Solitude and Leadership

"The position of the leader is ultimately an intensely solitary, even intensely lonely one. However many people you may consult, you are the one who has to make the hard decisions. And at such moments, all you really have is yourself." (William Deresiewicz, Solitude and Leadership, 8)

Being a leader can be a very lonely position as we have learned from the chronicles of history. From this solitude, leaders can make wise decisions or detrimental ones. Two specific leaders come to mind from both ends of the spectrum. Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler, both of whom made decisions in solitude. We see from solitude that it can become a strength in promoting good ideas for the betterment of society, or it's influence can leave a nation in ruins. 

In Lincoln's moments of solitude, he would often read, write, and walk alone. Lincoln's moments of solitude had a positive effect on him and they helped to influence the country for the better. I believe his moments of solitude had a good influence on him because he was doing positive and uplifting activities. Throughout his time as a president, I'm sure he was counseled by many people on what decisions he should make regarding the country, but in the end, he made the final decisions. Lincoln once said that, "my own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day." In his times of solitude, he recognized that he needed help regarding certain matters, and that is when he got on his knees and prayed. In the end, Lincoln's solitude was beneficial and helped him make wise decisions, one of those being issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.

In Hitler's moments of solitude, he came up with many ideas that would greatly influence the world in a very negative way. In 1923, as a result of his attempted coup in Munich, he was sentenced to prison for nine months. While in prison, he wrote the book Mein Kampf. In his book, he said that Germany was superior to all other countries. He said that an Aryan race would control the world. In his book, he also discussed the conspiracy theory about the Jews. I believe since Hitler was not living an admirable life, his moments of solitude involved evil activities. As a result of his moments of solitude, he decided that he was going to brainwash the German nation into thinking that the Jews were the great enemy of the German people. As a result of his moments of solitude, 6 million Jewish people were killed along with 5 million non-Aryan people.

I believe the activities that leaders do while in solitude can have a very positive or negative effect on the way in which they think and make decisions. Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler's moments of solitude greatly affected the world.

The Savage Spaniards

"He would not allow Spaniards to behave worse than savages."(Isabel Allende, Inés of My Soul, 154)

In Inés of My Soul, the Spanish conquistadors changed drastically once they reached the Americas. When the conquistadors were in Spain, I'm sure they were civilized and respectable men who strove to follow the law. Once the conquistadors arrived in the Americas, they started to do horrific things, one of those being raping and mistreating women. The conquistadors' change of behavior once they were away from their homeland of Spain reminds me of the behavioral change that occurred with the young British boys in the movie, Lord of the Flies.

In the movie, Lord of the Flies, a group of British boys are stranded on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean as a result of a plane crash. For sometime, the boys on the island try acting in a civilized manner and try governing themselves. Overtime, the group of boys end up splitting into two groups. One of the groups is led by a righteous boy named Ralph, while the other is led by a savage and power hungry boy named Jack. In the end, Jack and his clan commit murders, burn parts of the forest, and become savages because of the situation of being on an uninhabited island with no authority figure. The movie ends with Jack and his clan chasing after Ralph through the forest in order to murder him. As a result of the fire, a passing British naval vessel goes to see what is the matter. A British naval officer sees Ralph and a group of boys running after him with spears and thinks that the boys are just having fun. He thinks that because he expects better from sophisticated British boys.

This movie reminds me of the part in Inés of My Soul when Valdivia threatens his men that he would take their women away if they continued to mistreat them. Much like how the young British boys became corrupt overtime after being far away from home, the Spanish conquistadors also became corrupt and savages. In both Lord of the Flies and Inés of My Soul, the people were far away from home and were in a very difficult situation. It's amazing to see how even such sophisticated and educated people could become so savage as a result of being put through hard times. Much like the British naval officer in Lord of the Flies, Valdivia expected more from his men and was disappointed to see them act in such a savage manner.

Lord of the Flies and Inés of My Soul prove that even the best of people can change for the worst once they are put in very difficult situations. Trying to act in a civilized manner even during arduous times is a great problem that the world has.

Who Should You Love?

"It is difficult to love persons of other races, cultures or classes, even though it is perfectly possible for a light-skinned man to love a dark-skinned woman, for her to love a Chinese, for a "gentleman" to love his maid."(Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude, 199)

I believe the more similarities that you have with a person, the easier it is to fall in love with them. In The Labyrinth of Solitude, Paz discusses how it is difficult to love someone who you are not very similar to. He then goes on to say that though it is difficult, you could still possibly fall in love with someone unlike you.

Paz's quote made me think of the group date that I was on this weekend. The group consisted of my fiancée and I (top picture), my tall blonde friend with blue eyes with his girlfriend who is also tall with blue eyes, and my tall African American friend and his tall African American girlfriend. The group of us were joking about how we all looked very similar to our respective partners. I was always taught that I should marry a woman who is similar to me, meaning socioeconomically, culturally, racially, similar goals, standards, and mindset. Even the brethren of the church counsel people to marry someone of the same race, culture, and socioeconomic background. I truly believe that human beings are innately more attracted to a person who has many similar qualities and physical features as them or to someone that they are accustomed to being around. As weird as it sounds, my father always told me that I was going to marry someone who is like my mother; and this April I will be getting married to a woman like my mother.

On the flip side, there are always exceptions to things. For instance, in Inés of my Soul, Inés comes from a very different socioeconomic background than her lover Pedro de Valdivia. Inés grew up as a poor seamstress, and Pedro was a powerful field marshal to the famed Francisco Pizarro.

Though I believe that it is much easier to marry someone who has as many similarities to you as possible, there are many instances where couples from completely different backgrounds meet, fall in love, and make it work out.

A Little About Michael Andraszczyk

Hi, I'm Michael Andraszczyk and I'm from Laguna Niguel, CA. I was born in San Diego, CA, and have lived in Southern California my entire life. I've lived in the city of Laguna Niguel since I was three years old. My family decided to move to Laguna Niguel from Los Angeles because our home was destroyed in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. I love California and plan to move back there when I am finished with school. The picture you see above is was when I was three years old. I was holding my favorite football blanket. I loved it and would always carry it around with me wherever I went.

I have been playing sports ever since I was five years old. I have played soccer, baseball, basketball, football, cross country, and track. My favorite sport of all is track. I have been running track since I was ten years old. I have been fortunate enough to have some success and managed to win five National Track & Field Championships and three silver medals. I am currently on the track team at BYU and am competing in the 800 meters. I really enjoy the people on the track team and have formed some great friendships over the years. This is currently my third year at BYU and I am really loving it. My major is Latin American Studies and my minor is Business Management. I plan on graduating in April of 2014. My dream job after college would be working for New York Life. My dad recently joined with this insurance company and he is already really enjoying the good business he is getting as a result of joining. I am planning on doing an internship this summer with my dad so I can learn the business. I really hope that everything turns out the way that I want it to.

Right now the most important thing on my mind is my fiancée Jessie Fackrell. Jessie and I met last year on April 24. Right when we met, we had an immediate connection and things just took off from there. I feel so grateful to have her in my life and can't wait to marry her. She is my best friend and I can't imagine my life without her. Jessie is from Sandy, UT, but she is fine with getting married on April 27 in Newport Beach, CA. Right now we are anxiously planning our wedding and we are counting down the days. We will be taking our engagement pictures here in about two weeks and will soon after send out the invitations. This should be a very exciting year.