Has Society Confused Being Weird With Being Unique?

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He is such a weirdo! She does some of the weirdest things! Those people are so weird! Sound familiar? I'm pretty positive that the majority of us have been viewed as weird by others at sometime or another. Most likely, in the event we're not being referred to as weird by other people, we've all at the very least been around people doing the weird talk of others. When we're not listening to others referring to someone else as weird, then we're the ones likely participating in the weird talk of others ourselves. So much "weirdness" that I'm starting off with this post today right? With so much weird talking of others going on within our society, it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between being weird and being unique. Then again, depending on how you view things, maybe the two are one in the same. I personally believe there is a difference among the two, and I'm going to shed a bit of light on why I think that is.

What's good people? Welcome to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Hope everyone has been doing great as of late. Like I always say in my blog entries, I greatly appreciate those of you that have taken out the time to stop by once again. It has been a month or so since I've posted, so I'm back at it again with another one of my perspectives on a topic that I've been pondering on for quite a bit. In this entry, I will be giving my viewpoint on the whole weird vs. unique debate. Then again, since I don't really see or hear a lot of people debate this topic, I wouldn't necessarily classify it as a debate. It is however a topic that I've discussed with several people, and I do believe that there is some merit within discussing a topic such as this one. Lets get right to it!

As with any topic that can be discussed or debated, a person's individual viewpoint will always vary to what that individual thinks. My goal isn't to focus on being right or wrong, but rather coming to a space where there is a mutual respect among others opinions, despite having disagreements on those opinions. Just wanted to make sure that I threw that out there before going any further. Now I personally have somewhat of a problem with the whole weird vs. unique argument. My problem with this topic isn't just narrowed down to the fact that I'm certain there are people that view me as being weird. I'm totally fine with that if that's what someone feels. My biggest issue with this topic is that I think many of us mistake being uniqueness for being weird. Since I feel like this is happening so often in today's society, I think that a lot of people are being unfairly categorized into being something they're truly not.

Speaking for myself only, I see unique and weird as two fairly different traits. When I think of the word unique, I think of different in a good and positive way. The word weird doesn't necessarily come off as bad to me, but it doesn't evoke the good emotions I feel when I think of someone being unique. This is an assessment I think many of us can agree with. I say this because lets be honest here; most people that are classified as being weird by others are seldom viewed in a positive light. The majority of the time when we hear someone referring to others as being weird, it is normally some bad or negative. Now since I believe that many individuals that are simply unique and different in a good way and are being confused with being weird, these individuals are often avoided by those that view them as being weird. The end result is that a lot of people that are simply misunderstood by society are the mains one who end up being ostracized.

We all are individuals with our own identities, which means that we are all unique regardless. I'm not just talking about being unique in our skin tones, looks, etc. We're all unique in the things we enjoy, the values we have, the ways we think, etc. Being unique individuals is what differentiates us from being just like everyone else, and just because a person is unique, it doesn't mean they're weird. Think about this for just a second; what would the world be like if everyone dressed the same, liked the same exact things, and done everything the same way? That sounds like a pretty stale and boring society to me. From what I see on a daily basis, it almost feels like a person is instantly viewed as being weird if they're not doing what everyone else in society is doing. A person shouldn't be doing everything that society is doing just to gain approval from others. We should be marching to the beat of our own drum, and doing the things that make us happy regardless of what it looks like in society's eyes.

From my perspective, people that commit mass murders and crimes are weird. People that molest and hurt others are weird. People who have no compassion, and will belittle others to feed their own egos are weird. People that engage in these things I mentioned are weird in my eyes. Why, you may ask? I view them as weird, because they hurt others, and are not helping or adding anything to society. People that may dress differently from the normal, have views that aren't mainstream, or choose to stay home instead of going clubbing every weekend aren't hurting nor bothering anyone else. They're not stepping on anyone else's toes, so why are they weird? We have to open our minds and become more tolerant of how others live their lives. If the way a person lives isn't affecting you personally or hurting anyone else, then that person isn't weird in my opinion. Finally, if you're a person that lives an unconventional lifestyle, never allow others to make you feel weird because you're not like everyone else. Continue to let your individual uniqueness define who you are.

