Off the bat, I'd like to apologize, as my title is misleading. There will be no rhyming in this blog post. You might be asking, "Matt, why post another blog, the class is over?" which is a valid point. But I felt like my year needed more closure than a picture of Jim Halpert (see below). So, read on to hear the inner ramblings of a 19 year old Buckeye.
Change is something a lot of people, including myself, fear/feared. This was one of the reasons I picked OSU. I live an hour and a half away, and figured that was the perfect length away from home to where I could be my own person and still be close to the sheltered world I grew to know and love. At the end of high school, I knew who I was and I loved that person. I, and my friends, was worried that I'd change into someone different coming to college. And right now, I couldn't be prouder to say that I did.
Pardon me if this paragraph comes off as egotistical, as that is not the intent. As I grew up, I was always one of the honors kids, I was always a leader, and I was always interested in helping the world. At the same time, I was a class clown who always got in trouble for talking during class. Some things never change, I suppose. I am still that same person today. I still get good grades, I still goof off a lot, I'm still interested in helping those around me, and most importantly, I am still a leader. But in a different way. All my life, I was told I had potential to achieve great things. I went through the motions of life, doing cool things here and there, but I will admit that I did not realize the true potential I had until college.
They always tell you there's a big world out there after high school, and you believe them, but you have no clue what they're talking about until you experience it for yourself. This is another thing I love about Ohio State. The possibilities for your future here are LITERALLY endless. Ohio State can offer you anything your heart desires. I realized that this year, and have taken life by the horns because of it.
This optimistic, new version of me, didn't come without his hardships along the way this year. Minor hiccups from a break-up to roommate conflicts inhabited my year. But perhaps my biggest moment of weakness occurred Spring Quarter. I was busting my ass for my Fraternity and was not getting anything for it. I was getting treated like crap and my hard work was causing my grades to slip. I reached a point where I said, "Screw it. I'm done. I'm done working on the recruitment committee, and I'm done with Pike all together. They can move on without me." And had it not been for Nevin Folino, I might've made the biggest mistake of my life. He sat me down, let me vent, and asked me, "Well. Why did you join in the first place? What did you want to get out of this?" And that's when it hit me. I had gotten so caught up in the "do this, do that" of Pike, that I had lost sight of what I wanted in the first place. I wanted to become a better man. And the irony was that my bitching about not getting anything out of Pike was completely wrong. I was getting exactly what I wanted. These hardships were turning me into a better man. I was learning skills that some people don't ever learn in life, as a freshman in college. I can honestly say that I've learned more about psychology and political science, or dealing with people, from my Fraternity experience, than in any of my political science or psychology classes thus far.
So, rest assured, friends back home. I am the same person. I am still sarcastic, I still buy comic books, and I am still a night owl. But I have changed. I have changed for the better. The mopey, complaining Matt is gone. A phase of the past. Here before you lies Matt 2.0, who has realized the potential that he has, who deals with his problems, and who has decided to be the face of the change he wants to see in this world. Just like at the end of high school, I love the person that I am now. However, I am nothing but excited to realize that who I am is not who I'll be in 3-4 years at the end of college. I will continue to grow and become a better person each time I do. Look out world, because you're not going to be the same when I'm done with you.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Recruiting Has A New Face (book)
As Recruitment Chair for Pike, recruitment is on my mind 24/7/365 (366 on leapyears, and boy, you'd better believe I use that extra day to my advantage), and I'm CONSTANTLY looking for new ways to improve recruitment, whether it be better name generation tactics, better recruitment events, or better ways to show the right guys that Pike is where they need to be. I don't create Pikes, I find them, and I think Facebook is a good place to look. It goes without saying that I would never initiate someone who I had strictly met on Facebook and never met in person, that would be stupid. But it is a good way to find names of guys who you can tell hold themselves to a higher standard already, and are "Pike material", and also might have interest in Greek life already.
