The Right to Fight for What You Want!

What is it that you want?! It is such a common question because we all want things most of the time. A day off…thousands of dollars to cushion a luxury vacation…the handsome or beautiful server at the restaurant to take our phone number to go out with us. But a lot of these particular wants are better classified as fantasies. They are not what we really want or are worth putting our time, energy, and even money into to keep contentment going. What is it that you really want to make you get up in the morning and say, “It’s a beautiful morning! I…think I’ll go outside for a while!”

A lot of us may be hesitant to go after what we want for fear that it is unrealistic or we will end up disappointed. Or others will crush our spirits by reminding us of all the times we did go after what we wanted in the past and had plenty of failures to show for it the last time we fought. Just asking someone, “What is it that you want?” can earn respect. In the mediocre movie, “Joe Somebody” with Tim Allen, the protagonist’s spirits changed when he was asked that simple yet profound question, “What is it that you want?” One time, I was counseling a middle school student who was profoundly unhappy and fearful about entering high school the next year. His attitude changed when asked this question.

I am not sure what your wants are, but here are mine. I would like to save more than enough money next year to enjoy a full week at Wildwood Crest, NJ and spend so much money that it will not matter what foods or beverages are purchased. I would also like to run on the beach all day long as long as the weather is decent so every ice cream bar I put in my mouth will be promptly burned off in caloric intake. Speaking of fitness…I wish to justify the $200.00 purchase of my Blaze Fitbit watch by using it all year and losing over thirty pounds. Then I will understand it will come back someday and be vigilant like a hawk over lapsing into bad habits.

I want to pay off the small amount of credit card debt that has probably been accumulated from my recent small vacation and then try to stay out of debt forever. Considering my vehicle is approaching its birthday of 160,000 miles I would also like to save enough money to finance the purchase of a new vehicle sometime over the next five years and then run that vehicle into the ground over the course of another decade.

Another want is to write like a demon all day long and do it in front of YouTube so I will have the “whistle while I work” attitude. In fact, “attitude determines altitude” and am proud of myself that this writing assignment has been completed before instructing my writing class so I may devote the entire time toward helping the students instead of completing my own work. Hopefully this trend will continue for the rest of the year.

I also want to keep my apartment clean on a consistent basis because it will make me a better role model for the students of the College Experience Program (CEP) and Transitions individuals so I will not feel like a total hypocrite every time I lecture them about keeping their living space clean. Right now, the living area of the apartment is fairly clean but the Chaos Theory will creep up on me as it has many times in the past.

There is a solid month left of pure, beautiful summer. Therefore, I want to remember how miserable I feel in winter and pretend that every day is one of those late-March days when we are gifted with that rare 68-degree day and we leap for it like a cherubic dog waiting for a bone. Anyone who complains about the summer heat or tries to ruin the day by claiming it is simply due to the horrors of Global Warming will have to answer to ME!