I believe I've gotten my point across in this post, so I'm going to go ahead and wrap this one up. Thank you again to those of you that tuned in to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. My hope is that some meaning and understanding was gained through this post and even if there wasn't, I still appreciate you reading. Thank you for your continued support, and I'll see you all in the next one. Peace!

©2015 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Working On Our Weaknesses, and Exploiting Our Strengths.

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Strength and weakness; two words that comprise the various qualities and traits that we all possess. Because we live in a world that puts so much emphasis on being vain, many people believe that they're either all strength and no weakness, or all weaknesses and no strengths. Regardless of how strong or weak a person deems themselves to be as a whole, we all possess both characteristics in some capacity. While most people view weakness as something bad and see strengths as something positive, I believe that there can be pros and cons to each. As I've evolved as a person, I've come to recognize that it's okay having strengths and weaknesses. More importantly, I've come to realize the importance of working on ourselves to enhance our weaknesses, and using our strengths to our advantage.

What's going on guys? Welcome to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Hope everyone is doing well and maintaining. Like I always seem to mention in my posts; if you're giving this post a reading right now, I greatly appreciate you taking out the time to do that. This is something that I cannot say enough. I know that it has been a month or so since I've last posted, but I'm back at it again and feeling motivated once more. One of the reasons for the absence was that a close relative recently gave birth to a son. Most of the family pulled together to help her out during that time, which is something that family should always do in my opinion. Since the birth, everything has pretty much gotten back to normal for everyone, and the baby was born completely healthy. That is truly a blessing! Alright, lets go ahead and get into this week's topic.

So for this time around, we'll be talking about strengths and weaknesses, as well as the importance of recognizing and using them to our advantages. Before I go any further, I want to let it be known that whatever strengths or weaknesses that an individual may possess is completely subjective to their own lives. The idea with this post is not to gauge another person's qualities, but rather encourage others (as well as myself) to look within to determine what strengths and weaknesses we possess. Again, it's totally subjective. Now I'm a firm believer that in order to properly fix a problem that exists within our lives, we must first acknowledge that there are problems first. As I mentioned earlier, it seems that most of us don't like admitting to having weaknesses. If this is indeed the case, then how can we work on any weaknesses we may have if we're not making the effort to address them?

On the flip side of our weaknesses lies our strengths. While many people are easily able to determine what their personal strengths are in this life, there are others that seem to have a harder time recognizing them. There are some people that will even concede that they do not have any real strengths to contribute to themselves or this world, which is something that I personally disagree with. I believe that one of the biggest traits that a person that doesn't acknowledge having any strengths is probably a lack of confidence. That right there is an entirely different topic however, one that might be addressed in a future post. At any rate, there are many of us whom possess good and positive strengths that we don't even use to better our lives. Again, in order to use a strength to our advantage, we must first know what our strengths are.

Now that we've talked about strengths and weaknesses, it's time to get down to the heart of what I'm attempting to get across. Now just because we all possess various weaknesses in our lives, it doesn't mean that those weaknesses cannot be worked on. Some people have no trouble at all knowing what their weaknesses are, but still make the conscience choice to not to work on betting those weaknesses. I know that it isn't possible to work on every single weakness we may have. However, I'm talking about the weaknesses that actually play a role in making our lives better. As for our strengths, many of us may know what areas of life we excel at, however, we still choose not to exploit those strengths in a way that will help ourselves. Life is a process that deals with growth and change. How can we change if we don't work on better our weaknesses, and how can we grow as people if we do not exploit our talents? If you ask me, there can't be any growth or change if we maintain the same mindset.

