Hey everybody! I’ve been AWOL for the last few weeks, but I have to always follow my only rule when I write which is to only do so when I feel inspired to do so. I always want my writing to mean something, make people think, or make them laugh and smile. Pardon my french, but I’m a no-nonsense, no bullshit, no fluff kind of guy. What you see from me is what you get. Over these last few weeks, I’ve been in such a good mental headspace. I no longer feel anxious about “keeping up” with all my friends. I merely see what they post on social media, smile and feel genuinely happy for them instead of feeling anxious that I am not where they are. Why would I want to be where they are? My path in life is not theirs, and their path in life is not my path. With what’s been going on right now in my life, I think my path is pretty interesting all on its own!
I’ve gotten to call several more Carey football games, which is an absolute BLAST! I started doing that last year, which you can check out here in a previous blog post. It truly has become the “Mo and Animal” show, and I’ve gotten more and more comfortable being in the pressbox during each game. Normally, I still feel kind of nervous doing Facebook live videos or showing my face on camera, but it’s like a switch flips every time I make the climb up to the pressbox every week an hour before gametime. I don’t know how to explain it, but I’m going to try: As soon as I see everyone up there in the pressbox it hits me. It’s like “Alright Luke. Switch to ‘Animal mode’ and go have fun! Go banter about football with a friend, while also showing the same passion and enthusiasm you had as a student as your high school days!” And then we just GO! There’s really not much more to it than that, except for staying alert, and trying to keep things informative and entertaining for everybody watching.
This Saturday night, the Blue Devils open the Ohio State Playoffs with a home game against the Van Buren Black Knights. This is potentially the best team Carey has had in years. They’re 9-1, Northern 10 Champions, and ROLLING into the postseason…and I’m gonna get to be right in the middle of that action! Mark Twain had a saying: The two greatest days in your life, are the day you were born, and the day you discover the reason WHY you were born. I’m always trying to figure out my life, but I do know I was born to do this! I don’t earn a dime doing it, but it isn’t about the money for me. It makes me so incredibly happy just being there!
The other thing that has brought a smile to my face is being a freelance sports writer/editor for the OH Report. It’s a website/Facebook page that covers high school sports throughout North Central Ohio. Not to mention yours truly writes Ohio State and Browns football pregame and postgame articles every week 😉
Before this, it was just so FRUSTRATING trying to find something to fit my unique skill set. I know a job is a job, and money is money. But as time has gone on, I realize that doing something that fulfills me personally, and that makes great use of my skill as a writer, is far more important to me than the amount of money I make. Money has its place, definitely. And I always try to make the most I can. But I know people who make tons of money at what they do, but they’re absolutely miserable. Minus the necessity of having a job like that to support a spouse and children, I don’t know why anyone would want to work at a job like that. I apologize for the morbid observation here folks, but I’m just gonna say it: Life is too damn short, and we’re all inching inevitably closer to the casket every day. Why spend it being miserable? Why do so many people do that to themselves?!
Thankfully, it’s been wonderful working with Brian Skowronski (my boss, and the founder of the OH Report), and putting out quality content for him while also making sure that the other content put out by anchors and writers is also cleaned up and polished for everyone to read. I don’t feel held back, and I can truly show off my creativity. And when I know I am supported by a boss who appreciates what I do, it makes me work harder and be even more inspired do my absolute best! Last weekend was really busy for me, as I had to write my usual Buckeyes and Browns articles and edit a LOT of high school volleyball and football posts. It actually got to the point where I was getting mentally tired. But it was a good form of mental fatigue. It’s the kind where you tell yourself, “Okay, you’ve done great up to this point. Keep pushing! Just a few more and you’re done! FINISH IT!”
And once I was done, it occurred to me: This is what I want. This is how I want to feel after I finish a job now and in the future. Tired but fulfilled and happy. I want to feel like I accomplished something, made a difference, and added to something that somebody else is building. For me, that’s one of the keys to the happy life I want to eventually have. I got a taste of it yesterday. Hopefully one day instead of getting offline and chilling out on the couch, I’m finishing with work and kissing my wife and hugging and playing with my kids.
That’s probably the biggest reason why I’ve increasingly felt more and more at peace and happy in the past few weeks. Family and friends. I realize how important they are to me. I always do, of course. But I realize that it’s easier to be genuinely happy for them and to appreciate them, than it is to be anxious that I’m not “keeping up” with them. Hidden jealousy, anger and frustration takes up too much energy too. So I let it go. And since I’ve let it go, I realize that I am more able to be there for the people I love the most. It was hard for me to be the best son, brother, future brother-in-law and friend I could be when I was stewing in my own junk!
Plus I’m incredibly excited for when my sister and her fiance eventually tie the knot! I’ve never seen Christy so happy, and Chaz is the perfect guy for her. I don’t see him as my future brother-in-law, but as the brother I never had, and I am ready to one day officially welcome him to the family, and give him a big hug! Family is everything. Other people come and go throughout the course of life, but true family stays together.
I always have to deal with that annoying voice inside my head at times telling me all sorts of negative things. But when my heart is full and at peace like it has been, it’s easier to shut it up and keep moving forward. Life has become truly enjoyable and full.
I encourage all of you who are reading this to do three things:
- Find something that you’re passionate about. Something that makes you jump out of bed in the morning, or that brings a huge smile to your face, and then go do that thing!
- Grab what you want out of life too. It’s too short, and we’re not getting any younger. Have an idea of what you want and then work toward it.
- Appreciate and enjoy the journey rather than worrying or fretting about the destination. I’ve done so much fretting and worrying that it has stolen days, weeks and months off my life! Every day is a step. A journey toward something. Once you decide what that something is, the worry will go down. It may never fully go away. It’s human nature to worry about stuff we can’t control, and humans are control freaks. But it will go down. Trust me.
God gave us all one life. It’s up to us to decide how we want it to go, and to rely on Him whenever we hit a speed bump, roadblock or detour. Live well, my friends! 🙂
Luke's Thoughts 