The Irish Make Their Own Luck

The other day I was brainstorming ideas of what to do for my family on St. Patrick's Day. It sparked a memory of my mom and something she'd said to me once, "The Irish make their own luck." It’s a memory of my mom that has been very influential to me as a college student. In August of my freshman year, Mom and I took a road-trip to my college town, two states away. She was driving me to my new apartment to drop me off for my freshman year of college. We’d brought a large bag of Starburst candies with us as a snack. I don’t really care for the yellow or orange Starbursts, so mom and I only ate the pink and red candies until the yellows and oranges were all that were left. I made a comment to her, “I wish they would make a bag of Starbursts that was filled only with pink and red candies.” It was just a silly suggestion that I figured she hadn’t paid any attention to. My birthday is in September, so a few weeks into the school year I received a birthday package from Mom. One of the items in the box was a bag of Starbursts. A note taped on the front said something along the lines of, “maybe this will be the lucky bag with only pink and red candies.” I chuckled to myself, but when I opened the bag I was surprised to see just that! I also found a note inside the bag that simply said, “The Irish make their own luck.” Mom had just barely opened the seam of the bag far enough to take out all the candies and add the flavors I liked, and then melted the seam closed again. Unfortunately I don’t think Mom is aware of how much of an impact that had on me. That bag of Starbursts really had an effect on my attitude towards life and school! What Mom had really said to me was that nothing would happen unless I made it happen. Instead of dwelling on the trials in my path, I could focus on what I want to do with my life and make it happen! Why sit around and wait for things to fall into place? Don’t lose sight of your goals. To me it was a reminder to remember why I was at school and why I had worked so hard to get there. Thanks, Mom! You’re my hero! :)

"RIGHT NOW" -VAN HALEN-

Don't wanna wait til tomorrow,
Why put it off another day?
Once more walk through problems,
Built up, and stand in our way, ah!
One step ahead, one step behind me,
Now you gotta run to get even.
Make future plans,
Don't dream about yesterday, hey!
C'mon turn! Turn this thing around!

Right now, hey! It's your tomorrow!
Right now, C'mon, it's everything!
Right now, Catch a magic moment!
Do it right here and now,
It means everything!

Miss the beat, you lose the rhythm,
And nothing falls into place, no!
Only missed by a fraction,
Slipped a little off your pace, oh!
The more things you get the more you want,
Just trade in one for the other.
Workin so hard to make it easier, woah!
Got to turn, c'mon turn this thing around!

Right Now!