If there's one word I've probably seen and heard being tossed around lately in the sports world, it's everyone's favorite-only-because-we-love-to-call-people-out-on-it word: bandwagon.

While posting the last part of last night's post, a thought popped into my head.

Remember when I mentioned that people start to flock to you in huge numbers when you're at the top, or are on the cusp of doing great things? How many of those people can honestly say they've had more than one actual conversation with you? Wait, here's a better one for you. How many of those said "supporters" were supporting you when you were at your lowest? 

Exactly. Little to none.

From professional sports all the way down to the average Joe, people love you and want to be with you when you're doing great and could possibly benefit them. They love you when you're on top, and will do anything to be remotely associated with you. All of a sudden you have all kinds of "best friends" that you never even knew you had to begin with. But that's when you're successful.

When you fall, though, those same people leave just as fast as they arrived. Those same people that said that they've been "with you" or that they "know you" truly don't after all. You already know that by now, or at least I hope that you do. It just goes to show...if the public puts you on the pedestal, they can just as easily take you off of it. I guess that's why DJ Khaled made that song "No New Friends", huh? Also, I guess that should be the theme song of anyone who is becoming pretty success at a fast rate. Basically, if someone wants to truly say that they "know you", make sure that they "knew you".


As Drake said once in a song (and yes, I looked this up and he actually said it. Unlike those crappy pictures that just slap a quote on there and claim that Drake said it): "To say there is a know me, is to say there was a knew me."


Pardon my indulgence.

Today was my second day of having a job. Yes, an actual job. And to tell you the truth, it isn't too bad....yet. I mean, a job is a job, right? As a result of that, I now have more of a right to say the following:

Hello real world. Nice to meet you.

Yep, I'm getting to that age now where, whether I like it or not, the real world is going to start creeping up to me. I mean, lets look at where I'm heading/already at:

1. I have a job.
2. I'm about to be a senior once school starts up again (thank goodness).
3. I've had my license for awhile now.
4. I turn 18 this year.

Need I continue? All that is just a drawn out version of me saying that good ol' Connor is growing up. As my family would probably say, where has the time gone? Honestly, it feels like just yesterday I was growing up in the City of Chicago, playing baseball all the time and enjoying what many refer to as "childhood innocence". Fast forward some years and a move to Elgin later, and now I'm roughly a year away from stepping on a college campus as an actual college student and not just a visitor. Just looking and talking to all my friends who have just recently graduated, it definitely looks like a good ass feeling having finished high school. Especially considering the high school they went to, and that I currently still go to.

I can't tell how excited I'll be to finally permanently leave Central, but that's a topic for another entry.

Fact of the matter is that I'm going out into the real world pretty quick. Whether or not that's a good thing or bad thing remains to be seen. What I do know, however, is this: I know it'll be tricky, but I'm ready for whatever the real world holds.

Oh, and also this: I don't have to 100% worry about that stuff for roughly a year. So, until then, I'm just gonna kick it. 

Pardon my indulgence.

"Sorry, you're just not my type."

The irony of this post: it was typed during a VERY rainy morning. I would've posted last night, but...well, you know.

Anyways, as a result of last night, I'm in probably one of the better moods I've been in for quite some time. It's hard not to be. I mean, come on, did you see that game?!? Shame on you if you didn't, and if you weren't going absolutely crazy (especially in the 3rd period), go find a corner and sit ALL THE WAY DOWN.

Holy tangent, Batman. Back to the good mood point.

Whenever you're in a good mood, or even a great one, people always feel the need to knock you off that high platform. That's really just the case in everyday life. Do something good or are on the verge of doing something good, there's always going to be those people who either want to all of a sudden be your best friend or worse, initiate your downfall.

Just a heads up: I've noticed that on the previews of the blog posts on the site, certain things get cut off. If you didn't already know, you have to click the title to see the rest of the post. I know most of you already figured that out, but hey, there are those select few.

Now that that's over with, on with the show.

I've noticed that people are very timid about a certain aspect of their lives. What I mean by that is there could be that ONE thing someone absolutely loves, but they think that if people found out, they'd have people laughing at them left and right. It's pretty sad, actually. Some of the things that people keep under wraps are pretty cool! I mean, I can only guess as to what the reason is for concealing it, but I honestly think that most people should make that secret public.

Lets take me for example. Other than the whole theater thing, I'm the textbook definition of a "stat geek". Couldn't you tell by the fact that I watch Numbers Never Lie A LOT? If there's a stat or a number or anything of sorts that I find interesting, best believe I'm telling it to people. Most people get annoyed at the fact that I talk so much about numbers and stuff at times, but when it comes to my friends and sports, I'm the guy they come to. Pretty cool to me, at least.

Now ask me, do I really care what people think about me being a stat geek? Nope, not really.

Fact of the matter is this: if you have something that not many people know, but you think it's pretty cool, why not let it fly? Hell, you might be surprised as to the reaction that you get from it. Even if you have/want to wait for the perfect opportunity, take the chance!

