So today I was driving and learned the following little bit about the Nobel Peace Prize on the radio. Apparently the guy who the prize is name after, Alfred Nobel, was the inventor of dynamite. Ironic isn't it. One day, Alred's brother died and the following day the newspaper ran his obituary, however the newspaper was misinformed and thought Alfred died. When Alfred read the newspaper the following morning, he saw his own obituary which claimed that the "merchant of death" had finally died. Extremely upset that this had become his reputation, Alfred Nobel spent the next few years donating millions of dollars towards humanitarian efforts. For his work, the Nobel Peace Prize was name after him.

What would you do if you read your obituary and saw how others viewed your life? Would you be proud of your accomplshments, of your relationships, of your attitudes?

I think many of us are guilty have thinking that we have our whole life ahead of us to make a change and that tomorrow is the perfect day to start. But what about today, what if we received a shock like Alfred and decided to make a difference now. In high school, I made a pact with a good friend that we were going to go and change the world after graduating from college. The more and more I approach that day, the more I realize that there is no need to wait until then, true chage can be made as soon as we begin to put others ahead of ourselves. I think service plays a large role in change.

I have been applying for Disney over the past few weeks (pray for me with that whole process) and I have been looking over interview questions and recently came across the one which asks for you to sum up yourself in three words. What would you choose?

A lot of us also feel like even if we wanted to get new words to describe ourselves, that it would be too hard. We have already built up this personalitly and character which our family and friends are used to. But if the 'merchant of death' was able to change his reputation to one which now universally symbolizes peace, I think there's a shot for the rest of us.

After quite a few weeks of editing and photoshopping, my new website is up and running. Check it out and let me know what you think:

www.personal.psu.edu/sfm5007