now. While I'm sure I have more, these are the true, central ones in my life that keep me committed to my goals and real to my values. FIJI has now become one of my rituals in itself, too. I realize now, my rituals keep me sane.
Many (if not most) of my rituals relate to my education. As is true for FIJI, for Knowledge is one of the five values, and of course, our motto is "Scholarship, Fraternity, Self." This aspect of FIJI and more have reiterated many of my personal rituals regarding academics and have instilled new ones as well. Outside of FIJI, personal rituals I have always had include making a list of tasks or accomplishments at the beginning of each day, always having a list of long-term goals either in sight or somewhere I can find and access, and making sure to read something everyday. My daily ritual of listing my goals for the day has changed my approach to life more than I could have ever imagined; this simple ritual keeps me constantly focused, determined, and committed to my classwork. Furthermore, my long-term goal sheet has proven even more influential, for it keeps me thinking about and questioning what I am doing, what I want to be doing, and what I will be doing in the years to come. Lastly, my daily ritual of reading something every day is rather simple; the easiest way to stay committed to education is picking up whatever and reading it. Preferably something intellectual, but we all know that doesn't always happen.
Another, kind of random, ritual I have is that I sing everyday. Not always, or actually, rarely is it good, but it is one of the best ways I connect with myself and my values. I guess, in general, music has been my ritual since I was a kid. From singing in choir in high school, at my church, and generally anywhere music is playing, I can forget all the stuff bringing me down in life. Singing keeps me committed to "staying the course" and not letting the little things in life take me astray.
As I mentioned earlier, I have sang in my church choir. In addition to this, I speak as liturgist pretty regularly, help out with lawncare, and general maintenance. Each of these rituals, though not as regular now that I live 2 hours away, have kept me connected with myself and with God. Oftentimes I have found myself being pulled from God by less important nuances in life, and the fact that I always have a church and a family to go home and worship him has been the most integral ritual of my life. Along theses same lines, my daily prayer has kept me constantly in search of myself and faithful to Him. Prayer has helped me find myself when I was lost, and has shown me the way to excellence in my life. So I guess, in that regard, FIJI has instilled the same value through ritual, Excellence. FIJI has taken a misled freshman who really had no clue what to do and set him straight on a path to excellence in school, in extracurriculars, and in the Greek community.
A last major ritual, at least to my (poor) memory, is the one goal I set out to achieve everyday - serve others. FIJI, through the genuine, selfless attitude of each Brother, has surely reiterated this value of Service. Whether it is simply holding a door open for someone, going out of the way to help someone with an assignment, or helping the elder neighbor by shoveling their snow, I have always made it a ritual to affect at least someone in some way throughout the day.
Here's a link to the best illustration of service I've ever seen. Read the summary of the video, too.
So I guess these are all my rituals I can think as of now. While I'm sure I have more, these are the true, central ones in my life that keep me committed to my goals and real to my values. FIJI has now become one of my rituals in itself, too. I realize now, my rituals keep me sane.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Knowledge, Service, Modesty
Throughout my life and shared experiences with my family, friends, educators, coaches and so on, I have developed and implemented a strong set of morals and values into my daily life. These three are likely the most representative of my current self:
Instead of going on and on about the value of education, the pursuit of knowledge, and all the stuff we had drilled into our heads enough in grade school, high school, and now college as well, I'll just skip to a unique quality associated with knowledge: failure. "If you're not making mistakes, you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes." This quote by historic UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, as I see it, connects knowledge with a disregard for failure. I have always tried to live my life with this sort of approach to knowledge and failure, taking risks and pushing myself (being a "doer") and learning from the many, many mistakes that I make. Once I realized that making mistakes and failing wasn't the end of the world, that it was actually some sort of blessing in disguise, I learned the most valuable lesson of my life.
"Freely we serve, because freely we love." Like love, service is voluntary, not forced. Here, English poet Milton highlights my personal perspective of service; Service is doing and acting with the good of others always in mind. This also speaks to humility. I recognize and am extremely thankful for all the opportunities I have been blessed with in my life, and know that it is my right to serve others and not just say I'm going to give back, but actually do it. I accept and realize that I need to refocus myself on this value in particular, for I have learned that it is a struggle of many college students to serve those in need and the community with the daily grind of school, extracurriculars, and such. And I've also realized that I can no longer use this as an excuse.
"Modesty is the best policy." I absolutely hate cliches, especially ones that my mom used repeatedly when I was younger, but this one I find so true and so integral to my life that I have to give her props. I guess hearing something a thousand times over really does teach you something. Anyways, the reason why I value modesty is simple; No matter who I read about, hear about, or learn from who experienced great success in their lives, the honorable ones are those who demonstrated modesty with achievement. I was a kid of many idols, and each of them was modest. I always try to be modest and humble in everything I do, and in addition, I try to teach others to do the same.
