To start this post off, I just wanted to say that I successfully made it across the stage and graduated yesterday. It is one of the coolest feelings to have finally made it through college and be on with the next step of my life. Absolutely unreal. I spent last night having a blast with some of the coolest people I know, and the day with the family was just great. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening. Today…I wan to talk about our true colors.

I believe that the world is full of color, rather than being black and white. People are made of color, situations are made of many different colors, and our decisions are made of color. I was once told a long time ago that in time, those who are around you will reveal their true selves to you. This can go both ways. People can reveal amazing things to you…and people can reveal things that weren’t apparent from the beginning. In short, there are a lot of times when masks are worn. Don’t get me wrong, they are colorful, but we all have masks that we try to hide behind sometimes.

I was asked a few days ago about this project and answered about how it started of course, but then got down to the true reason for all of this writing. It is about looking at my life every single day, acknowledging the masks that may or may not be worn during that day, being completely vulnerable right off the bat with people about who I am, what my dreams are, who I am seeking to become, and then extracting every single learning point I possibly can out of the day. This writing for me is like note-taking for my life. I get a chance to sit down and really take a look at what happened throughout the course of the day and what I can learn from it. I don’t there is a better way for me to do it.

I have been learning from my mistakes. Over the past couple of weeks, there have been some significant challenges. However, I have bounced back and gained the motivation it takes to really make some great changes. The other day I talked about respect…and it also for me really comes down to gaining the respect of other people. Having the character that people will respect. I honestly think that my writing may confuse or “freak out” (I really have no better word for this…make wary?) people who semi know me. I don’t really mess around here. What I am up to in this life is inspiring other people in the world to live and breathe a powerful and inspiring life. That warrants a great amount of honesty and vulnerability here. Also, it yields completely different results than what other people are currently getting. I really want to be surrounded by a great group of people throughout my life…and right now I have some amazing amazing people walking with me. I know that there are people out there who could be amazing friends with me…but instead of checking in with me as a person…they check in with my writing. There is nothing wrong with this of course, I appreciate it for what it is, and at the right time, maybe we could become really good friends. You’ll know when.

My writing is about bridging gaps and crossing societal boundaries. I want to get into the things that make me tick, that drive me, that make me fall into slumps. I want to hear from people who have things that they are dealing with because we all are dealing with them. No one is baggage free. Everyone shows up to the game with some sort of baggage. But the only way to cut down on that baggage is by talking about it. It is about acknowledging that you have those 2, 3, 5, 10 bags that you are carrying with you to the ticket counter. The airline is going to charge you up the wazoo, don’t add to your insanity by not admitting they aren’t your bags.

The past week or so because school was finished for me I had an interesting rut that I fell into. It was disguised as nerves about college graduation, jobs, etc…but I dug and dug to the core of it. I was comparing myself to an idea. It’s never really been a thing for me to go out and party hard. But in the light of graduation, I would go out with my friends (I still took it easy no worries). But I would see everyone in the crowd doing the same thing. I would see what they were trying to accomplish…and for some reason (I wasn’t thinking straight) I compared myself to that idea…to that crowd drive. It took me a few days because that idea snowballed a bit, but in the end, I sit here going “I don’t want any of that.” That is not on my radar and it is certainly not the way I want to do things. Because in that scene, there’s really no true feeling. It’s all a mask. My god is it colorful…but they aren’t people s true colors. The colors are washed out or manipulated.

I want to be a man who people know exactly what they are going to get. From me, you are going to get love, passion, and a never quitting attitude. This may not be for everyone…but thats okay. It is the route I have decided to take in my life…and I am giving it my all. I am putting everything I have into this. I expect the obstacles and the hardships, but in the end I know there will be major personal success. People will see the banners  of my life, and they will see true colors.

Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project\