Push Yourself!

     Often times, I have noticed that many of the best moments of my life have been a direct result of my positive outlook on life and optimism. There is one more aspect that I attribute this to though, and that is the bar I have set for myself.
     I have always tried to be the kindest person I could possibly be, generous and trusting. I look for the best in people and I think I often find it. But looking for the best in yourself is just as important.
     Push yourself.
     Be as good as you can be. Achieve what you want and act with kindness. Overcome stereotypes and preconceived notions. A lot of this has to do with coming through for people when they need you. It can be very easy to be selfish and make up excuses to avoid these situations, but it can be so rewarding to help a friend in need. If you believe in karma, then there it is. Come through for people, but also, come through for yourself.
     I am nowhere near experienced enough to say that I have accomplished this to the fullest, but it is a difficult feat. Its always going to be a work in progress, but one I find to be so great when I find myself on the right track.
     It is a good thing to have the standard of yourself; that bar. Keep it high and expect nothing less of yourself but the very best.

"The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one's self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course"
Michelangelo 

Regards,

S.J.Hernandez

The Importance of Family (It's like Baseball!)

"A family is a place where principles are hammered and honed on the anvil of everyday living." - Charles R. Swindoll 

      Family, along with the experiences one obtains throughout life, are among the main factor that shape a person into who they are to be in life. 
      The importance of family is so important, and it is only becoming more and more crucial as the world changes and advances. 
     As Pastor Swindoll put it, family is a place where principles are hammered and honed, and that is how it should be. A persons family is their foundation, their anvil, their everything, on more levels than one. 
     If you want to put it into a social context, your family is your backbone, a collection of your best friends that should support you through thick and thin. They are among your closest confidants. A family is full of wise elders, close siblings, protective parents and more. 
     In a scientific context, your family makes up your DNA. They are a physical part of you just like you are a physical part of them, and just like a team, a family should support each other with this in mind. Each member should hold high their reputation and their family's honor, as mistakes and discrepancies reflect on them as much as you. 
     It is truly tragic to someone as fortunate as myself to witness this standard of the family not be met in so many peoples lives. Coming from the best of family's, with support surrounding me in every direction, with people I can trust and confide in, I have a fairly high standard. But with family, why shouldn't we have the highest of standards of what we should be achieving? 
   
 To me family is like baseball. When hitters are struggling, other hitters are expected to step up to the plate and produce runs. And that is what family should be like. When one member struggles, the others take up the slack and help. A good baseball team has a great defense. A good family has great support amongst its members. A great baseball team plays well together. A great family lives well together. 
     
     When I was younger, one of the main traditions and family principles that was embedded into me since before I could remember, was the classic All-American idea of the family dinner. A family should eat together. I never realized the importance of this truly simple idea, until I was much older. Eating as a family, face to face with your parents and siblings, builds true bonding; builds support and knowledge of one another. Dinner is a time to reflect on the day's events. Dinner is a time to converse with the most important people in your life. Dinner is a time to smile and engage, challenge and reward.
     As a young adult, the importance of this astounds me. It starts a family out right, and ends the day well. 
     Like I said previously, I am truly grateful and lucky to be apart of the most amazing family I could ask for. We are flawed, yes. We have problems, yes. But we also have some of the best people on this planet, and we support each other. We make each other better. 
    So please. Remember to take time for your family, and never take them for granted. Some of us are not as lucky to have such wondrous people in their lives. Some people have no anvil upon which to be hammered into great people. 
     Cherish the hard iron of support your family provides, as a true family will cherish you. 


Regards,
S.J. Hernandez

Mixed Race/Heritage Discrimination

Discrimination continues to thrive in society as of today, much like it has all throughout history.                   

In the modern era, discrimination is well documented, from African Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, and on. Even whites face discrimination on a daily basis on something that I see as a type of reverse discrimination. 

I have always personally considered myself to be a 'mutt'. I am half hispanic and half white, although if we were to be really specific I'd be part English, Mexican, German, Irish, and even Jewish (and no Jewish is not only a religion), and probably many others that I have since forgotten.

It has taken me many years to realize what has been in my face since I first entered society. I face discrimination on a daily basis. But this isn't just normal, by-the-book, stereo-typing. I, being of mixed heritage, have faced a very specific and hurtful form of discrimination. 

As someone from a single race background can explain, discrimination can be hurtful and tinged with ignorant ideals and pre-concieved notions. People often make fun of or bully people who have certain backgrounds and beliefs; certain traditions. And then there are people who have mixed backgrounds, such as myself, who have been at the tail-end of jokes and torments that suggest in a way, that being of mixed heritage, you aren't apart of either culture. The easiest defense of mainstream discrimination is pride. Being proud of your roots and where you came from. 

But it is hard and hurtful when the discrimination you face targets you in a way that implies that you have no place. Sure, while a person with this background may have unique traditions that blend from culture to culture, and cannot necessarily be placed in the same categories as normal traditions, does that mean that they should feel like they don't have the right to be part of either culture? Does that mean that they should simply lie down and be embarrassed to take part in any form of a culture that they are not wholly apart of? And what does lineage have to do with how dedicated and interested one can be in a certain set of traditions? 

Nothing. 

Because in the end, the most important part of someones background is their attitude about it. Their dedication. Their interest in learning more.

Not whether they were taught to speak the language of one culture they are apart of. Not if they celebrate one tradition but not the other. Not the food they eat or the sports they watch. 

Discrimination is atrociously prevalent in this form and others, but it doesn't have to be. 

Be open-minded and supporting, not ignorant. 

Regards, 

S.J. Hernandez 

A Less than Formal Introduction

     Writing is something I love to do, it is my true passion in life. 

     And Life, a complex little thing we have found ourselves immersed in, is both a frustrating conundrum and a joyous thing to be a part of. I like to find myself in the latter form of life, but still find it quite intriguing to be a apart of the conundrum.  

     I have always considered myself a modest at best writer, but the important thing is that I like to do it and that is all that matters. I also have no delusions about the fact that while I do think I see life in an interesting way, I do not claim to see it in a better or more interesting way than anybody else. 

     And that has always been my biggest fear with starting a blog. How to be interesting without sounding like I'm trying to be more interesting than everyone else who writes one. And that is my pledge. 

     I won't. 

     I will simply write until my large and loving heart is content. 

     I have always been told that I have an old soul.

     And from me to you all, I will try my best to engage, entertain, challenge, delight, inspire, and interest you as any old soul would. With words. 

    I hope I can be as much as I would like to be for any readers, so please read and enjoy! 

    Regards, 

    S.J. Hernandez