The President of Bank Independent speaks...

Mr. Mauldin, President of Bank Independent

Tuesday evening, Mr. Mauldin, the President of Bank Independent came to speak to us. In general, he talked to us about the values he holds at his bank. It made a lot of sense, and applied to me as a customer, future businessperson, as well as a person in general.  I did not really know what Bank Independent was, nor how it functioned. It serves locally and has roughly 500 employees. I got the vibe that the employees were one big family, metaphorically and literally. There are five words that they like to conduct business by: people, community, strength, service, and convenience. There, it is all about the customer. That was a very comforting fact. Connecting the values he uses in business to real life, he told us about values that we should have in college. He said, “What you do now will affect you for the rest of your life”. That really stuck to me. I did not realize the weight that this time in my life has. However, I really felt like Mr. Mauldin was talking specifically to me when he talked about the jerks that you encounter and how you will always remember them. You will remember them, what they said, and how they said it. I have had a few, really just one, encounters of mistreatment. I agree with Mr. Mauldin, I will always remember that. I will remember how hard it made some days of college, and how much it hurt. I will remember the face and name, as well as the words produced with hate. As I have said, Mr. Mauldin was directly talking to me.

He also quoted his wife saying, “do not worry it it’s not going to matter in 5 years”. I know his wife very well. She is absolutely lovely. She helped me a lot getting my scholarship to UNA. Aside from that, I definitely agree with what she said. Although it is hard to live by, we definitely should worry less. Don’t sweat the small stuff.  Mr. Mauldin told us that this is the best time in our life. That, I can believe. He also told us that we have so much free time right now. That is a lie. Mr. Mauldin must not have been a member of the POD.  I hope others reading this can attest to the fact that you sell your life over to the POD when you sign up. Free time? I really don’t know if I have ever heard such a thing. No, I’m only being slightly dramatic. There is SOME time to breathe; you just have to make it for yourself.  

What you do matters. He definitely stressed the word integrity a lot. Relating to my inner questions about life, integrity is definitely something I am grounded in.  I believe it is important in every aspect of life.

He also addressed something that is taboo: we screw up. He said that we cannot do everything right all the time, and isn’t that the real truth. Not only are we human beings, but most of us aren’t even real adults yet. We might be of age, but we do not pay taxes and bills. We make mistakes. Often times, those mistakes shape who we are today.  We would not have enjoyed the roller coaster that is life without the twists, turns, and unexpected bumps and jolts. The thing that we have to remember is to own up to our mistakes and try to correct it. The most mature concept that is so simply ignored is recognition.

Overall, I really enjoyed what Mr. Mauldin had to say. He is a very respectable man, as well as a wonderful businessman.

Anna

Life's Questions, as well as a few answers.

The more I learn, the more I realize how stupid I am. College Life.

I want to first start off by saying that since I have been in college and have been learning more than I ever have in my life, my questions have substantially increased in numbers and difficulty. How is that even possible? The more I learn, the more questions I have. Needless to say, I have been thinking a lot recently, as in the past few weeks or so. From Makowski's history class, to forum, to my awesome Psychology class, and even church, I have been pondering so many things. There is one question, however, that has kept reappearing, as if I am being told something.
The question is: who am I. In high school, it is easy to define yourself. You are a daughter, a student (probably honors in our case), a band member, an athlete, a Christian, a democrat..etc and the list goes on and on. You have clear identities that normally stay stagnant during your time there. College, however, is a completely different story. You are no longer really defined by the same things. It could possibly be a time to change your identities, or just add new ones. I have been flooded with so many new opportunities since I have been here. It is hard trying to balance it all.
Therefore, I have not yet figured out exactly who I am. I know who I want to be, and who I have been. The question of who I am right now though is still a work in progress. I do not mean to sound lost or confused, but I am pretty sure I am not the only one really figuring our their place right now.
Every class, every church service, and most conversations I have had have challenged that question. They have made me think a whole lot, probably a lot more than I should.
College has been super fun so far, as well as stressful and very challenging. Let's be honest, college is freakin hard. We are definitely not in high school anymore. Classes definitely stress me out sometimes, but not as much as band does. That my friends, is not something  for the weak at heart. I think if I did not have band, college would be a lot less stressful and busy. But, I am in the POD, and I am proud of it. We work our butts off. Despite the busy schedule and stress, I have found time to engage in fun college activities, such as Waffle House at 3 a.m. I never knew how good Waffle House was until I came to college. So, I am having a great time. I have learned a lot about myself as a person, as well as determined some goals for myself and future.
Despite all the questions, my future looks bright. I am thankful for the adventures I have had, as well as excited for the ones ahead.

