Subject: Lost Luggage, Big Books, and the Man in the Arena
Hello All!
Welcome to the first Lipke Letter.
Delivered straight to your inbox every Saturday morning.
I hope that you find it entertaining and impactful.
What I’ve Been Up To:
This was the first week of my job as a Residential Director.
I knew I made the right decision to work here after something that happened during move-ins.
A 10th-grader from China had hopped on a plane alone and arrived in Minneapolis 20 hours and 2 layovers later.
After landing at MSP, she learned that all her luggage had been lost.
This was her first time in the US and she didn’t know a single person here.
Her reaction to losing everything she had brought with her was unbelievable.
She calmly accepted what had happened and then quickly created a short list of things she would need to buy while she waited until her bags were found.
I’m living with a very special group of kids.
They are smart, kind, resourceful, and mature.
I’m excited to learn and grow alongside them this year.
Now, here are 3 things from me; a recommendation, an article, and a quote.
Recommendation:
Read books from places you’ve been.
I’m reading a book that’s set in East Africa. If I had read it 2 years ago it wouldn’t have meant much to me. But now I’ve seen the places, eaten the food, and spent time with the people who live there. It makes the book super engaging and brings me back on a short visit every time I pick it up.
Article:
5 Massive Books That Are Worth Your Time
Mark Manson on some of the really, really long books that he thinks everyone should read. After reading three super long books myself (Don Quixote, Middlemarch, Pillars of the Earth) I’ve realized that I enjoy the challenge involved in tackling these beasts. And the connection you have to the text after spending so many hours with it. If you’re interested in picking one from this list, let me know. I’d love to have a couple people to meet with as we’re grinding our way through. Shared suffering.
P.S. Mark Manson has some really good articles on his site. Poke around for awhile.
Quote:
The Man in the Arena
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
I’ve had this quote hanging in my room for the last 4 years.
It seemed right to include in my first letter to you.
Until next week!
Peace,
Jacob Lipke
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