[Tie Bow Here]

The semester is almost over, and look at how far we've come! We started off the year with a warm UNA Welcome bomb threat, and now we're ending the semester with a new wealth of knowledge and a mind full of enlightenment. I've learned a lot about myself from listening to these speakers and writing all of these blogs. First off, I like arguing. In almost half of my blogs I am arguing with the speaker. But I also argue with myself entirely too much, and my roommate would agree with me on this. Life is full of paradoxes... (paradoxi?) to be debated and analyzed. It's really quite interesting. Secondly, I am a decent writer. Or at least I entertain myself. Going back and reading my blogs for this final blog was a fun time. Some things I said were less than brilliant, but overall, the forced weekly blog ended up being a pretty cool end product.

In Honors Forum, everything revolved around one underlying theme for me, and that is that everything is an experience. Yes, EVERYTHING. Whether I was pondering on the fact that "I'll be dead soon" or that "my career path will take some twists and turns," every step in my life is an experience. Experiences are all about attitude. And if life is experiences, then life is all about attitude. This is a new perspective I have with everything I do now, and because of this, I think it is so important to take advantage of any opportunity you are offered. That one opportunity might just be a new door to your future, and you never know if you are at that door until after you have gone into it. So don't race through life, notice all of the opportunities in front of you and take advantage of them.

Each Honors Forum class began with a "warm Honor's welcome" and ended as an experience. I have learned more in my first semester of college than I did my last 2 years of high school. I'm not going to say that I'm a totally different person now, but I will say that I have opened some doors of opportunity and gained some perspective.

I wish I knew everything that I know now, when I was in high school. All of those little things you worry about in high school like stacking your resume and getting an A in every class are good, but they mean nothing if you didn't make it an experience. And admittedly, I was the kid that did just that. I tried to do everything right, but I didn't always stop to enjoy everything I did. That being said, I think that college is an opportunity that everyone should take. I know that college is not for everyone, but taking one class is an experience that no one should avoid. College has been an amazing experience so far, and I know it will only get better.

So just a few pieces of advice for future college-goers:
~Have fun.
~Always remember your values. When all else fails, remember the golden rule: "If it would embarrass your momma, don't do it."
~It's okay to not agree with people. Be able to give your opinion and stick up for yourself.
~Have a vision for yourself and activities you participate in.
~Don't be afraid to make an unpopular decision. And if all else fails, it's fun to argue with people.
~Your career path may take some twists and turns, but the best thing is that you get to choose where you end up.
~Most importantly: You can do anything. We heard this all the time when we were in elementary school, so much so that it became cliche, but it's so easy to forget. No matter how old you are, what stage of life you're in, you can do anything.

So there is my Greatest Hits from the semester all neatly wrapped up. May you survive all of your finals and have a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

51% is the new A+

Today Mr. William G. Hargett spoke to my class about qualities of a successful employee. Some listed were be prepared, be on time, be professional, exceed expectations, and capture opportunities. A business exists to make profit and a successful employee, does what they can to make that happen.

One thing that stood out to me was when Mr. Hargett that a successful employee fails often. He said that a successful employee only needs to be right 51% of the time. Successful employees do not just know failure, but they learn from it and are better off because of a few failures. As an honors kid, I have a little problem with being a perfectionist sometimes, but this is comforting to hear. Being able to learn from mistakes is what makes someone successful. But to make these mistakes, you have to take risks.

So be risky; throw out that crazy proposal at the next company meeting. After all, you have 49% of failure to start working on.

One other point that stood out: "Perception is reality." An employee chooses what their perception will be to others based on their actions. Co-workers and your bosses think you are who you act like. It matters what people think of you, your reputation matters. Your reputation is what others think you are, and if that "perception is reality," then you are your reputation. This emphisizes the importance of the way you portray yourself with you appearence, words, and actions.

So let your talent shine through, let your drive push you. Make that 51% of success mind-blowing success.

A successful employee only needs to be right 51% of the time. This is an A+ is the business world, so fail hard and work harder.