Remodeling My Life

The past few years have been a roller coaster. Once I would decide on a direction for my life, I would discover that life had other plans. I've always heard the old adage, "If you want to make God laugh, make plans." I have truly learned the meaning of that phrase over the past three years, but I feel like my life is finally heading in the right direction. With two degrees under my belt, I'm going back to school to earn my teaching certification. Seven years ago, I found the thought of teaching to be cringe-worthy. Another old adage ruled my thinking then, "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." It took me a long time to realize the true folly of that ignorant statement. I've been teaching in some capacity or another for the past year and I cringe to think of how close I came to missing my calling. That calling is the classroom. Now I relish the thought of awakening possibility in the lives of my students. The moment that my students' eyes begin shining as a concept finally "clicks" is the greatest feeling in the world.

So now I embrace the remodeling of my life. I'm using this change in direction as an opportunity to better myself in other aspects. I'll be blogging quite a bit more than I have in the past so that I can track this metamorphosis more easily and in hopes that perhaps this transformation story will help others out there in need of the same personal re-definition.

The first project that I have set out to complete is a scholarly pursuit: "100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man's Library." I decided to tackle this endeavor after reading an article of the same name on one of my favorite blogs, The Art of Manliness. AoM is "authored by husband and wife team, Brett and Kate McKay. It features articles on helping men be better husbands, better fathers, and better men." I highly recommend checking them out. This article, in particular, was written by Jason Lankow, Ross Crooks, Joshua Ritchie, and Brett Mckay. The aim was to identify 100 books that you don't just read, they change your life. Many of the books listed have not only changed the lives of individuals but have helped shape society in general as well as helping define broader cultural ideas of what it means to be a man.

The first book on the list that I read was The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, considered to be the authoritative text on statesmanship and power. I will discuss my experience with it in a later post. In the meantime, let me welcome you to the new face of my blog and encourage you to look for and embrace ways to remodel your own life today, tomorrow, and always.