A Man in the Arena

Through a long series of events, I have decided to blog. And what better time to make a first blog post than at 4:03AM.

My inspiration for the name of the blog was Theodore Roosevelt. I just finished a 2-part biography of him and I really respected him. After reading some of the things he said, I like him even more. One of the most meaningful to me was the "Man in the Arena" quotation:

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.

Over the past few years, I've been challenged again and again, emotionally, socially, philosophically, and spiritually, and I've not always felt 'victorious.' I've gotten undesirable grades on midterms, forgotten homework, botched debates, misrepresented Christ, needlessly insulted and offended people, and poorly led FISH on occasions. In spite of this, Roosevelt's words inspired me. I realized that I shouldn't expect a clean 'victory;' I should get bloody when you fight. Victory is showing up and fighting, and if I've done anything, it's that. I've showed my face in many an 'arena' and gotten bloodied up almost as many times. Nevertheless, I've fought for three years, and as Roosevelt recommends, I intend to continue to fight for the next two , and I won't stop then!

I don't know what this blog will become, what I will talk about, or what you should check back expecting (you can check out my interests for hints). I do know that I fully intend to keep fighting, and there will be plenty of battles and bruises to recount.

P.S. I enjoy writing. It may be therapeutic for me, and it may help me organize my thoughts. Nevertheless, if you enjoy what I write, please post comments. If I see that I'm helping (or at least entertaining) people, it will be a real reason to pound on plastic cubes in front of a lighted piece of glass/plasma at 4:24AM.