From my perspective, there's nothing wrong having weaknesses. However, I think the problems creep in when we decide that we're not even going to attempt to work on strengthening those weaknesses. In my opinion, the same logic applies to our strengths. If we're not using our strengths to our advantage in life, then possessing those strengths really isn't serving us any purpose. We have to make the decision to work on our strengths and weaknesses daily. Remember that each new day is another opportunity to either get better, or get worse. If you have a hard time identifying your strengths and weaknesses, spend some time daily looking for areas in your life that may need improvement. Finally, never allow another person to make you feel bad because of any weaknesses you may possess. We're all flawed individuals, and just because you don't excel in an area of life, that doesn't mean you're any lesser than anyone else.

I think I've written enough for now, so I'm going to go ahead and sign off for this time. My hope is that there was some meaning and understanding gained from reading this. Once again I want to thank those of you that stop by, and I appreciate your continued support. This has been another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I'll see you all next time. Peace!

©2015 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Always Celebrate The Small Things In Life.

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I'm out here trying to do big things yo! We're doing big things out there! We're out here making some seriously big moves! Does any of that sound familiar? I'm fairly positive that most of us have heard similar statements before. The society that we live in puts great emphasis on the word "Big". We've been conditioned to think big in nearly everything that we do, and although I think that having a think big mentality can be a positive mentality to have, I also feel that this mentality has become somewhat of a hindrance to us. While I feel that we should always think big and aim high in life, many of us have forgotten the importance of the small things that life offers us. It's fine and perfectly normal to have the "big" mindset, however, it is also important to celebrate the small things as well.

What's going on people? Welcome to another edition edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Like I always say in my posts; if you're giving this topic a read right now, I greatly appreciate you taking out the time to stop through. So for the topic this time around, I'm going to be talking about the importance of celebrating the small things in life. I'm also going to be discussing how reaching smaller goals can be helpful towards a bigger cause. This topic isn't anything new or profound, nor is it a topic that we haven't heard countless times before. However, there are always different ways and methods to address a specific subject, so I figured I'd go ahead and give my own personal perspective on this one.

Before we get into this subject, I want to state that the idea of thinking big or small varies from person to person. We're all individuals that have a different view of the world, so what is considered big or small for one person may be different for someone else. Now as I stated earlier in this post, we've been conditioned to think that doing or accomplishing something big is the best indicator of success. Most people equate the word "success" to something big. If you're a music artist and you're able to draw big crowds of fans to your concerts, then you're considered to be a successful artist right? If you're an athlete or sports team that is able to fill up arenas full of people, then you're successful sports franchise right? These two examples that I've given definitely personify success, but lets face it, most of us will never know what it means to be a big-time musician or athlete. Since most of us will never know how success on that large of a scale may feel, we have to define success on our own terms, which means that we have to measure it on a smaller scale.

Uh oh! I said view success on a smaller scale, so that must mean that I'm saying that we shouldn't think big or high aim high right? Wrong! See, many of us go wrong when we compare our success or lack thereof to others. We use what others have accomplished in their own personal lives as a benchmark for ourselves. There's nothing wrong with having a desire to model our own success in the shape of people that are already successful. However, the problem that can develop with this mentality is that we often feel as if we're a failure if we never reach that level of success that we've set as the standard inside of our minds. We've allowed ourselves to think and dream so big that we often overlook the small successes and accomplishments we've already reached. This is where the importance of celebrating the small things in life comes into play.

So what are the small things in life that are worth celebrating? Again, it depends on what you see as big or small for your life. From my own personal perspective, the small things are the things that do not necessarily have a monetary value. How much does it cost to give someone you care about a hug or kiss? How much will it cost you to visit with an old friend that you haven't seen in a long time? How much does it cost to attend someone's graduation? See where I'm going with this? Success doesn't always have to be defined as something big. If you're willing to go out of your way to help someone, or if you strive to have a positive impact on the world as a whole, then you're likely already successful; regardless of how small your accomplishments are compared to others. Even if you don't possess much from a material standpoint, something as small as the things I mentioned are worth you celebrating every now and then. Now lets briefly move onto the second point of view of celebrating the small things in life.

