Life immediately after NCAA

In the blog "A Shot of Jack" written by former Team Captain of the USC Men's Swim Team,  Jack Ostler, he wrote about a journey that he took immediately graduating from USC as an NCAA athlete.  Jack left the United States to Australia to Indonesia to the United Kingdom to Africa without any remorse.  This can be clearly seen when he describes his trip in Australia as "a blast".  Jack titles his blog "A Shot of Jack."  There is significant personality right there!  Jack was more than just a team captain for us back at USC.  He was a great teammate, a great friend, a role model, a fantastic wingman, and a surfing buddy.  Jack and I had our adventures from Malibu to Mexico and the title truly speaks to Jacks personality of a "shot" of him.  The word "shot" to us means a small amount that will get you interested in more.  Ironically, Jack Daniels happens to be Jack Ostler's favorite drink to get drunk too and we have had plenty of shots of Jack together in my years knowing Jack.

Directly underneath the title, Jack posts "thin places and happy places."  That is very similar to a saying I use very frequently in my life, "smiles and high fives."  This shows Jack's personality of great humor and cleverness.  As Jack embarks on his journey to Australia, he encounters a friend named "Violet."  This character is a "friend" that takes Jack and his friend on a great adventure throughout Australia.  Violet is a rather seductive name and Jack being a lady's man and all, did not give her full name.  This is another display of personality.  He knows when to have fun and be spontaneous, but at the same time has respect for people's boundaries.

As the blog continues, Jack states that "home can be when you're with a person." That shows how deep Jack can get.  Throughout the years of knowing Jack, sober and intoxicated, Jack has always maintained a level of interpersonal connection.  There has never been a moment where I needed advice and Jack was not there.  Even though he may seem like an extremely laid back character, underneath all of that is a sincere person and that is reflected here when Jack talks about spending time with his girlfriend Amanda.  Amanda is a coach in Ohio and a former NCAA swimmer.  She coached young kids which Jack referred to as "damn cute."  Personally, I can see Jack saying those words on the pool deck and mean it.  The personality that comes out of this portion of the post is one that many will not see unless they really read carefully into his words.  He went out to the bars with Amanda's brothers and began to be social with people from Ohio...and said "So preppy and weird.  They looked like they were going yachting in Nantucket.  I asked one when his flight to the Hamptons was.  He didn’t think it was funny."  Being the social and chill guy Jack is, he had no intention of any offense here and many people may take it that way.

A Shot of Jack

"A shot of Jack"

This blogger is Jack Ostler, an avid surfer that has documented his travels throughout the world ranging from Australia to Africa.  Jack took this trip immediately after graduation to explore the world and on this trip he began in Sydney, Australia.  There, Jack spoke about all of the adventures he had with the local people and with the culture.  One of the most comical experiences includes a moment in Australia where a friend suggested going swimming.  Jack said “[He] I imagined myself swimming countless laps while Dave Salo yells at me in an Australian accent.  Before we continue, let’s rewind.  Jack and I were teammates for a year in our previous season on the USC Swim team.  Jack was the team captain due to his great leadership skills.  Jack often spoke about traveling the world one day to surf and just to expand his horizons; he has finally done it. 

Recently “A shot of Jack” has been stopped because of his escapades coming to an end.  However, when he was posting, they were daily blogs.  Jack posts regularly about his surfing adventures and how the waves are different from the waves in California.  This really gained a lot of attention because he created a significant atmosphere for his readers to truly understand what he was feeling and seeing at that exact moment.  Personally, Jack’s surfing adventure is something every surfer wishes to achieve at some point in life.  The blogs combination of surfing and memory of USC athletics is one that I wish see myself in someday soon after graduation next spring. 

Jack’s blog may not directly relate to what I intend to pursue as a career, but it does directly relate to how I may want to spend a certain part of my life with someone.  When Jack embarked on his journey he was dating a teammate of ours and they traveled the world together and had only each other and local people to rely on for comfort.  It not only brought them closer together, it also forced them to act logically in certain situations.  This close relationship I have with Jack strengthens his writing personally.  The audience based on the comments and such are almost from all people Jack knows from California.  The majority of these people are also very young and surfers.  This is exactly what Jack intended to do with his blog along the way; inspire the younger crowd to explore the world. 

Jack is currently engaged to the woman that he took with him on his adventure throughout the world.  They got engaged in Bali when he met a “surf guru” named Nick.  All it took were some intimate sunsets and sunrises with amazing barrels in the ocean.  This may not be a professional blog, but it is a blog that is written from the heart and truly connects to the future leaders of America.  Jack is not just an engaged surfer; he now works on economic planning with a sports camera company called GoPro.  “You can have fun and be a hero all in a day.”

Show me Your Quiver--Social Bookmarking Soulmate

http://showusyourquiver.com/?about

Outside of the pool, there exists another body of water called the ocean.  As a swimmer and water polo player, I enjoy being in the water and I absolutely love surfing.  A blog titled "Show Me Your Quiver" is a photography blog of all the surfboards out there that I wish to ride at some point in life.  The boards can be long or short; fat or skinny.  Regardless they are boards that can ride God's greatest creation: waves.

The blog is all surfers from around the world and that is something that is extremely interesting because surfers around the world speaking all different languages can unite with one common interest: to ride waves.  No matter what the waves are and what size and shape they are a single language that unites us.  A code that all surfers follow is that we are all united by one ocean no matter where in the world.

That unity is something that truly sinks into my passion for surfing.  Outside of swimming and water polo, there are many things at USC that do not bring too much meaning to life.  For that reason, after finishing my career as a Trojan, I will be riding every wave in the world at some point before my last breath.