Keep on, keeping on

"Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others."
Danny Thomas


We went hiking today. It was great because the gym is closed on Sundays and I needed some exercise. The guy we were hiking with was Canadian and said things like "paesta" and "givr" which really made me miss one of my favorite Canadian friends Goldie. I thought about her (btw Goldie is her nickname, a play on her last name, Gold) today as we were hiking. We met in college on the swim team. Because she was from Ontorio, Canada she had all of this Canada stuff in her room, just like I had Maryland stuff. Gotta love hometown pride.

In the picture, Goldie is towering over me on my righthand side.

As I got to know her better, Goldie was always inspiring me to stay fit or become a better athlete and student. When we were being lazy she was out running or lifting. She had a 4.0 G.P.A. in probably one of the hardest major at my school. She loved rock music and we went to a lot of concerts in Charlotte together at Tremont Hall; this opened me up to one of my favorite bands, Story of the Year.


She was also a really real person. She'd be honest with you and never sugar coat things, yet never make you feel bad about yourself. She was really nice too and helped you with anything you needed. She was super smart. She went to a French speaking school in Canada for awhile. As an athlete she always led by example never trying to showboat. I'm so lucky to have someone like Goldie in my life. It's great to know that there are still people out there that work hard for what they want and it's not always who you know or how much money you have. Did I also mention she's not only smart and a great person but absolutely gorgeous too?

Another thing I really appreciated was she was able to grow as a person. As a Freshmen she hated girly things, which was funny because her roommate was the most girly person I knew. But over the next few years she grew up and changed as hopefully all people should at some point in college. This didn't have to do with just the way she dressed (she did start wearing pink) but especially the way she viewed life formed opinions. As we came towards graduation she had a focus and drive to do something worthwhile. At the moment she's studying Chiropractic Medicine at National University of Health Medicine in Canada.

I love that I have friends that inspire people and want to help others rather than work for their own benefit. I only hope to be able to help others in a constructive way as well.