who I am | university life | my major | advice | spirituality
The kind of person that I am:
>When nobody's watching, I'm a person who likes to putter. I can spend an entire afternoon tinkering away in my basement, or on my computer - just "doing stuff".
>I like to be in charge of things, to run things. Just being myself means jumping into a project that motivates me - and having a key leadership role in it.
>I'd like to sail a big sailboat around the Caribbean. I'd like to raise a million dollars for a charity. I'd like to write a book. I'd like to live in a Muslim country.
>I come from a great family background. My family valued independence, and so gave me the opportunity to try many things. As a result, I am a very independent person, at home almost anywhere in the world.
>In some ways, I see my life like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (movie). He follows clues into the unknown. My life is constantly about finding out new things - about myself, the world and God's plan for my life.
>My hero is Freddy Couples (PGA golfer) - he's got one of the sweetest swings I've ever seen.
>The hardest thing I've ever had to do is fire an employee - that's pretty hard.
>I'm most proud of the renovations that I've done on several houses that I've owned.
>I like classic rock: Boston, Bruce Springsteen, the Guess Who, BTO, Foreigner, Bryan Adams - that sort of thing.
>I'd consider dying for a serious cup of coffee.
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My Life in university:
>The hardest thing about my first year of university was that no one cared whether I did well or not. It was all up to me.
>I liked the freedom to make new friends. I liked being able to define myself in a new way.
>I didn't like it that so many of the academic courses seemed so far removed from real life. I saw little relevance in them.
>I discovered in university that I had to motivate myself to learn, or to be who I wanted to be. No one was looking over my shoulders to see who I was, what habits I had, whether I went to class, what marks I got.
>Motivation has to come from inside, not from outside. I learned that I can motivate myself.
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Choosing my area of study:
>At the end of my first year, I was disillusioned by a "general science" first year, so I decided if I was going to be there three more years, I'd better study something I liked.
>I switched into physical education and studied sports injuries. I found that fascinating.
>The best thing about being a phys. ed. major is that those students are the coolest on campus. Sometimes, though, we were only viewed as being "jocks" that didn't really cut it academically.
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Jeff's advice :
>Study something you like.
>You'll only succeed in the area that you are studying if you want to be there.
>Enjoy people and the process. Education is more about teaching you how to learn than about teaching you vocational skills.
>Learn to be an independent thinker.
>There is so much new information being thrown out to you as a student, interms of shaping your view of life, and of the world. As a result, I think a well grounded spirituality can help you sort out the truth among competing world views.
>Every person should sort out where they are at spiritually. My own spiritual journey took root while I was a university student. It is the single most important decision, as it will be determinative for the rest of your life.
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How knowing God has given Jeff a new perspective on life . . .
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