If you're trying to climb the ladder of success in reaching your goals in life, it's importance to celebrate each rung you reach on the ladder towards that goal. No matter how big or small a goal you've set may be, reaching that goal will not be an overnight process. In fact, getting to the top of your individual ladder can be a long and tedious process. This is why it's important that we celebrate every accomplishment we make towards that goal. From my perspective, when we celebrate and reflect upon those small steps towards larger goals, we develop a greater appreciation for those moments of reaching those bigger achievements even more. Additionally, when you accomplish and celebrate smaller things towards a bigger goal, it helps increase your drive and motivation to reach your destination even more. It's equivalent to gaining momentum towards something, which can be a valuable tool for us all.

I believe I've gotten the main points that I wanted to hit on out there, so I'm going to go ahead and bring this to a close. Just remember to be mindful and conscience of every positive thing that life has to offer you whether it's big or small. A celebration doesn't have to be a large, huge party, but rather a brief moment of reflection and appreciation. Remember to think and aim big, but take small strides on your journey. And, with those small strides, celebrate all you've achieved along the way. Well that's it for this edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I hope some meaning and understanding was gained from this, and I thank you all who have stopped by again. See you all in the next one! Peace!

©2015 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Avoid The "Dream Killers" As Much As Possible.

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Doubters, naysayers, skeptics; all terms used to describe people that have little to no belief in something or someone. We've all encountered people that have expressed doubts in us or our beliefs, and we've also been on the other side of the fence where we've expressed doubts in others. There will always be reasons for expressing doubt about various things in life and for a good portion of those reasons, those doubts will be justifiable. There is also another term used by many these days to describe the naysayers and nonbelievers. Many people nowadays refer to them as being "dream killers". While we can't control what others say or think, we can definitely control how much we're around them, as well as how much we reveal to them. From my perspective, dream killers should be avoided as much as possible.

Hello folks, and welcome to another one of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! If you're giving this post a look at this moment, I want you to know that I really appreciate it. So for the topic this time around, we're talking about the importance of avoiding those people that have been coined as being "dream killers" out there. So what is the exact definition of a dream killer? Well to be quite honest, I'm not sure if there is a true definition for this term. However, what I do know is that a dream killer and a doubter are pretty much one in the same. They're almost like snakes; they come in different shapes, sizes and colors but at the end of the day, they're still the same scaly creatures that most of us dislike. Now with that said, there is also what I would consider to be a slight difference between your average skeptic and a dream killer.

Now in my personal opinion, a dream killer is a bit different from the standard doubter in that a dream killer is likely a person that we're extremely close to. A dream killer can come in the disguise of a friend, but they're often the people that we're the closet to and know us the best; our family. It's somewhat odd when you really think about it right? Sometimes (not always), the very people that we believe should be our biggest supporters, be the main ones that can hinder us from seeing our own dreams. It can indeed be an odd conundrum to process, but it is something that we see happening everyday in our society. So what is the biggest trait that a dream killer exhibits? From my perspective, a dream killer is someone that shoots down a vision that you may have for yourself, mainly because they cannot see it for themselves.

When I think of things that a dream killer may say, I think of something saying; "I don't think you should do that, it'll never work." How many times have we heard someone say something along these lines; "You're too old to accomplish that?" Again, these are the people that don't believe in your vision, because they're not willing to be open minded enough. Now I'm not implying that anyone that is close to us that may be dubbed a dream killer doesn't mean us well. I think we can all agree that most of our family and loved ones want to see us happy. However, in some cases, the people closet to us often put their own happiness ahead of ours. This is a price that comes at our own personal expense, and we're the ones that end up footing a bill called unhappiness.

One example that sticks out to me involves a boxing match that took place over 20 years ago. Back in late 1994, a then 45 year old George Foreman decided to seek a chance at the world heavyweight championship in the sport of boxing. Most of George's advisers, family and friends, along with the media thought he was going through a midlife crisis for wanting to fight a young champion in Michael Moorer. Michael Moorer was 19 years younger than Foreman at the time. As we know from history, Foreman went on to defeat Moorer by knockout, and thus became the oldest athlete to win a major title in any sport. That mark has since been passed, but the main point that I'm trying to get across is that although everyone else couldn't see Foreman's vision, he was able to see it for himself. Just imagine how George would feel now if he hadn't followed his dream, and ended up listening to those that thought he was making a mistake. He probably would be living the rest of his life with a lot of "what ifs?"