One of the first principles we learned in this class was that the world is changing, and if we want to make a difference, we're gonna have to change with it. Obviously, I read this article on Time's website, not out of their magazine. It's a good article that I found very relateable and brought this issue to light. I can understand the point of view that "Facebook stalking" is wrong, but it's something everyone does, and does no real harm when done correctly. It is up to the Facebook user to be smart about what they post, and who they allow to see what on their profile, to make sure they are being secure and that the world isn't seeing everything about them. Always post as if your boss were watching, is something our President told us in Pike and that stuck with me. As a last note about something in the article, I really liked the following quote, "It's a way for incoming freshmen to see that the Greek system is not what it's perceived to be, not just a place to party. We do other functions. Our real mission is trying to better ourselves and make lifelong friends rather than party 24/7." An SAE said this, explaining that they invite a lot of non-members to their philanthropy events to show that Greek life is not what it used to be, and that they really do great things, and this is something I believe as well.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891277,00.html
Monday, May 23, 2011
Please Stand By
First, we will start off with a recent example of a moment in my life that I am not proud of. The time: Thursday, May 12th. The person: a friend who happened to be rushing my Fraternity at the time. The place: 15th ave. That night, several of us were hanging out and decided to go to the Taco Night featured at 15th and High. While there, I saw the aforementioned friend stumbling around, very clearly drunk, and yet I did nothing about it. I did not stop him, I did not walk him home, I did nothing. I just had the invincibility mindset that nothing bad was going to happen to me or anyone I know, and I was wrong. I lost track of him in the crowd as I socialized and then on the walk back, I noticed him stumbling out of an alley. "Hey, there he is!" I say to the other friend I was walking with. We begin to walk towards him when a car zooms into the alley and two undercover police get out and shine flashlights on him. We back off, not knowing what was going on, and soon afterwards, he got arrested and taken to jail. Luckily, he has a lot of close friends looking out for him and he is fine now. He has learned his lesson and I have learned mine.
Next comes an example of a time in which someone I'm proud to call brother did NOT take part in the bystander effect. Recently, a group of brothers decided to purchase shirts for the chapter and these shirts had a slogan on the back that would've been less than good for PR, and needless to say, did not represent the values we agreed to in our oath. When brought up in chapter, no one said anything. The executive board discussed them soon afterwards and it was made clear that no chapter funds would be going towards these shirts. Part of the way there, but the shirts were still being made. They were brought up again in chapter as a reminder for those interested to chip in for them, and my twin, Scott, stepped up and said something. Though he faced much vocal opposition, he had a lot of support from the brothers he needed it from. He pointed out what a bad idea the shirts were, and while the slogan was funny, it was not something that our letters should go on. Now, are the shirts still being made? Yes. Are brothers that are well known Pikes that will be out representing our organization going to be wearing these shirts? Unfortunately yes. But luckily, our letters will not be on them, and that is important. If we lived in a perfect world, the shirts would not have ended up being made, but some people are stubborn and their minds will not be changed.
So, don't be a bystander. Stand up for what you know is right, and for the way you know things should and can be done. Make a difference in your life, someone else's life, and the world. Thanks for reading.
P.S. I hope you all enjoyed the picture above, The Simpsons and puppies have been on my mind this weekend, so why not combine both?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Honey Bunches of Oath
Those of you who have been reading all my blogs thus far know that I am an avid Green Lantern fan, which means that I know a lot about oaths*One thing all of us have in common with every Green Lantern is that we've all taken an oath. While we didn't pledge to vanquish all evil with our super awesome power rings, we did all pledge to uphold certain values in our every day lives. These values differ from fraternity to fraternity and sorority to sorority, but they all basically boil down to living lives of integrity and honor.
Living lives of integrity and honor is easier said than done, especially with all the temptation exists in our world. In terms of alcohol specifically, which I believe is the biggest vice college kids in general deal with, I think that integrity and honor doesn't mean that alcohol shouldn't be drank at all. I believe that honor and integrity means that when drinking, one should be responsible and drink in moderation, as opposed to getting belligerently drunk five out of seven nights of the week, which a lot of people seem to consider the normal way of life.
