efozzie

-Perfection
-Pressure
-Pinsecurity

OK, so maybe that last one wasn't really a "P"-word.

Anyway, I was talking to my roommate Elizabeth late last night about relationships with people and dating, and in true Dr. Phil fashion, she gave me some helpful insight. She pointed out that there are three big issues that cause major stress when you are dealing with another person in a relationship of some sort (personal, professional, dating, friends): the need for perfection, outside pressures that skew expectations, and insecurities that make you worry unnecessarily.

Which then led me to realize that I tend to make things seem like catastrophes when they really aren't. For instance, I had a phone interview the other week for College Summit, and Karla asked me how it went. And I said that I felt it was pretty bad, that I didn't articulate everything that I wanted to say, and that there were so many things I could have done to make it better. I didn't stop to think that the interview, overall, went very well. I instead focused on the small negatives, and blew them out of proportion, thereby kind of separating/shielding myself from the situation and not really getting anything out of it.

My need for everything to be perfect driven by external pressures (as well as internal) and coupled with personal insecurities, makes me over analyze situations to useless degrees.

Interesting pattern. And I don't just do it with interviews...

Great quote.

I love technology and how technology is making everything so much more productive and efficient. Check out this video dissertation on Web 2.0. Imagine if you had to read a dissertation on this. I'm sure it would not have been as engaging or compelling.

I wanted to share with you this great opportunity to change the course of the lives of low-income students this summer. I've been volunteering with College Summit as a writing coach since 2003, and the 4-day workshops have been some of the most moving experiences of my life. If you find it rewarding to play a part in something bigger than yourself and want to help low-income students achieve the dream of making it to college, this should be right up your alley.

College Summit is an award-winning national nonprofit strengthening the college-going culture in low-income schools and communities. 79% of students who attend a College Summit workshop enroll in college, and 80% stay in college.

Each summer, College Summit calls on hundreds of summer volunteers—alumni, college/graduate students, young professionals, community leaders, and high-level executives—to help talented low-income high school students enroll in college. At intensive 4-day residential workshops across the country, volunteers coach students through the college transition process. Commitments range from four days to multiple weeks during the summer, and stipends are available for some positions. If you are interested, please visit www.collegesummit.org and click on "Join Us" to view detailed role descriptions and complete the online application.

It's hard to describe to people why I do the things I do, why I am passionate about the things I am passionate about, and why instead of being in the business world, I am choosing to make a difference in the lives of youth.

Troy Camp is really where I discovered my passion for making a difference, and recently I got the winter newsletter with a link to this TC PR video. It may not have any significance to you, but the video reminded me so much of where I came from, even though I am not in it. It's great to see that Troy Camp is going strong, and will soon have a celebration for its 10,000th camper!

Check out the video:

By the way, I'm going to Thailand on vacation for the first two weeks of March. Yes, it is that time of the year again. March 6 will mark 5 years since the car accident, and it is time to get out of the country, get out of the comfort zone, and evaluate how I have been doing in life.