Random Thoughts with Will

      Over the past 2 weeks, I've found myself feeling a sense of nostalgia for the final month and a half of college. It's hard to believe it's been 3 years since I was finishing up my time at Baylor (not to mention all that has changed since then). When I look back on my final semester at Baylor, it was a semester of changes, of reflections, and a race to graduation. The final semester of college for me meant making a few defining changes in my life. Those changes included switching the track/area within my major, changing how I was spending my Saturday mornings, and changing how I was spending my Sunday mornings.      For the majority of my time in college, I was on a sales track within my major (there were also tracks in sponsorship and in CRM/analytics). Following a sales project in college and a summer internship in group sales, it became abundantly clear that sales was not the right role for me. That meant talking to my professors about it at the s...

     On this day 18 years ago, Pixar's  Monsters, Inc. first premiered in theaters. I can fondly remember seeing it in theaters on its opening night at the Regal Cinemas in Short Pump. We even saw it in theaters a second time when they added outtakes to the end of the movie, which included them putting on the musical "Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me. All of that may help explain why I've been experiencing nostalgia for this particular Pixar film, one that's improved with age. Considering that I've had blog posts about fellow Pixar films A Bug's Life  and the entire Toy Story series, it only made sense to reflect on another early Pixar film (at this pace, you're up next, Finding Nemo ). Monsters, Inc. does a great job of delivering laughs (more on that later) and lessons along the way, too.      Before diving into the lessons from Monsters, Inc. , I have to give it a shout-out for its awesome opening sequence with the doors a...

       In one of the first episodes of Spongebob Squarepants  (titled "Ripped Pants"), Spongbeob's having fun with his friend Sandy at the beach. That is, until some other friends come along and make Spongebob feel inferior. When Spongebob attempts to be like them and impress Sandy, he ends up ripping his pants, leading to a chorus of laughter. Spongebob proceeds to make an act out of constantly ripping his pants, drawing laughter each time. He may not be as strong as Sandy's friends, but he's got their laughter and attention every time he rips his pants. However, as time goes on, Spongebob's act starts to wear thin on others and loses his crowd when he goes too far (he pretends to drown). Suddenly, the same act that got Spongebob laughter and attention leaves him alone on the beach, feeling like a loser.      With his ripped pants, Spongebob ran into the mistake of failing to quit while he was ahead. However, Spongebob's problem goes beyond pre...

     This past Wednesday, I celebrated my 25th birthday. It was a nice day filled with friends, cookies, and references to Spongebob Squarepants (after all, 25 is funnier than 24). When I told people that I was turning 25, some would remark that I was turning a quarter century or that I was halfway to 50. Suddenly, 25 seems a lot older when it's framed as the quarter century mark or even as halfway to 50. With all of that in mind, it only seemed natural to offer quarter century reflections, especially on the year that was 24.     It's funny how one of the best ways that we can reflect, learn lessons and see our own growth is through our writing. We can write letters to ourselves with things we wish we had known at the time. There's a true value to remembering, something I've been reminded of all year.  We have to remember that God got us to where we are today and He will lead us to where we'll be tomorrow. We also have to remember where we came from ...

     If you were to watch enough Disney & Pixar movies, odds are you would notice a few tendencies among the protagonists: one, they would feel like a misfit. Two, they would long for something more - and sometimes sing a musical number about it. And three, they would pretend to be someone else. Aladdin pretended to be Prince Ali so he could be with Princess Jasmine. Mulan pretended to be a man  so she could take her father's place in the military and prove to herself that she could mount to something. Ariel pretended to be a human for a few days so that she could be with Prince Eric. Flik pretended that he found warriors for the ant colony even after they admitted they were circus bugs. Remy pretended to be part-rat and part-human so that he could live two different lives (more on Paris' finest chef later). All of this is to say, a lot Disney & Pixar films feature a protagonist wanting something more - and some of them would pretend to be someone or somethin...

     In life, there are states that no one wants to be in, including mediocrity, depression, or misery. These are places that are described as ruts, pits, no-mans' land, or rock bottom when things get really bad. To me, of all these rough states to be in, the worst of them isn't rock bottom; the worst is being in a state of misery - and being comfortable with that.      At first glance, it would appear that rock bottom is worse than comfortable misery. After all, rock bottom is rock bottom because it's the lowest point, when things can't get any worse than they already are. With that, I will concede that rock bottom is a lower point that comfortable misery - figuratively and literally. However,  rock bottom tends be more temporary. Comfortable misery tends to last longer (more on that later). Rock bottom also signals that changes need to be made and/or that help needs to be sought out.. As dark and crushing as rock bottom can be, it means taking a st...

     Last weekend, I went home to Virginia to see family. It was great to catch up with family and long time friends, not to mention experience that comfort that comes from being in the friendly confines of one's home. One other highlight of last weekend was going to the NASCAR race on Saturday night with my Dad. Over the years, we've enjoyed going to races in both Richmond and Charlotte. It's only fitting that after racing at Richmond last weekend, NASCAR is racing at Charlotte this weekend. While Richmond was short-track racing (the track is 0.75 miles long), Charlotte presents a different challenge for the drivers in the form of a "roval" (Road Course + Oval) with 17 turns and 2 chicanes.      Last year, when I watched the Charlotte roval race, I kept hearing the TV announcers say the word "chicane," not knowing what they were referring to. If anything, it kept sounding like they were about to say something else. Now, the term "chicane" is...