Personally, I don't believe that Fraternities and Sororities, or at least what I can vouch for from my own experience, discuss the values that we pledged to enough. In my own experience, we discuss these values and rituals as a chapter when new members get initiated, and then kind of proceed to forget about them until the end of the quarter. That's not to say that I don't have a lot of brothers that live our ritual every day. One brother, by the name of Zac Beals, even won an award for living his Fraternity Values in his every day life. I just think that as a group, we need to be reminded of these values and what our founding fathers went through to establish these Fraternities and Sororities, a lot more.
*Small reference that most likely none of you will get
Living lives of integrity and honor is easier said than done, especially with all the temptation exists in our world. In terms of alcohol specifically, which I believe is the biggest vice college kids in general deal with, I think that integrity and honor doesn't mean that alcohol shouldn't be drank at all. I believe that honor and integrity means that when drinking, one should be responsible and drink in moderation, as opposed to getting belligerently drunk five out of seven nights of the week, which a lot of people seem to consider the normal way of life.
Personally, I don't believe that Fraternities and Sororities, or at least what I can vouch for from my own experience, discuss the values that we pledged to enough. In my own experience, we discuss these values and rituals as a chapter when new members get initiated, and then kind of proceed to forget about them until the end of the quarter. That's not to say that I don't have a lot of brothers that live our ritual every day. One brother, by the name of Zac Beals, even won an award for living his Fraternity Values in his every day life. I just think that as a group, we need to be reminded of these values and what our founding fathers went through to establish these Fraternities and Sororities, a lot more.
*Small reference that most likely none of you will get
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
(Insert Clever Blog Title Here)
Citizenship. The act of being an active participant in one's community. As a person who frequents in community service and philanthropic acts, citizenship is very important to me. I am an involved citizen of my Greek community, but not as involved as I could/would like to be. I'm very involved with my chapter, and often participate in various philanthropic efforts of sororities, but I'm a firm believer that this community needs to come together more.
While involvement could improve, I feel that my chapter provides a good example of citizenship in our Greek community. I can't say that every member of my Fraternity does, but as a group, we are active participants of Greek life. For example, we attended every single Greek Week event, and attended so in decent numbers. We have good relations with many sororities, but could work on our connections with other Fraternities.
Lastly, I don't believe that our Greek community as a whole is a citizen of our greater OSU community, as individual members of the Greek community are. There are certain members of our community who are involved in multiple organizations across campus, and hold leadership positions in those organizations. Overall, I'd say that most Greek members are involved in at least one or two other organizations across campus, and are active members of those organizations. The desire to get involved and make a difference is what brought a lot of people to Greek life in the first place.
While involvement could improve, I feel that my chapter provides a good example of citizenship in our Greek community. I can't say that every member of my Fraternity does, but as a group, we are active participants of Greek life. For example, we attended every single Greek Week event, and attended so in decent numbers. We have good relations with many sororities, but could work on our connections with other Fraternities.
Lastly, I don't believe that our Greek community as a whole is a citizen of our greater OSU community, as individual members of the Greek community are. There are certain members of our community who are involved in multiple organizations across campus, and hold leadership positions in those organizations. Overall, I'd say that most Greek members are involved in at least one or two other organizations across campus, and are active members of those organizations. The desire to get involved and make a difference is what brought a lot of people to Greek life in the first place.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
WHAT I LEARNED IN BOATING SCHOOL IS!
First off, Happy Star Wars Day, my fellow bloggers. May the 4th be with you! Can you believe it's the last day of Greek Week? Best of luck to all pairing participants reading this. Anyways, let's move on to what I learned from last week's little experiment.
