25 Things

25 Things
I was bored at work....


Even though this is the 2009th thing I should be doing right now, I finally gave in and decided to post one. Here we go:

1. I was adopted when I was four by my aunt Virginia. She raised me, my brother (age 17), and my sister (age 19) as well as her own six kids. Total of nine, I am the oldest.

2. I went to Paradise High School and absolutely hated it. I don’t talk to many people from high school, and have met most of my best friends here at A&M. The only thing I miss from high school is my extracurriculars, especially LD Debate. Yea, I’m a nerd.

3. I am a Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps. Most people are surprised when I tell them I am a Marine. It doesn’t define me, but is a very important part of my life. I am currently working on a contract with the intent to commission as a 2nd Lieutenant as soon as I graduate. It is something I have been trying to do for 3 ½ years and it is finally happening.

4. I applied to nine colleges. Three years of high school I could have told anyone I was positive I was going to Baylor. A private, Christian university is where I saw myself until my Marine recruiter told me to look at A&M. He forced me to apply and here I am. I never visited campus until I was at my New Student Conference. This goes to show that everything really does happen for a reason. I cringe at the fact that I almost went somewhere else. No other school compares, and it is something only Aggies understand.

5. I have met the love of my life. She is one of my very best friends and will always be that. Her name is Desiree, she goes to UNT, and despite the long distance we still manage to talk regularly. (most of the time) She inspires me and is someone I know will always be in my life. I met her back in 2001 and we’ve been close friends ever since. This is someone I could grow old with (as friends) just because we are so compatible. She’s a bird, and I’m a bird.

6. When I was in high school I wanted to go to medical school and be an Ob/Gyn. Then in Anatomy we watched the ‘Miracle of Life’ and I decided I would be a Liberal Arts student. This may sound crazy, but I think pregnancy is a little gross.

7. One of my biggest pet peeves is anything that deals with bodily fluids/functions, from talking about it, to doing it, I just hate it. I even hate tears. Other pet peeves include lack of organization, ignorance, typing in all caps, ignorance, and misspelling the word “definitely.”

8. I’m 5’2” and weigh 110 pounds. I’m not a very big guy, but I am by no means weak. I think I have proved my strength on several occasions, and even though many underestimate what I can do, they are left surprised.

9. I hate inappropriate jokes, and love corny ones. It isn’t hard to make me laugh. Many times I laugh when no one else does. Also, many times I am the last one still laughing.

10. My first pet was a dog named Taco that I had when I was four. My dad brought him home one afternoon, and he was hit by a car the next morning. This is one of the few memories I have of my dad.

11. I secretly wanted to be a “Zoom” kid growing up, even into high school. Those kids knew so much stuff. I was a bit jealous.

12. I have a list of things I want to do before I die. It has about twenty things on it right now. I got the idea from the movie “A Walk to Remember,” but I call it my Bucket List. It has things on it like teach high school, visit all fifty states, do mission work abroad, raise a child, learn to play the violin, etc.

13. My passion lies here at Texas A&M. For that reason I am not ready to graduate and not ready to leave the Corps. My best friends are here, my life is here, my work is here, and it is here I hope to end up someday. I hope I have left a legacy not only through the Corps but through the students I talk to at the Visitor Center on a daily basis.

14. I can’t wait to have kids. I want five boys.

15. My inbox on Facebook always says I have at least two unread messages, despite the fact that I don’t. It bothers me and gives me chills when I think about it. I’m slightly OCD as well…

16. When I got my Aggie Ring, I dunked it in Sol, a Mexican beer. I threw up several times and finished in a very embarrassing 27 minutes. I still get made fun of to this day.

17. I came to A&M very conservative. I would now say I am pretty liberal.

18. My biggest fear is being helpless in a time of need.

19. I have many nicknames from Coconut, Ninja, Little Pocket, Dan, Danno, Art, Arty, and the list goes on.

20. I used to be very worried about being rich. For the reason I wanted to be an Ob/Gyn and then that changed to a lawyer. Now I want to be in the Marine Corps, teach high school, and work for Texas A&M someday. Not that those are the only things I will do but I will do those things. Money is not important to me because I know I will be provided with everything I need to be happy.

21. You won’t ever hear me say “I can’t wait for tomorrow” or “I can’t wait for the weekend.” I live every day in the moment. This is something that I have been making an extreme effort to do for the past five months. Why wish the days away?

22. When I was a kid I would create fantasy stories or try to direct plays that involved my siblings and cousins for entertainment. If the story included a store, I was the owner. If it included a school, I was the teacher. If it included the Power Rangers, I was the white one.

23. I’ve struggled “finding myself” just as most college students have. It is a fight that I can say I am very close to winning. It took me going on a church retreat last semester to understand something that is so simple: everything happens for a reason. We fight and fight, and end up losing. Then we become disappointed in our loss. We are all so caught up in making everything concrete and “crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s” when in reality what is supposed to happen will happen, so there is no use worrying about it. It took me a long time to get to this point, but I can now honestly say I surrender to my maker. He made me who I am today and he wants me to be happy, so I will do just that.

24. It took me about two weeks to finish this. I typed it in Word and kept it on my desktop so when I had free time I would add a new one. I didn’t go in order, but would just fill in the numbers randomly. I knew what 1 would be, and I knew what 25 would be. Everything else is on a whim.

25. I can’t believe I am a senior in college. I have no idea where my last eight semesters went, and I am cherishing every last moment I have here in the Promised Land with all my friends, and especially my buddies. Texas A&M and the experiences I have been given have made me who I am today. I hope I have left some sort of legacy, and I can’t wait to give back later on in my life. I could die happy today because there is nothing I do not love about my life. Great family, great friends, great school, and guided by a marvelous God. One word describes it all: blessed.

And for that, I am thankful.

Thanks and Gig 'Em.