Summer Aspirations

On my roadtrip home from Chicago, I entertained myself listening to three very different audio stimuli. In my trunk CD changer, I had the six disc recording of Call to Conscience, a collection of Martin Luther King's landmark speeches with stirring introductions by leaders like Ted Kennedy or Rosa Parks. In my cassette player, I had Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, outlining how I could be a better me. And whenever I needed a burst, I had the radio primed to stations with hip-hop jams. This combination was fantastic. In a half day of listening, I thought about a great deal of things, coming to the following conclusions. To do great things, you must aim high. In the process of reaching for a noble goal, you can accomplish so much good. Alongside aiming to achieve better societal condition, I must also continually strive to be the best version of myself.

Therefore, I have decided to set some self improvement goals for this summer journey. I will share my list, both putting more social pressure on myself to achieve them and opening a forum for suggestion.

1. Establish a personal mission statement. I got this idea from Covey's Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind. By developing a succinct, ubiquitous, and enduring guide for my attitudes and behaviors. There will be no specific target jobs or events, instead focusing on values and principles to follow. I hope to use some of my knowledge from my positive psychology courses, and texts in this document. When I have finished this document, it most certainly will be a post.

2. Become better aware of the affordable housing issue. I have decided to devote my summer biking across the country for this cause, basing this decision on personal experiences, a general awareness of housing inequities, and a passion for altruism. This is insufficient. I am excited to learn from my fellow riders, the wide array people I meet state to state, and increased personal research. I want to leave Bike and Build a knowledgeable, judicious advocate for improving affordable housing.

3. Train my hands, developing my mechanical mind. I want to become a proficient bicycle mechanic, which I believe will be possible if I humbly seek to learn from peers. I must admit past impatience in this type of craft education, but I believe I can work through this shortcoming. Additionally, I hope to read a guidebook on car maintenance and Mac operations. As a wise person told me, "Tools exist for a reason. Push your boundaries and learn a skill for the rest of your life. Do not let fear or laziness hold you back."

4. Read. To set a target, I will say 8 books, which will be one for every 10 days of the trip. While some of these are pre-determined from personal choice and friend suggestions, I will leave half undetermined. If you have any suggestions, please share! Keep in mind I love non-fiction books on topics I know little about.

5. Foster and deepen friendships. Spending 81 days with 33 civic minded, outdoorsy peers should provide ample opportunities to find fantastic friends. Yet cultivating these relationships takes more than just proximity. Though I consider myself an open, approachable person, I must fight the urge to buddy off after first impressions, making a concerted effort to share at least one heart to heart with every fellow rider. Outside of the trip, I must stay in contact with those most important to me. I hope this blog can serve as a medium for such communication, but it is not enough. Especially as a recent graduate leaving many of my Penn peers, I will strive to email, call, and send postcards to continue distance friendships. In the past, I have struggled with this, making this goal even more important.

6. Understand America better. I will be crossing through 13 states on my trip, staying in over 70 different towns and cities. In every place I arrive, I hope to spend at least 30 minutes perusing the area and have at least one notable conversation with a local. When else I am going to be in places like Heflin, AL or Watonga, OK or Vernal, UT?

7. Chronicle this journey. With both my D70 camera and this blog, I hope to have put this trip in a form that will be accessible to family/friends now and for all (myself included) in the future. While a post a day may be impossible, I think 3-4 per week is a very conservative proposal. Photo goals are less clear, but I hope my 4 GB card is filled to its capacity.

8. Finish the ride! Oops, almost forgot, I do need to bike 4,139 miles this summer. There will be a point where I am sick of pedaling. I promise now to continue. Like the mantra of my cousin Ben, "I cannot be stopped."

There they are. This summer will certainly be filled with fun and sun, but with some effort, serve as a time for self optimization. For my readers, what are your summer goals?