The biggest thing that these minisurveys reaffirmed to me is that Fraternity life has a fine line to be walked, and that not everyone has the best balance on that tricky tightrope. One side has responsibility and leadership, and the other side has the glamorous social aspect of college that we've grown to know and love. I'll be the first to admit that I've fallen off this rope a couple times. I'm all for having a good time, but college, and Greek Life specifically, needs to be about a lot more than having a good time.
We are the leaders of tomorrow, and we need to start acting like it today. I actually had an extensive conversation about this yesterday with my assistant hall director. Now, I'll spare you the inspirational details and summarize the conversation. Basically, our conversation ranged from the Greek Week speakers, to the Osama/Mirror Lake happenings, to my experience in New Orleans. What I discovered, is that a lot of profound realizations that people have later on in life, I'm having my freshman year of college, and I couldn't be more excited about that. During our conversation, I realized how much I've changed and improved as a person since my freshman year of high school even. When I was in high school, I did a lot to help my small town. Now that I'm in college, I'm doing a lot to help a larger community, and even my country in some aspects. I'm accomplishing great things and making a difference now, and I couldn't be more thrilled to think about where I'll be by the end of college and years after. To think that this one person has so much potential, and that eventually I WILL be helping things on a global scale, is amazing. Now, don't misconstrue my words, I'm not trying to sound egotistical. But I strongly believe that if more people had the potential,
ambition, and drive that I have, this world would be a better place.
And as a special present to those of you that have read this blog in full, here's some nostalgia relating to the blog title :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jtVWX1QDCw
The biggest thing that these minisurveys reaffirmed to me is that Fraternity life has a fine line to be walked, and that not everyone has the best balance on that tricky tightrope. One side has responsibility and leadership, and the other side has the glamorous social aspect of college that we've grown to know and love. I'll be the first to admit that I've fallen off this rope a couple times. I'm all for having a good time, but college, and Greek Life specifically, needs to be about a lot more than having a good time.
We are the leaders of tomorrow, and we need to start acting like it today. I actually had an extensive conversation about this yesterday with my assistant hall director. Now, I'll spare you the inspirational details and summarize the conversation. Basically, our conversation ranged from the Greek Week speakers, to the Osama/Mirror Lake happenings, to my experience in New Orleans. What I discovered, is that a lot of profound realizations that people have later on in life, I'm having my freshman year of college, and I couldn't be more excited about that. During our conversation, I realized how much I've changed and improved as a person since my freshman year of high school even. When I was in high school, I did a lot to help my small town. Now that I'm in college, I'm doing a lot to help a larger community, and even my country in some aspects. I'm accomplishing great things and making a difference now, and I couldn't be more thrilled to think about where I'll be by the end of college and years after. To think that this one person has so much potential, and that eventually I WILL be helping things on a global scale, is amazing. Now, don't misconstrue my words, I'm not trying to sound egotistical. But I strongly believe that if more people had the potential,
ambition, and drive that I have, this world would be a better place.
And as a special present to those of you that have read this blog in full, here's some nostalgia relating to the blog title :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jtVWX1QDCw
Monday, April 25, 2011
Someone Like You
Today's stellar blog post is brought to you by the letter N, for New Orleans! This past weekend I went to New Orleans, Louisiana and I got more out of it than I thought I would, that's for sure. Before the trip, I went in thinking that this trip was gonna be all about the free time for me. That I'd have a blast with friends on Bourbon St. (which believe me, is not something you see, it's something you experience #sleazefactory), do some mandatory community service, and visit a few tourist attractions. Little did I know I'd end up meeting two men from an organization that would inspire me and motivate me like I haven't been before.
For the community service, we went to the Lower 9th Ward and helped out a community center. That is where I met Mac and Steve, two of the strongest men I've ever met. Mac was a large man who, by the looks of him, you wouldn't have guessed would run a community center. And up until Hurricane Katrina, he didn't. Mac spoke for about half an hour, totally freehand, about his experiences and the things that this awful tragedy taught him. "Enjoy things. But don't let them become your life!" he told us. Before the hurricane, Mac owned 14, yes 14, antique cars. They were his life. And when Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, it wiped out every last one of them. Mac explained to us that the first few months after Katrina were the hardest time in his life and that at the end of those few months, he realized that you can either lie down and complain about your suffering, or do something about it.
