Happy Friday Ziggy,
I don't know how aware you are about Neil Pasricha's 'Book of Awesome' series but it has been a pretty big part of my life for the last year. Pasricha's the author of a blog called 1000 Awesome Things where he has discussed one awesome thing every weekday since 2008. These can be absolutely anything that makes you happy or makes the world better by existing - big or small. Some awesomes Pasricha has written about are walking on grass with bare feet, mothers' love, peeling an orange in one go (a personal favourite), an old comfy t-shirt (something I know resonates with you) and broccoflowers (look them up). Today's awesome is 'dogs with jobs'! If you don't follow his blog already, I highly recommend checking it out (1000awesomethings.com).
Anyway, the Books of Awesome are collections of such awesomes in book form. I know of three of them: The Book of Awesome, The Book of Even More Awesome, and The Book of Holiday Awesome. The awesomes are so many and varied that you can almost always find one that exactly fits your mood or reflects what you were thinking. Even when you can't, Parischa makes it a point to include blank pages at the end of the books where you can add your own awesomes. For the last year, we've used the Books of Awesome at our weekly meetings for our RLS team - each week someone shares an awesome and passes the book on to somebody they thought was awesome/did something awesome during that week. We've had whimsical awesomes, funny awesomes, serious awesomes, jesting awesomes and heartfelt awesomes and they always add a dimension of personality and depth to our meetings. I'm a big fan of the tradition.
Awesomes have been in my thoughts this week because it so happens that it's been a very awesome week for me. You know that my presentation on Wednesday went pretty well in my opinion. You also know about the Gordon Cressy ceremony yesterday and that was incredible (mostly because the food was very good). This morning, I got my grades back for my last undergraduate classics course and I got a 4.0, which is good for two reasons. It means that I did well in what was probably the very last classics course I will ever take and this is gratifying. It also means that unless I assiduously fail all my remaining courses, it's statistically impossible for me not to graduate with honours and this is also gratifying. However, the most awesome thing that that happened to me this week by far was the Chris McGrath Award I was given on Monday night.
The Chris McGrath is awarded to one Residence Life Staff each year who "demonstrates leadership and excellence in all facets of Residence Life." Of all the things I have been insanely lucky enough to have won over the years, this award is right up there with the most meaningful - simply because UTM Residence Life is probably the most meaningful experience that I have ever stumbled across. The three years I have spent as part of the Residence Life Staff have been magical and deeply life-altering. My RLS family has given me so much. What I have learned on Residence goes far beyond technical and transferable skills. Over the years, my fellow RLS have exemplified patience, compassion, virtue, togetherness, initiative, energy, and understanding. They have been among the best human beings I have known and I have been lucky enough to be able to forge a personal relationship with each and every one of them. They have left an indelible imprint on my heart and I will carry the lessons they have imparted to me throughout my life. To me, the Chris McGrath Award isn't a certificate or a plaque on a wall: it's a homage to every RLS I have lived, worked and laughed with. The fact that the award means that I have left some sort of a mark on the legacy of UTM's RLS and that I too have made a difference in the lives of the people who have made such a difference in mine is why it's so special to me. That's why it's my awesome.
Monday night was very bittersweet for me. The RLS banquet celebrated the last year of Residence Life but it also marked the end of it. The next morning the 2015-16 Residence Life team met for mini-camp and looked forward excitedly to the next amazing year. I was not invited to mini-camp this year. In a few short weeks, I'll be graduating and leaving UTM behind. Residence Life at UTM will thrive without me but I really don't know how I'll ever thrive without it. It's closing time.
It's closing time.
Amanda, my team coordinator, read a chapter titled 'It's Closing Time' from a book about Residence Life written by a former Residence Life Staff member at our last team meeting on Monday morning. A ritual of sorts. That night, at the RLS banquet, the Semisonic song 'Closing Time' was played as the picture slideshow for the year wound down to mark the end of the banquet and of the year. Another ritual of sorts. In my last two banquets it was never really closing time for me: I always had mini-camp to look forward to and the whole of the following year as an RLS. An eternity. This year, as the last few pictures faded off the screen and I clutched the plaque surrounded by my RLS family, it really was closing time. And in three weeks it will be time to say goodbye.
I know that there are other great experiences for me out there. I know that next year will be just as amazing as this year has been. Moving on is challenging, yes, but as awesome as the last three years on RLS have been, I'm excited to find out what the future holds. I'm excited to find my next
AWESOME.
