Week 20

Week in Review

Monday May 14, 2018

Here it is, another start to an awesome week. Soldiers of Spring ’18 awoke with a little relief because there are no more Monday Toastmasters classes, since we have completed all our speeches. Graduation is getting closer, and we can’t wait until we all walk across the stage. For some of us, it will be the first time we walk across any stage.

As for Fall ’18 it is crunch time – with time narrowing down, the first five tests are coming up. Now is when it gets real, as men all over the dorm are busy with their flash cards and days of studying.

As Soldiers of Spring ’18 wrap this class up, we work to prepare our Fall ’18 brothers for the same battles we went through.

Jason c. (a.k.a. “Peach Cobbler”)

Tuesday May 15, 2018

Finally we feel like we can breathe, for it is almost graduation and I know we will make all our families proud. It has been a hard time for us, but it has all been worth it.

I knew each and every one of us would make it to graduation – we just gave each other a hard time about certain things because it would motivate us to give it our all.

All of us will be looking forward to our big day when we see the looks on all our families’ faces. They will see us as a new, authentic man.

Tirso R. (a.k.a. “Rice Crispy Treat”)

Wednesday May 16, 2018

Today was a splendid day. We awoke with an eagerness to attend class and deliver our pitches. With this being only our second week of going to graduate meetings, it is still kind of setting in that we are almost done with the curriculum. PEP news has been fun and informative, and the coffee is definitely worth waking up so early for.

Bert S.’s class was different today, since we had no specific topic to cover, so we practiced our pitches for the upcoming Business Plan Competition event. Some of us need to keep on practicing, and the rest of us need to keep on practicing as well. A perfect pitch is a practiced pitch. We can, we will, we must!

Mitchell P. (a.k.a. “Achman”)

Thursday May 17, 2018

Today we woke up early and got prepared for our day’s agenda. First on our agenda was going to the PEP classroom to help facilitate Leadership Academy and Authentic Manhood for the Fall ’18 Class.

Then some of us went to the computer lab to work on a couple of lessons that we had to complete for graduation. Spring ’18, we have only a few weeks to go before graduation and the Business Plan Competition. I only have three words for you all: focus, focus, focus. Be blessed, this is my prayer. Amen.

Clifton O. (a.k.a. “Randy Watson”)

Friday May 18, 2018

As we began our Friday morning, servant leaders and Spring ’18 were called out to do the weekly pray-outs for our PEP brothers who are going to be released very soon.

As we returned to our dorms, we saw most of the Fall ’18 class studying and getting ready for their five tests. I remember when we were all doing the same, and now we are all getting set to graduate very soon.

Congratulations to all of my Spring ’18 brothers. Best of luck to you all in the future.

David M. (a.k.a. “Pepe Le Pew”)

Expressions

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

~ William James

There are those whose lives affect all others’ around them, quietly touching one heart, who in turn, touches another, reaching out to ends further than they could ever know. What we do today, right now, will have an accumulated effect on all our tomorrows. We can live a life full and complete, thinking with our heads but living from our hearts. Everyone who does the best he or she can do should be considered a hero. It takes each of us to make a difference for all of us.

When we do face the difficult times, we need to remember that circumstances don’t make a person, they reveal a person. To be courageous requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula. It’s an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to us all and each person must look for that courage in his own soul. Oh, my friend, it’s not what they take away from you that counts; it’s what you do with what you have left. Most people are like you and me, or the people across the street or around the world from you and me. Just like you and me, their hearts tell them that somewhere, somehow they can make a positive difference in the world, one person at a time.

Ronny V. (a.k.a. “Ron Cakes”)