Mac explained that the damage Katrina did is still no where near being fixed. The death toll is still rising from those who are dying of stress. Large amounts of people either can't move back or don't want to, and that means this community has been uprooted. Mac got the community center together with a few other people to start saving this community and bring it back together. Seeing this community come together before my eyes and become a "we" and not a bunch of "I"s was amazing. Their community value was inspiring to say the least. Mac went on to explain that just donating $10 to the Red Cross when a disaster like this occurs is not enough. Less than 10% of that even reaches the people it needs to. "Get out there, and do something! Go to these places and experience it. If you don't feel nothin', you're not gonna do nothin'" he explained. And it made sense. I'm by no means saying Katrina was a good thing, but I believe certain things happen for a reason, and seeing Mac turn from a selfish man into a selfless one, and seeing this community realize what's really important, like family and helping one another, is pretty amazing.
Onto Steve. Pictured above, you wouldn't exactly say Steve looks like the strongest man in the world. Boy, would you be wrong. Listening to Steve's stories was easily one of the best parts of the trip. With New Orleans being below sea level, Steve had about 12 minutes to get himself and his paralyzed wife to the attic and then the roof, once the water started entering the house. Luckily, he did. A boat came and rescued them both, when the medic noticed Steve was bleeding perfusely. It turns out a long piece of wood had stuck deep into his leg. Steve was so focused and so determined to save the love of his life, that he had no time to think about himself or feel pain. THAT is truly selfless. Upon arriving to the hospital, when asked if he wanted a shot to help the pain, Steve explained that they should save it for someone who needs it. In a later teary-eyed story of Steve's, he revealed that his wife of 42 years died soon after this. That pain is unimaginable to me. From the day after his wife's funeral on, Steve has not gone a day without doing community service. Literally every single day, he has been outside in the beating sun to help his community get back on its feet. Steve and Mac taught me that, although I am not weak, I am not strong. If I grow up to be half the man either of them are, I will have done a pretty damn good job with myself. Thank you for taking the time to hear their stories, and believe me, it's not the same coming from me. But I hope you are as inspired to do something for your community as I am.
For the community service, we went to the Lower 9th Ward and helped out a community center. That is where I met Mac and Steve, two of the strongest men I've ever met. Mac was a large man who, by the looks of him, you wouldn't have guessed would run a community center. And up until Hurricane Katrina, he didn't. Mac spoke for about half an hour, totally freehand, about his experiences and the things that this awful tragedy taught him. "Enjoy things. But don't let them become your life!" he told us. Before the hurricane, Mac owned 14, yes 14, antique cars. They were his life. And when Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans, it wiped out every last one of them. Mac explained to us that the first few months after Katrina were the hardest time in his life and that at the end of those few months, he realized that you can either lie down and complain about your suffering, or do something about it.
Mac explained that the damage Katrina did is still no where near being fixed. The death toll is still rising from those who are dying of stress. Large amounts of people either can't move back or don't want to, and that means this community has been uprooted. Mac got the community center together with a few other people to start saving this community and bring it back together. Seeing this community come together before my eyes and become a "we" and not a bunch of "I"s was amazing. Their community value was inspiring to say the least. Mac went on to explain that just donating $10 to the Red Cross when a disaster like this occurs is not enough. Less than 10% of that even reaches the people it needs to. "Get out there, and do something! Go to these places and experience it. If you don't feel nothin', you're not gonna do nothin'" he explained. And it made sense. I'm by no means saying Katrina was a good thing, but I believe certain things happen for a reason, and seeing Mac turn from a selfish man into a selfless one, and seeing this community realize what's really important, like family and helping one another, is pretty amazing.
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