To wrap things up before I put you to sleep, I'll just mention that while Knowledge, Service, and Modesty are three of my most important values, they are nowhere near the only ones, and they are nowhere near perfect. By perfect, I mean I am nowhere near being the perfect scholar, philanthropist, or most modest person. But I'm trying.
Knowledge (Failure)
Service
Modesty
Before I go further, I'll warn you - I really like quotes.
"Freely we serve, because freely we love." Like love, service is voluntary, not forced. Here, English poet Milton highlights my personal perspective of service; Service is doing and acting with the good of others always in mind. This also speaks to humility. I recognize and am extremely thankful for all the opportunities I have been blessed with in my life, and know that it is my right to serve others and not just say I'm going to give back, but actually do it. I accept and realize that I need to refocus myself on this value in particular, for I have learned that it is a struggle of many college students to serve those in need and the community with the daily grind of school, extracurriculars, and such. And I've also realized that I can no longer use this as an excuse.
"Modesty is the best policy." I absolutely hate cliches, especially ones that my mom used repeatedly when I was younger, but this one I find so true and so integral to my life that I have to give her props. I guess hearing something a thousand times over really does teach you something. Anyways, the reason why I value modesty is simple; No matter who I read about, hear about, or learn from who experienced great success in their lives, the honorable ones are those who demonstrated modesty with achievement. I was a kid of many idols, and each of them was modest. I always try to be modest and humble in everything I do, and in addition, I try to teach others to do the same.
To wrap things up before I put you to sleep, I'll just mention that while Knowledge, Service, and Modesty are three of my most important values, they are nowhere near the only ones, and they are nowhere near perfect. By perfect, I mean I am nowhere near being the perfect scholar, philanthropist, or most modest person. But I'm trying.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Blog Assignment #1: Who are you, why did you join FIJI, and what are you thinking after reading this Blogabus in its entirety?
Who am I? Good question. Sometimes I struggle to answer this question myself, but each time I think about it, I always form the same general idea; I am a Quintero, a Buckeye, and a FIJI. Specifically, I'm a kid from a small town just west of Cleveland currently attending The Ohio State University and a proud Brother of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.
Though I never really put the thought into words as I do now, I find myself realizing that part one and two of this question are actually interconnected in the fact that, well, in many ways I joined FIJI to find out who I was. I could take up hours and pages explaining why I joined FIJI, but instead I will just highlight a couple key aspects - brotherhood and leadership
Throughout all processes of becoming and now being a Phi Gam, I have always had a great appreciation and admiration for the brotherhood and leadership displayed by all FIJIs. The Greek community and FIJI in particular does a great job of building future leaders while instilling a great sense of pride and passion in your Fraternity and your brothers. This inexplicable connection to other people has not only created invaluable friendships, but has pushed me more than I could have ever imagined to achieve my goals, and specifically, be a leader in the classroom, the Greek community, the University and the world.
After reading this blogabus, I cannot wait to dive into the material in the course! It will be exciting to read and discuss issues that relate to so many different areas of my life - my academics, my Fraternity, and the personal quality I continuously strive to improve, leadership. And after reading "The Origin and Evolution of College Fraternities and Sororities," I am motivated to disprove any current misunderstandings and stereotypes regarding Greek Life.
Though I never really put the thought into words as I do now, I find myself realizing that part one and two of this question are actually interconnected in the fact that, well, in many ways I joined FIJI to find out who I was. I could take up hours and pages explaining why I joined FIJI, but instead I will just highlight a couple key aspects - brotherhood and leadership
Throughout all processes of becoming and now being a Phi Gam, I have always had a great appreciation and admiration for the brotherhood and leadership displayed by all FIJIs. The Greek community and FIJI in particular does a great job of building future leaders while instilling a great sense of pride and passion in your Fraternity and your brothers. This inexplicable connection to other people has not only created invaluable friendships, but has pushed me more than I could have ever imagined to achieve my goals, and specifically, be a leader in the classroom, the Greek community, the University and the world.
After reading this blogabus, I cannot wait to dive into the material in the course! It will be exciting to read and discuss issues that relate to so many different areas of my life - my academics, my Fraternity, and the personal quality I continuously strive to improve, leadership. And after reading "The Origin and Evolution of College Fraternities and Sororities," I am motivated to disprove any current misunderstandings and stereotypes regarding Greek Life.
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