Hello!
My name is Sammy Juliano and I had the privilege of working with Mr. Swoboda and an entourage of great men to start the Amideus Priory my senior year atServite. My time there was truly four of the best years of my life and I cherish all of the memories, good and bad. Growing and learning with my brothers at Servite was an essential part of my maturation into the man that I am today. After my time at Servite, I attended Loyola Marymount University on a leadership scholarship thanks to the time and energy I put in at Servite. I became an extremely involved member of numerous oncampus groups and organizations, meeting some incredible people who, I believe, are going to change the world. I had the ability to study abroad and visit 8 countries, work on an archaeological dig in Israel for three weeks, and meet some of my closest friends. Upon graduating I landed a job working on a television show called “Baby Daddy”, which was created by another Servite alum, as a production assistant. I am working long, hard hours to try to make ends meet and get my feet under me in hopes of starting a career, but I know that with patience, hard work and grit everything will work out for the best, however different that may be from what my plans are at the moment. As of now, the ultimate goal is to become a feature film and/or television producer, but who knows what the future has in store for me. I have a lot left to learn and I will continue to do just that until the day I leave this earth. Instead of a long winded letter, which I would have mostly ignored when I was in high school, I am going to drop some knowledge up in this piece (I just wanted Mr. Swoboda to read that out loud).
I have three points that may or may not make sense right now, but in time they will unfold for you as they have for me: 1. Learn from the past. Mistakes are momentary lapses in judgement or complete accidents. We all make them, and as frustrating as they can be, we have to acknowledge them and learn. This includes learning from the mistakes of others, which is equally as important. If we do not learn from our mistakes, they can become regrets that we have to live with for the rest of our lives. Only after we step back and reflect on our decision making can we truly take any steps to change them in the future. We do not have control of what goes on around us, but what we do have control over is our response to that external stimuli. A wise man, admittedly not Aristotle or Homer, once said, “Sh** happens” and he was absolutely right. Things do happen that are beyond our control and we are going to make mistakes in responding to them, but as long as we internalize our mistakes, learn whatever lesson it is that we are meant to learn, and MOVE ON, we can become the “fully human” people that God intended us to be. 2. Live in the present. Life is meant to really be lived guys. There is so much to do, so much to see, and so many people to meet. Get off your cell phones when you are in a conversation; take the time to say “Please” and “Thank you”; and have some fun along the way! Enjoy the little things because when you look back you won’t remember that test you bombed. What you’ll remember is the time spent with friends getting into shenanigans or the hug you gave or received when you needed it the most. Balancing school, sports, theater, Priory, or whatever else you are involved in is key and it takes practice, but that’s part of the learning process.
Don’t be afraid to take risks (within reason) and let yourself make those mistakes that I previously mentioned. Its part of being alive! It’s all part of who we are as people and everyone has their own, unique story and reasons why they are the way they are. Everyone has a lesson to teach, however “unimportant” or “off-putting” as they may seem. In no way is any person better than another. We are all human and as such, we are all from the same cloth. Do not ever assume that you are entitled to anything or that you are better than anyone. That kind of arrogance will get you nowhere in Work hard and live a life of habitual integrity, one in which you strive to work with and for others, rather than seeking self-gratification. That is a life you can be proud of. Plan for the future. And by plan for the future, I mean plan to plan differently than you are planning on planning now. Yes, I’m kind of messing with your heads right there, but the point I’m trying to make is that we need to take the time to really think about who we are, who we want to be, and how to go about doing that. What short term and long term goals do we need to set for ourselves to ensure that we head down the path we want to? Having said that however, it is important to keep in mind that the “path” of our lives is an extremely windy road. For example, in no way, shape, or form did I ever think I would end up working in Hollywood! I have a business management degree, but that just goes to show that life has it’s own plan and all we can do is adjust accordingly. If you have a definite idea of what you want to do and who you want to be, start on it NOW. There is no time like the present to plan for the future. If you don’t know what you want to do, which is where I was at in high school, be patient and take advantage of every opportunity you have because you never know where you will end up. Servite is an incredible place fellas. I had some amazing times there, as I’m sure all of you have and will in the future. Don’t ever take for granted the sacrifices your parents make to send you to an expensive school like that in order to further your education academically and as a man. Take it all in and do everything that you can while you are there and you will look back fondly on those years. One thing that I suggest you ALL do, if you have not already, is to participate in Kairos, whether you are religious or not. An openness and a bond is created there that can never be replaced or imitated anywhere else. As cliche as this is, I can’t help but leave you with a quote from one of my Kairos songs called “Survive” by Rise Against that more, or less sums up my little schpeel: “We’ve all been sorry, we’ve all been hurt. But how we survive is what makes us who we are.”
Live Long and Prosper,
Sammy Juliano
