Originally posted on AUGUST 11, 2016
Excuse me everybody
I’ve got something to say
And when I’m through, I promise you
You’ll be glad that you stayed
This is just a little somethin’ somethin’
I wrote it especially for you
And we’ve been on the ground for so long now
It’s time that we broke through
Before we even know
We’ll be over, said and done
So let’s all seize the moment
It’s ’bout time that we begun.
B. Reith | Excuse Me, Everybody
It’s not every day that you get up and decide, “I’m going to write a blog.” In fact, I’m an introvert, and while I have lived in seven different states, around ten different cities, and traveled all across North America, I still find myself preferring the inner sanctum of my own thoughts. I usually, perhaps like some of you, never really share my true thoughts unless called upon, but something keeps pulling me to this laptop. Maybe it’s the fact that I find myself wanting to share with everyone who I really am and what my thoughts truly are? Perhaps it’s to share my own hobbies and dreams without talking your ear off. The internet is different. You’ve got the ability to simply press a button and your time here on my blog is finished. So, no, I’m not going to beg you to stay, but for those of you who are like me, and simply want to express their thoughts on the interwebs, here we are.
The first day of blogging can be like the first day at a brand new school, job, team, etc. In some ways it feels like so much can be expected of you, and sometimes we place too much weight upon ourselves when we try and have “the perfect day,” or for us writers, “the perfect topic” or “perfect word.” Remember that day where you got to school and hugged your parents’ legs for fear of dear life (or the opposite gender’s cooties)? Or maybe that one time you got up to do a presentation, and you feared that all of your nightmares would come true (Oh no, Mom, I just peed my pants in front of the cute girl in seventh grade!)? You’d love to forget how maybe you didn’t show up ready to play in a hugely contested sports match (Who’s Stephen Curry, again?). Maybe it was the time you wanted to approach that gorgeous female or handsome man and all that came out of your mouth was, “I like cheese.” There’s always a first for everything, and sometimes we need to fall on our faces, be embarrassed, and get right back up again and do what needs to be done. Prove ‘em wrong, right?
I went to a small, private Adventist Christian school near Albuquerque, New Mexico for my last three years of high school. The experiences I had there shaped me for the rest of my life. I was constantly learning more about myself, more about others, and I began to suspect that there really was something a bit different about me. It wasn’t until sophomore year in college that I discovered that I… was a romantic. Dun dun dun! Before you go and label me as “Mr. Cheese,” and tell all your friends that I stay up reading trashy romance novels (I’m looking at you, Fifty Shades of Grey), romance isn’t always about love. In my case, I’m very empathetic and feel things rather more intensely than most people. Looking back, I can see why there was a reason I decided to ask one of the prettiest girls I had ever known (or barely known for three months, or whatever… details, details!) to our winter banquet that fateful November day in high school. With Justin Bieber’s “U Smile,” instrumental blaring through some speakers, I came decked out to lunch period in a full suit, ready to dazzle this awesome woman acquaintance of mine and make her Mrs. Smoove for a night. Sure, I was pitchy, shaking out of my Stacy Adams’ shined shoes, half-dancing like Michael Jackson, Fred Astaire, or Steve Urkel, and stumbling over my words, but at the end of the song when I asked that awesome young lady to be my banquet date with my huge boyish, innocent smile, she said yes and I practically died when she embraced me. Moral of the story, in case you missed it: Step out and have an uncomfortable moment. You may not regret it.
Don’t be afraid of that first big thing! Get out there and make an impact. Be great! It’s August, so some of us have started school, are in school, are about to start school, or… you’re at home playing the latest NBA 2K and that’s okay, too. Get out there and shine, and whether it’s as big as asking the nearest fabulous woman to be your date for the next social event, or just deciding to actually have lettuce in your salad, don’t hesitate!
So here’s my first blog. Like one of my favorite all-time people EVER, Michael Jackson, I’m a perfectionist, and one of my love languages is words of affirmation, so feel free to leave a comment and let me know how my blood, sweat, and brains have impacted you today! Welcome to the mind of me, Phil’s Philosophies.
Oh, and a man named Paul once wrote something to all of us named Phillip out there, but I guess I can share it with you, too:
“I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13 (CWV)