Check in next time.

Anna Goggans

Courage, or at least YOUR interpretation of it.

To be very honest, I had a lot of trouble trying to comprehend and process all that Mr. Self had to say. He made very good points, said a lot of very eloquent and politically correct things. However, his point and central thesis I did not stay on track with. I did not understand why he was there. Was he there to tell us to follow the law or to just talk about himself. I don't really know. I mean know disrespect to the very distinguished Judge of our area, but I did feel the night was a little...different I guess is a nice word.
In the beginning he talked a lot about his life and the things he handles on a daily basis. If that did not tell me I do NOT want to be in law, I do not know what could. I do not ever want to be in the position to decide someone's fate, life, or future. He has to make a lot of very important decisions everyday, which effect numerous people. He mentioned that he wanted to help people. I know in my life, I want to help people too. However, that is definitely not the means i personally want to do it.

I believe a central theme he was trying to achieve was the human value of courage. Although we perceive courage in different ways on different levels, I still agree with him on the importance of courage. I believe courage is important in everyday life. To be quite honest, it takes courage to get out of bed in the morning, to stand up against the evil, luring covers. It takes courage to ask questions in class. It takes courage to do many of the things that make us better human beings, as well as progress society. Many of our world's greatest philosophers, inventors, scientists, and leaders had to have courage to accomplish whatever it was they made them so "great". Courage is not easy, or else all of us would have it. Like, love it is a fuel. It fuels many other aspects of our lives that make them better.

I want to leave with a quote that Mr. Self said had inspired him, as it also does me. It reminds me to keep going. It reminds me that though I may suffer now, I will enjoy much later, and appreciate it that much more.


Thank you and goodnight.

Anna

Value of STEM Education and the relevance with our identities

Well, that was a lovely speaker. My first thought was, “Hey! There’s the Six Flags guy” so from that thought onward I knew it was going to be good. I like the way he spoke and the dynamics of his voice.  Most of what he said made very much sense to me.

I guess I really just want to share my general thoughts on what he had to say.

He began talking about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and its relevance in the world today.

Yes, interest is going down while innovation and demand is going down. I agree with everything he said. However, for the sake of arguing I would like to bring up a confounding variable. It relates to job security and the role the government plays. Let’s be honest here, some (not all) of the jobs related with STEM are now on the downfall, concerning security and availability. We all know NASA and many defense organizations from the government where CUT. They were CUT, as in there is no opportunity there. I feel as if that plays a big role in the interest of upcoming individuals in education. For example, if little Johnny sees that engineer, math oriented, Dad comes home without a job, little Johnny is less likely to pursue the same thing that caused distress in his household. It may be a little far-fetched, but you cannot deny its application.

Contemplating my purpose in life: to eat or swing from trees?? Decisions, Decisions. #thirdworldprobz

 

The very first thing Dr. Calhoun said was about our identities. I knew then where he was going with that. Soon, if not already, our identities will be shaken. They will be challenged and changed. Being an honor student is one identity, however, that I have found I do not want to change. I have thought on this a lot and have concluded that while I am here in college, I don’t want to change that about myself. Challenges will present themselves in that journey, as well as the journey with shaken identities. More than anything, I realized I do not know anything.  Dr. Calhoun made that revelation present for me.

Leading from that, it made me question myself. The same question has been haunting me since I get to UNA in various forms around campus. It is this: “Who am I and what am I called to do?” This is such a large question, that, to be honest, I don’t even know if I can understand it, much less answer it myself.  College, thus far, has been challenging, exciting, fun, stressful, awesome, etc- however; no revelations of any kind have been conceived even leading me to this answer. So, fellow bloggers, hopefully by the last one of these, or at least when you see me getting my diploma, I will be able to answer it for you.

