Success

"Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. it's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere."
~Barack Obama


"All my growth and development led me to believe that if you really do the right thing, and if you play by the rules, and if you've got good enough, solid judgment and common sense, that you're going to be able to do whatever you want to do with your life."
~Barbara Jordan


Took this picture from a small study room at work - I was calling home to share some good news and all the lines and angles struck me as interesting in their juxtaposition.

The good news is that I have been selected to receive one of eight university-wide fellowships for 2010-2011. I was excited to get the award then sort of blown away when I was told I was one of eight. I'm at a major research university in the US so the competition was strong, of that I have no doubt.

That honor is it's own reward really. I don't do what I do in hopes that someone will notice. I do what I do because I feel it is the right thing to do, or the way it should be done. Still, I deeply appreciate that someone not only noticed the things I've done, but appreciated them enough to reward me for them.

It certainly makes the long night ahead that much easier, and the long months to follow...