Editor’s Note: This blog was orginally posted on iactivism.org by Gabriel Stauring
1. Hope is real. It turns into action, and it comes in the shape of a football.
2. The thought of seeing your children go to sleep at night after a whole day without eating is horrifying. But a mother gets up in the morning and fights, and fights, and fights.
3. You know that quote by Margaret Mead? Yeah, this i-ACT team that’s around me—they are it.
4. You know that other quote, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”? BS. Absence is extremely painful, and the heart could do without it.
5. It is so wrong that I give 10% of my attention to trying to find, drink, or think about Diet Cokes or Pepsis. But hey, they make me 10% happier. (BTW, I’m reading that book, “10% happier” – it’s good!)
6. In football as in life, you can do some beautiful things when you master the art of triangulation. Your teammates give you angles, so together, you can’t be stopped, and you know where each other will be—before you’re actually there.
7. Coming from such different worlds, an improbable and unlikely friendship can be so enriching and meaningful, especially when you find out that your two worlds—where it counts—are exactly the same.
8. When you’re out here, it’s invaluable to have a teammate that has your back and finds joy and meaning every step of the way.
9. Is it worth it to take on extremely difficult challenges, with many risks and the possibility of crashing hard and ugly on your face? Yes.
10. There comes a time to stand up, go forward, and not back down.