He said one thing that I absolutely cannot forget. He said, “Allow yourself to experience ignorance”. I think this is super important. Not only does it teach you humility, but also a new way of how you see yourself, as well as others. Be who you want to be, and do not let others, or other situations, stop you from doing so.

Life happens. Let us embrace it from the very core of our beings wholly unsure of what is to come.

 

Anna (confused, yet enlightened, college student)

 

 

We're people. We have values.

So, as everyone knows from the other night, we all have different values.
According society, we value such things like money, sex, power, etc. Yes, I am sure much of society does value those things. In fact, we must for society to progress. However, as I learned in class, much of us value other things, as I believe most others do as well.
Many of the things we value and the things society values are different. So, they are in conflict. When values are in conflict, they change (at least eventually). They are challenged, pondered over, and eventually changed.
We got in some groups and decided what we thought were the most important values. My group's values were as follows: challenge, love, integrity, faith, passion, courage, and creativity. Personally my number one was love. I must agree with Chuck on this one: all you need is love. That is the truth.
I think that love governs all things. Love is the fuel behind our courage, the spark that illuminates our faith, and the push behind our passion. It is what makes us have friendship and be capable of creativity- because we "love" what we do and want to come up with more. We love ourselves to care about our health. We love others to have "helpfulness". Of course, love also produces respect. Therefore, love really does encompass anything. Coming from the Christian faith, love is the center of the universe-being God (God is love). So, love really is everything. Aside from religious views, as I have said before,love governs many of the values society cares about.
So I know I have made some pretty stretching relationships and have probably jumped around and made no sense. The fact is however, that is how much of society deals with values. They jump around trying to figure out which one they are going to follow for the day.
As for me, I try to live everyday trying to follow love. Of course, it does not always work out. Sometimes the desire for success overules my value of health or responsibility. As with anyting in life, values are something to be balanced. You can't do everything. Such is life.
Values. Have them.

Anna Goggans

Let's Begin

Well hello there.
It has been quite an adventure since I have first arrived on the beautiful UNA campus. Many things have happened, including the acquisition of many new friends, courtesy of the honors program. My very first encounter with many of these lovely people was at the Memphis trip. I am pretty sure i was not the only one dreading the awkwardness of being thrown on a bus with a bunch of people i did not know. However, it was not like that at all. It was so much fun. We were all so eager to meet eachother and get to know one another. I give a big shout out to my bus buddy, because now she is a great friend. I love the honors people, not just because they are interesting and funny, but because of how open and nice everyone is.
My favorite part of the trip was the art museum. I have never been to anything like that before in my life, and it was so exciting. I had so much fun and learned a lot. My favorite part was analyzing and debating a ridiculous piece (in my opinion) made of eyelashes. It was so much fun to hear everyones perspectives. It still didn't change mine, but it definitely openend my mind to how others perceive art.
Going downtown around Memphis was also fun. It was great for me to see the city, because that is where i eventually want to work someday- at St. Jude's Hospital. It was cool to see a city, where I feel like I could make a difference. So overall, of course, i loved the trip.
Aside from the trip, hanging out at the Honors Dorms has been so much fun. I have met so many people that way. Plus it's always nice to know people in my class and have easy access to them to ask them questions. Even though I don't live there, i am constantly over there "studying", socializing, and eating cookies ( Thanks Abs ;) ). I am not going to lie; the work load is a lot. I am worried about upcoming tests just because I do not know what to expect. However, I have been staying on top of things, at least I think I am. I am looking forward to more memories here at UNA and in the Honors Program.
Relating to what we talked about, I had a few thoughts, which I am not sure how much they pertain, but that is okay. It reminded me a lot of my Sociology class back in High School. We talked about society's values. They were similar to the values we talked about in class. However, that was one society. Every society values different things, so it makes me think of how what we "value" is so very different than many people on the planet. So really, how important are our values? Especially if we were to try and function in another society. I don't really know. My thoughts are still cooking. I am looking forward to see what all these future people have to say.

Till next time

Anna.