My Storyline - Real Connections

I believe, in my bones, that all of us, introvert or extrovert, all desire to be connected with others. The more connections we have, the more positive charge we carry. But when those synapses are loose, weak, or broken, our positive charge weakens in return. The hard part is that we can't see the connection, we can only feel it. And sometimes when we feel it, we don't even know it's happening. This awareness challenge can cause us to forget the importance of connection, and can result in us even forgetting what it feels like when we are connected. This can spiral down into altogether avoiding connection without even knowing it. But when we find that positive charge and actually know we're feeling it, it can be invigorating, enlightening and awakening. It can be comforting and nurturing. It can be uplifting, empowering, and energizing… making us take notice, crave more of it, even seek it out, and most importantly, harness it.

My storyline is all about connection. It's about the connection I have starting with myself, my inner being, and the connections I have made through my sacred relationships with others. The connections I have formed that have lit me up - like connections with my friends during my seven summers at the Skokie Park District, certifying lifeguards, leading teams of 30 at a time, saving lives, and spending every possible hour outdoors that I could. The connections I made with certain individuals during my coach training program, as well as those from Fear Experiment, where I got to perform on stage at the Park West Theater doing improv comedy with 19 other novices to a sold out crowd of 700 people. The connections I've had with my parents and sister since I was a child. The connection with my 8th grade girlfriend… a connection so deep that I realize now I had never had that again with any other girl or woman, until I met my wife.

It's also about the several connections I lost through death that have shut me down at different points in my life… lost connections through losing my childhood pets, like when my paternal Grandmother passed away before I could get home from college to see her, like my friend Liz who was killed by a drunk driver at the age of 19, or Julio, whose heart unexpectedly went out in his sleep during his senior year of high school... just to name a few. In turn, connection with others helped me survive these tragic and jarring experiences, and even caused me to meet my wife while mourning a friend's death.

Connection is who I am. It has been my life source ever since I can remember. Without it, I'm wasting my time. Wasting my time with people who don't care or work that doesn't matter.

Through my connections with myself and others, I have learned the difference of who I am vs. who others want me to be… I have learned to cherish my strengths instead of trying to build new ones. On one level, I've learned that I both excel at and thrive off of drawing connections between things and figuring out how they fit together… and that I get deflated when I have to pull things apart. On the flip-side, I have learned to admit my faults and make the conscious decision about how or even if I will change them.

On a different level, I have learned the importance of true relationships with real conversations. I have learned that my connections help me to help others to connect more with themselves and those that matter most to them. I can't not extend our inter-human connections. Connection is EVERYTHING to me. It's why I am here. It's what makes me, me.