El BLOG del Sr. Jud

1. I try to live my life by one five letter phrase: GO BIG OR GO HOME. Each person in this world has TONS of potential. I strive to be the best that I can be in everything that I do. Whether it is teaching, playing sports, being a good friend, or anything else I might be doing, I can usually say afterward; “I did the absolute best that I could”. Can you say the same about yourself? I challenge you to do so.

2. I believe firmly in taking risks. There is no better way to overcome your fears than by taking matters into your own hands. “Grab the bull by its horns”, if you will. Believe it or not, I used to be afraid to talk in front of people, scared to travel, and petrified of heights. Ironically, I now talk in front of people for a living, visit foreign countries as often as possible, and thoroughly enjoy riding Superman at Six Flags up to nine times in a row (yes, I have done that). I encourage you all to take risks and find what you are really made of. Just don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do, capeesh?

3. Hammer…check. Screwdriver…check. Monkey wrench…check. Communication…communication…hello? Communication? If you learn nothing else from me, always remember that communication is the key to learning a language. Use whatever it takes to get your point across; words, actions, gestures, facial expressions, movements. If you keep working at it, the person you are talking to will fully understand what you are trying to say.

4. I LOVE SPORTS! I have been blessed with the gifts of health, energy, two arms, and two legs. Why not use them? Basketball, baseball, football, hockey, soccer, volleyball, badminton, boxing, lacrosse, wrestling, golf, Frisbee, bocci… You name it, I’ll play it. Just let me know when and where. Sports are a great way to learn valuable life skills such as teamwork, leadership, self-confidence, and cooperation.  Now while I prefer to play sports, I do enjoy watching them, also. In football I like the Patriots. In basketball I like the Celtics (and UConn Huskies, of course). In baseball I like two teams; The Red Sox, and whoever is playing the Yankees.

5. Oscar the Grouch is arguably the most awesome television character of all time. “Hey Oscar, you’re a GROUCH!”, say all the other Sesame Street “friends”. Well of course he is, people treat him like dirt and he lives in a trash can! But Big Bird, Elmo, and the rest of the crew need to stop judging a book by its cover. Inside Oscar’s trash can there is an Olympic size swimming pool, an ice skating rink, a bowling alley, a piano, an art gallery, a full train set, goats, elephants, a stereo set, and, yup, that’s right, a trampoline. Think twice before you make assumptions about people…you could be way off the mark.

6. Q:What did the fish say when it hit the concrete wall?? A: Dam.

I love jokes. Especially corny ones. Come tell me. Tell your friends. LAUGH FOR PETE’S SAKE! Oh yeah, and be random. It’s hilarious.

7. Stay active and live a healthy lifestyle. Eat a good breakfast, run around outside, play with your friends, take your dog for a walk, take somebody else’s dog for a walk, ride bikes, roller blade, play intramurals, choose healthy foods instead of always eating snacks. Honestly, you will feel much better physically if you continue to stay active and you will live a long time. (Besides, I am counting on people like you to take care of me when I am an old, old man.)

8. You can reduce a lot of stress by doing one little thing: asking questions. (Yes, even the dumb ones…which I ask all the time – Mr. B will tell you…or wait, on second thought, don’t believe a word he says…. Seriously, asking questions is smart for three reasons:

A) You recognize that you need help and you are being responsible and doing something about it.

2) Somebody will probably tell you what you need to know!

D) You feel a whole lot better afterward.

9. I like to fit as much activity into each day as possible. Again, I try and live my life to the fullest and “aprovechar” (take advantage of the opportunity at hand). While it is often hard to remember in the chaos that is my life, I always try and leave time to “stop and smell the roses” (<—direct quote  from Grandma Jud).  This is a B E A U T I F U L world that we live in…have you seen it yet?

10. While I try my best to have a positive relationship with everybody I come in contact with, the reality of it is that it’s impossible to please everybody. Quite frankly, I am not going to dwell on things all of those “negative” people might think about me. I am who I am and I know what I stand for. I believe strongly in who I am and am always going to be myself. I am proud of that. Each person is their own individual. Put your best foot forward and go after the world the way you want to. If nobody else agrees, always know that you have my support. My door is always open…just come on by.