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.
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