#SOL

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Who am I? Who do you think I am? Who do they think I am? What does it matter?

It is so hard to stay true to yourself, or at least the person you think you are, when others are beating you up or trying to hold you down. There is only one me albeit an ever evolving me.

Deep down I know exactly who I am – faults and all. Most times I dwell on the faults. Yet I expend so much time and energy trying to live up to some fictional version of me. A version created by those around me who think they know who I should be, who judge who I am. A version created by the need to live up to others expectations instead of my own wants and dreams.

I like the person I am. Oh sure, I could weigh less, exercise more, or eat healthier. But that just addresses the shell of who I am. Not my core.

I am sensitive, and I have been known to cry easily.
I am serious, and don’t take the world around me lightly.
I am creative – always looking for new ways to express myself
I am compassionate, and always try to put myself in someone else’s shoes.
I am loyal – loving the same man for nearly 43 years – a rarity these days
I am a mother – so very proud of my grown children
I am a nona – loving my grandchildren to death for they have stolen my heart.

This is part of who I am. Don’t look at me and assume to know who I am or how I feel.
Dig deeper, or you may just be wrong.

 Since I completed the #SOL 16 Challenge, I am going to try and continue to post in Slice of Life every Tuesday along with the other challenge participators.

The difference between the IMPOSSIBLE and the POSSIBLE lies in a person’s DETERMINATION. ~ Tommy Lasorda

A Cinderella Story – is a term “used to refer to situations in which competitors achieve far greater success than would reasonably have been expected.” While not a true Cinderella story, they were certainly not the favored team, yet last night Villanova University fit into the glass slipper and went to the ball after being away for 31 years.

I do not regularly follow college basketball, but I always get hooked on March Madness and the “Road to the Final Four.” Once in a while I fill in a bracket, but most of the time I just like to watch and see how the tournament unfolds. I am especially excited when one of our local teams advance. Growing up in Philadelphia, the home of “Big 5” (Temple, St. Joes’s, LaSalle, Penn, and Villanova) basketball, how could you not be rooting for the locals?

The game was a nailbiter from the start, and it ended in epic fashion with the North Carolina Tar Heels tying the game with less than 10 seconds on the clock. Then with only 4.7 seconds left the Villanova Wildcats inbounded and drove down court – sinking a game winning, buzzer beating three point shot to become 2016 National Champions.

More important than the final score and outcome of the game was the way in which all parties conducted themselves. The Wildcats were gracious winners and the Tar Heels gracious losers. The post game interviews with coaches and players brought me a sense of hope. Through exultation and elimination the young men continued to show their respect for the opposing team. They showed that they were men of character and class.

People can say what they will of this generation or that; these “kids” played with heart, determination, and an unselfish desire to win. They practiced and practiced to reach this stage, and their practice showed. It is a shame that there has to be a winner and a loser.

I can’t wait to see where their determination, devotion, and passion take them as some of them move on in the world away from basketball. If they take what they learned on the court and translate it to life off the court, I am sure each will be very successful wherever their dreams take them.