Pardon my indulgence.

I can't even tell you how happy I am right now as I post this and as you read this.

For starters, and for what it's worth, I'm posting this at my friend's house (I've been here since 4 P.M. roughly...its 10:39 P.M. now). Am I having fun? Three words: HELL. FREAKING. YES. Nothing beats hanging out with friends on a Saturday summer night. Especially when it comes to epic fuzzball matches and eating Jello....yeah, you read that right.

Then you add the fact that the Miami Heat are repeat champions....'nuff said.

Oh, AND I GOT A JOB!!! Working at a Chinese place, and I must say, I don't think I ever jumped so high in the air even though I had an injured foot (just got off crutches....sprained foot.) I mean, I'm a teenager. I can not tell you how much I need money. So much stuff to get, so little time. Plus, I'm a dude. Dudes need money, because quite frankly, chicks love dudes with money.

So basically, I'm in a FANTASTIC mood. Between hanging out with these guys and texting a few good friends, this mood can only continue to go up. My apologies for this short post!

And pardon my indulgence. 

First off, shout out to LeBron for winning his second straight title and shutting his haters ALL THE WAY DOWN saying, "I ain't got no worries." Also, shout out to him for being the reason why I'm blogging on this topic tonight: having no worries.

So...having no worries when it comes to haters. We all say it. We all say that we "don't care" about what people say, but deep down, we really do. It may not happen at that instant, a few hours down the road, or even a few days and/or potential weeks. At some point, however, it hits us. And when it hits us, we start to wonder if those words that were said hold some form of legitimate substance.

Mental toughness plays a role in whether or not one truly has "no worries". That, along with previous experiences and also character. If you're someone who folds easily under pressure and adversity, chances are you might have more than your fair share of worries when people talk. Of course, you can build up immunity to it all. That, in my opinion, makes ones' "no worries stance" a lot taller and tougher. When you finally say "Enough is enough" and just block out the negativity, that's when you TRULY know that you have no worries.

So, I'm watching my recording of Numbers Never Lie (I know, shocker), more of my inner dorkiness came out.

They were starting to talk about LeBron James, and anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely IDOLIZE that man. Today's LeBron topic? His headband falling off last night, and him not caring. The question was whether or not it truly mattered to him that he played the most crucial moments of the game with his "40-year old man" hairline exposed (mind you, 'Bron is about 27 with THAT hairline. Cue the hairline jokes...they are never-ending!). That was when Jemele Hill said something that really caught my attention.

I can't remember what she said word for word, but it went something like this: "It was a good thing, because anyone who knows LeBron knows that he cares too much about his public perception, but we're seeing him overcome that." CARES TOO MUCH ABOUT HIS PUBLIC PERCEPTION, BUT IS OVERCOMING.

Soooo....what you're saying is that my role model and I have something in common?? I have something in common with LeBron James?!?! This is awesome! It's too awesome!!! It's......me being more of a dork than I already am when I'm watching that show.

But really though, it's time to get serious. Caring about how one views you is, as obvious by the example above, more common than you think. There's nothing wrong with it...we ALL have insecurities. Some have more than others, some have less, and then there are the rare ones who aren't very insecure at all. With insecurities, we have to manage them in some form of fashion, and it's how we manage those insecurities that show a person's inner strength. At some point, our insecurities will get the better of us. But the less frequent they do, the better. If you can learn to live with an insecurity of yours 100%, then you're mentally stronger than what you may already give yourself credit for.

Why did I post this? Hey, I did say you guys will find out more about how much of a dork that I am overtime. Plus, this gives me a perfect segway to say two things:

My apologies for not posting last night. A LOT went down yesterday, and it can only be described with the same word this post is titled as.

Wow. Just....wow.

Lets start with the fact I was playing basketball yesterday, like any other day, and twisted my foot. Just a little sprain, right? Wrong. I'm on crutches right now. What's even more pathetic is that there were people laughing while I was obviously having trouble even getting up. Needless to say, I won't be playing basketball for a bit. Oh, and I hope karma gives those guys that laughed a swift kick in the arse.

But that was the "bad wow". Here comes two cases of "good wow".

My brother got his license! Yep, there's a new driver on the streets. Grant it, he drives a bit too aggressive (according to my parents), but hopefully that changes. But getting one's license is a milestone, and for that, I say, "Congrats, little bro!"

Last, but certainly not least, we have last night's Game 6 of the NBA Finals, which can also be described like this:

OH. MY. DEAR. LORD.

I've been on this earth 17 years, and so far that was the best Finals game I've seen. In a game where I lost my voice, probably screwed my foot up worse, went through several Heat shirts (superstition, I guess you can say), and watched my friends go from taunting me about the Heat to suddenly go mute, I can not tell you how happy I was. Game 7, y'all!!

Now, lets just hope I can actually post everyday again. Oh, and that I can put pressure on my foot soon.

Pardon my indulgence.