Exploring the World

Over 6 billion people live on this planet. They eat and drink, breathe, think, go about their daily lives. But is that really all there is to life? Even animals do that. Socrates laid down a challenge to the way we live when he said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Instead of accepting the status quo, we should constantly seek improvement in our lives.

People can get by without taking the time to sit down and analyze their lives, examining what they need to improve. But people who do that aren’t getting the most out of life. A college student who simply does the bare minimum to get a passing grade is wasting his time and money. Not only is he not getting the most out of a higher education, he doesn’t develop necessary work habits and study skills needed to succeed after college. Life offers so much more to the person who looks deep into himself and works hard to improve.

One might get overwhelmed by the sheer amount that needs to change. The sudden realization that days, months, or even years have been wasted is enough to make a person collapse into a chair saying, “Forget it, it’s hopeless to try and change now.” Once people thought Mt. Everest impossible to climb. But dedicated rock climbers achieved the impossible. The difficulty of a task shouldn’t stop a person from trying to achieve it.

A person finds that his productivity blossoms by examining which activities occupy his time down to the last minute. He eliminates time-wasting activities. He also tries to increase his efficiency in all tasks. It isn’t easy, but the rewards for taking every advantage of the time given us far outweigh the effort. One hour of redeemed time every day adds up to over two weeks in a year. In essence, converting one hour of wasted time each day into working time would allow for an additional two-week vacation every year.

The spendthrift does not lead an examined life. He opens his pocketbook whenever and wherever he chooses. The small bits of money spent here or there, another cup of coffee, going out to eat, or a new shirt, add up more quickly then most people realize. The person who leads an examined life avoids financial headaches by keeping detailed records of where the money goes, down to the last penny. He is able to account for every expenditure and then identify and eliminate how and where money is wasted. That allows a person to have more to spend on things that truly matter.

Living an examined life forces a person to evaluate what are the most important aspects to life. Most people don’t realize how vital relationships are to a quality life. When a person realizes that relationships are an incredible blessing, he is willing to take time and effort to cultivate them instead of simply taking them for granted. Living an examined life allows for both time and money to be spent building life-long relationships.

Time, money, and opportunities are wasted by not examining every aspect of a lifestyle. But the examination isn’t a one-time occurrence; it must be done frequently to achieve the greatest success. But in the end, the examined life is much more fulfilling than simply passing through the motions of life. Who wouldn’t want to live life to fullest?

Ever since the violin was invented, it has captured the hearts of listeners with its versatility in music. With a violin, the music can be loud or soft, fast or slow, swinging or soulful, and any mixture. The violin can be played in almost any style of music. But most beginning violin players are pushed into the classical realm, usually without a thought given to other genres of music. Many young players pick up a violin, without knowing it is also a fiddle. A fiddle that can be combined with a banjo, guitar, double bass, and mandolin to create bluegrass music. And while both classical and fiddling may be fun, learning how to fiddle may benefit a young person more than classical violin.

It is true that classical music does have its benefits. It is played all over the world, and a classical violin player has many opportunities to play in an orchestra. Playing in an orchestra pushes to improve playing skills and technique. The conductor often gives personal instruction to individual players. The experienced violin player can take pride in the accomplishments and performances of his orchestra.

For a young person, however, trying to play in an orchestra can be intimidating and oppressive. Every note must be played exactly in tune. Every measure of music must be perfectly in time and rhythm. Competition is fierce among players to gain a higher “chair” or position in the orchestra. Practicing at home isn’t enough preparation for the environment that exists in an orchestra. The orchestra setting leaves little room for mistakes. This is frustrating for everyone, but especially to younger players. The beginning violin player may be greatly discouraged by the strict atmosphere the orchestra creates.

But when a beginning fiddle player steps into the bluegrass/country realm, he is almost immediately surrounded by a group of older musicians who cheer him on. These musicians form a support group around the beginning fiddler because they want to see him succeed. Not only does a young person have the opportunity to gain knowledge about music from these more experienced musicians, but also often picks up other life skills that he might otherwise have missed out on.

Fiddle music is more loose and open than classical music, which makes it easy for a beginning fiddle player to fit in with a group. The fiddle player quickly learns rhythm and how notes and melodies are structured. Many bluegrass songs are similar in form and structure, which makes it easy for a young person to learn and play. The fiddler is also at ease to make up his own version of a song, and everyone accepts it. This allows the young player to add his own unique touch to a song. And that makes playing fun for a young fiddle player.

Because old time fiddling is becoming a kind of lost art, older musicians are more than eager to pass on songs, tips and tricks that have been passed down through the generations to younger players. These older fiddlers don’t want to see the music that their fathers taught them to fade away. They are willing to put in time and effort to teach young players these old songs. An incredible learning opportunity awaits the budding fiddle player from these older musicians.

Opportunities abound for a budding fiddle player. Thousands upon thousands of bands across the nation seek a good fiddler. A fiddle player is often asked to play at social gatherings, weddings, and all sorts of other places. The fiddle player can choose to play for income or just for fun. Many fiddlers find a happy medium between the two.

In short, learning how to fiddle benefits a young person more than playing classical violin. Fiddling opens up a young person’s world to a group of friendly musicians who are eager to help him succeed. Fiddle music is easier to learn and play for the beginning musician. A much warmer environment exists for the fiddler than for the classical violinist. Older fiddle players are simply waiting for young people to come along who want to learn how to fiddle.

I decided to finally do a little work on making this site look halfway decent. I got tired of seeing my model bridge logo and nav bar on this website.

Other than web design, I have a hobby of building model bridges. I got started building bridges back in the 6th grade for a science competition called Science Olympiad. Over the years, I have built a lot of bridges, and learned a lot about basic engineering concepts. It was this hobby that sparked my first website, garrettsbridges.com.

A recent hobby of mine is playing Ultimate Frisbee. I played in my first tournament June of 2005 at a summer camp. I had no idea what I was doing that first time, but had a blast. I came home and started practicing throwing the frisbee every chance I got.

I have started playing Ultimate pickup games at UWG about once or twice a week. I thought I was fairly good until I started going there. I remember being blown away at how good the guys were the first time I walked up to play. But playing among much better players will help me develop my skills quicker.

I have a small arsenal of airsoft guns. I started with cheap, junk guns but have moved up into high-class springers. I won’t buy an automatic airsoft gun for two reasons. One, they are so expensive. Two, they waste ammo much quicker, and don’t help you grow in marksmanship as much as a springer. Okay, that was three reasons :P.

I play in our local youth orchestra. I have been the 3rd chair in the violin section for three years. The 1st and 2nd chairs have remained the same also. I have also played bluegrass fiddle in a group of older musicians.

I have been involved with several clubs and organizations, including TeenPact and Generation Joshua. Both of these advocate becoming active in local politics.

I enjoy reading when I get the chance. My favorite author is by far G.A. Henty. He writes historical fiction books covering periods from the ancient Egyptians to the American Civil War. I am not much of a gamer, either video games or pc games.