Humility
In my family, there is a member we call the “dream crusher.” Any time one of the siblings would bring up something that we wanted to do, we could always count on that member to be a “debbie downer.”
I won’t say who it is, but let’s just say that she almost became a nun before my dad Nacho Libre’d her in Corpus.
I tell that story because I have been thinking about a lot about humility lately. I recently checked out a book from the library entitled Humble by Daryl Van Tongeren, and in it, he does a great job at explaining how humility is seen in today’s society.
While reading that, I’ve also been thinking about Jonathan Tjarks and his humility.
Even if you aren’t a sports fan, I encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast where Simmons, Chris Ryan, Kevin O’Connor, and J. Kyle Mann all eulogized Tjarks beautifully. I personally loved that there was no explicit tag so that I could listen with my conservative dad while running errands.
In it, they talked about the humility of Tjarks and how even with that humility, he was so self-assured that he didn’t feel the need to overcompensate, boast, or have a provocative take.
I love that a lot, and it’s something I aim to follow in every day life.
There is another aspect to humility, though, and it’s one that I feel like my generation and younger are having a tough time dealing with in the adult world. We’ve been told we’re special and unique. And for the most part, I think unique is a good thing. However, I’m not sure how realistic that is in today’s world.
Whether it’s with high school athletes wanting to get scholarships or applicants wanting to stand out, our culture rewards those who are provocative or on the edge. It’s why you see late night hosts pulling stunts at the Emmys or news outlets here seemingly publishing every other story on the Royal Family: it will get engagement and clicks.
Yesterday, I was talking to a community leader and admitted that I was an introvert. I told him that the thought of being in a crowd of people really was not my idea of fun. I told him that the idea of even promoting myself seemed so foreign to me and also kinda gross.
I was surprised to hear him agree with me. I was like “Woah, this person who’s successful is just like me.”
I told him that I felt bad for current college students that even though I’m only a few years older, the culture and the necessity to be online or to be funny or even be perfect or to have content that is great enough to be noticed is enough to cause me to have a panic attack.
It’s why I hate social media. I hate that you have to engage with an audience to get noticed. I hate that I have to market in different ways. I hate that I have to sound more conservative on Facebook for my news posts or more liberal on Twitter. I just want to write analysis or opinion about things of which I care about. However, in today’s world, that is not a reality in which we live.
Still, I see people like Tjarks or even my dad who have been unsung heroes by serving their communities or having their priorities straight. I am striving for that.
I see people with self-awareness like Steve Sarkisian and those with none like Urban Meyer. I’d rather be like Sark who dealt with serious issues and seems to be a better leader for it than Meyer who seemingly is in 7th heaven going to different college campuses every week so he can meet sorority girls.
As an introvert who usually doesn’t speak up often, I will say there’s this feeling of euphoria when you do speak up and surprise people with what you know. It’s like that Abraham Lincoln quote in action.
My two cents to my fellow kids?
Be self-assured, don’t peacock, know you’ll fail, and when you do, get up and try again.
Finally, be humble. You don’t need a “dream crusher” for that.
Quick-hitters
Speaking of humility, leave it to my parents for getting the most likes on my Facebook I think ever. I need to tag them more often to see if people will sign up for this newsletter.
Wally has been very enthralled with all of the Royal Coverage. Can you tell his breed is from Scotland?
Regarding the Texas Politics Poll, I’ll let the good folks at the Texas Tribune break down the actual data, but from my perspective, it still seems like Abbott wins. I say that because of the border cross tabs.
Pay attention: Beto will be focusing on the failure of law enforcement in Uvalde as that seems to have bipartisan support in polls while Abbott will be focusing on the border and inflation.
I’m more interested in Collier vs. Patrick.
Of course, in Texas, lieutenant governor is where the real power is located.
I wish to be as gracious as Monica Lewinsky one day:
Congrats to Dr. Steve Flores for joining the Texas Association of School Administrators executive superintendent team. Flores, who was superintendent at Harlingen CISD and Round Rock ISD, is a native of San Angelo, Texas. More importantly, he was principal at Edison Junior High (RIP): the only good Crimson Tide (after last Saturday’s game).
Will I follow President Hartzell’s footsteps in getting a grad degree from U.T. after Trinity or is my UNT MPA good enough? Stay tuned…
I’m planning on launching a newsletter soon for sports in Texas along with politics, opinion, and pop culture, and one specifically for San Angelo. I’ve started playing around with the sports logos and here they are:
Throwback Thursday Pic:
La Grange, Texas off of 71 circa 2000 visiting my grandma. This might or might not have been the trip when my sisters told me they were going to drop me off at the Donation Station at Goodwill. I never forget.