'Till next week,
Dada
I don't know how aware you are about Neil Pasricha's 'Book of Awesome' series but it has been a pretty big part of my life for the last year. Pasricha's the author of a blog called 1000 Awesome Things where he has discussed one awesome thing every weekday since 2008. These can be absolutely anything that makes you happy or makes the world better by existing - big or small. Some awesomes Pasricha has written about are walking on grass with bare feet, mothers' love, peeling an orange in one go (a personal favourite), an old comfy t-shirt (something I know resonates with you) and broccoflowers (look them up). Today's awesome is 'dogs with jobs'! If you don't follow his blog already, I highly recommend checking it out (1000awesomethings.com).
Anyway, the Books of Awesome are collections of such awesomes in book form. I know of three of them: The Book of Awesome, The Book of Even More Awesome, and The Book of Holiday Awesome. The awesomes are so many and varied that you can almost always find one that exactly fits your mood or reflects what you were thinking. Even when you can't, Parischa makes it a point to include blank pages at the end of the books where you can add your own awesomes. For the last year, we've used the Books of Awesome at our weekly meetings for our RLS team - each week someone shares an awesome and passes the book on to somebody they thought was awesome/did something awesome during that week. We've had whimsical awesomes, funny awesomes, serious awesomes, jesting awesomes and heartfelt awesomes and they always add a dimension of personality and depth to our meetings. I'm a big fan of the tradition.
Awesomes have been in my thoughts this week because it so happens that it's been a very awesome week for me. You know that my presentation on Wednesday went pretty well in my opinion. You also know about the Gordon Cressy ceremony yesterday and that was incredible (mostly because the food was very good). This morning, I got my grades back for my last undergraduate classics course and I got a 4.0, which is good for two reasons. It means that I did well in what was probably the very last classics course I will ever take and this is gratifying. It also means that unless I assiduously fail all my remaining courses, it's statistically impossible for me not to graduate with honours and this is also gratifying. However, the most awesome thing that that happened to me this week by far was the Chris McGrath Award I was given on Monday night.
The Chris McGrath is awarded to one Residence Life Staff each year who "demonstrates leadership and excellence in all facets of Residence Life." Of all the things I have been insanely lucky enough to have won over the years, this award is right up there with the most meaningful - simply because UTM Residence Life is probably the most meaningful experience that I have ever stumbled across. The three years I have spent as part of the Residence Life Staff have been magical and deeply life-altering. My RLS family has given me so much. What I have learned on Residence goes far beyond technical and transferable skills. Over the years, my fellow RLS have exemplified patience, compassion, virtue, togetherness, initiative, energy, and understanding. They have been among the best human beings I have known and I have been lucky enough to be able to forge a personal relationship with each and every one of them. They have left an indelible imprint on my heart and I will carry the lessons they have imparted to me throughout my life. To me, the Chris McGrath Award isn't a certificate or a plaque on a wall: it's a homage to every RLS I have lived, worked and laughed with. The fact that the award means that I have left some sort of a mark on the legacy of UTM's RLS and that I too have made a difference in the lives of the people who have made such a difference in mine is why it's so special to me. That's why it's my awesome.
Monday night was very bittersweet for me. The RLS banquet celebrated the last year of Residence Life but it also marked the end of it. The next morning the 2015-16 Residence Life team met for mini-camp and looked forward excitedly to the next amazing year. I was not invited to mini-camp this year. In a few short weeks, I'll be graduating and leaving UTM behind. Residence Life at UTM will thrive without me but I really don't know how I'll ever thrive without it. It's closing time.
It's closing time.
Amanda, my team coordinator, read a chapter titled 'It's Closing Time' from a book about Residence Life written by a former Residence Life Staff member at our last team meeting on Monday morning. A ritual of sorts. That night, at the RLS banquet, the Semisonic song 'Closing Time' was played as the picture slideshow for the year wound down to mark the end of the banquet and of the year. Another ritual of sorts. In my last two banquets it was never really closing time for me: I always had mini-camp to look forward to and the whole of the following year as an RLS. An eternity. This year, as the last few pictures faded off the screen and I clutched the plaque surrounded by my RLS family, it really was closing time. And in three weeks it will be time to say goodbye.
I know that there are other great experiences for me out there. I know that next year will be just as amazing as this year has been. Moving on is challenging, yes, but as awesome as the last three years on RLS have been, I'm excited to find out what the future holds. I'm excited to find my next
AWESOME.
'Till next week,
Dada
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