Whether you want to refer to them as dream killers, naysayers, skeptics or all of the above, try to limit your time around these people as much as possible. Just because a person doesn't see nor share in your vision, doesn't mean its not the right thing for YOU to do. If you can see it for yourself, then that's all that ultimately matters. Never expect everyone to share your dreams and aspirations, but also be conscience and open minded enough to consider what those closet to you think. Finally, if you're one of these dream killers out here in the world, try not to hinder or limit someone else. Even if you don't agree with their dreams or something they want to do, try to support them and their goals as much as possible. They'll appreciate it in the end, and your support just may be what they need to fulfill their dream.

Alright, I think I've rambled on for enough time, so I'm going to end this edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. As always, I hope there is some meaning and understanding gained from this. I thank those of you that have stopped by, and I'll see you all in the next one. Peace!

©2015 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Personal Growth Should Be A Never Ending Process.

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Every now and again throughout this life we're living, we hear about the importance of self-improvement and personal growth. For some people ,these terms primarily apply to the youth and younger generation of the world that have yet to achieve their full potential. While I may personally disagree to some extent with the notion that it only applies to the youth, there is indeed some truth to the importance of why personal growth should focus on the youth. At the same time, I do believe that regardless of how old or wise we may feel we are, there is always room for improvement when it comes to ourselves. From my perspective, personal growth should be a never ending process.

What is good folks? Welcome to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. As I seem to mention quite often in previous posts, it has definitely been a hot minute since I touched down with something recent on here. I believe it has been around four months since my last post. FOUR MONTHS! I won't get into making any kind of excuses for the long absence, but I will say that regardless of how I may go in between posts, you can always be assured that I've been brainstorming and soaking up as much knowledge as I can. For those of you that are regular readers, I truly appreciate your patience and loyalty.

Before I get into this topic that I've been thinking about as of late, I want to give some credit to my younger sister for inspiring me to write this. I had a conversation with her recently and during that conversation, she asked me if I was still writing blogs. I told her that it had been awhile since I had written one, and she proceeded to tell me that she personally finds writing to be therapeutic. I'm already aware of the benefits of writing, but my sister's words gave me an added bit of motivation. Although it has been on my mind to write about various topics on here within the past few months, I allowed other priorities to take over the lead. Now with all of that said, I want to thank my sister for the inspiration, and I also want to acknowledge that she is definitely right about writing being a form of therapy.

So for this time around, I'll be talking about why I see personal growth as a never ending process. Now there are many people that equate their level of wisdom solely to their age. These are the people that feel as if they're wiser than maybe someone younger than they are, primarily because the number of years they've been on this Earth may outnumber someone else. I do feel that there is some validity in someone older thinking this way, however, I also feel that the wisdom varies from person to person. Ever heard the saying that some people only get older in age, but not in mind? If you really consider it, wisdom is purely subjective to what a person has learned and experienced in this life, and while age can play a big factor, it's definitely not the sole determinant of how wise a person may be.

Some of you may wonder what this has to do with the topic at hand. Well, I brought up that point to state that there are many people that feel that because they've reached a certain peak within their lives, there isn't much more they can learn. This thinking especially shows for these people when it comes to them learning from others. I can say this without a doubt, because there have been times that I was one of those hard-headed stubborn individuals that carried the same narrow minded mindset. You see, a certain level of humility in a person is required in order to accept that no matter how much we may think we know, there is always something new that can be learned and applied to our lives. The biggest problem with this is that society has conditioned us that displaying a level of humility is a form of weakness, which is far from the truth in my opinion.

From my perspective, a person that displays a certain level of humility is a true staple of what being strong is. An individual that displays enough humility is strong enough to acknowledge that regardless of age and accomplishments, there is always room for personal growth. In the early 90's former professional basketball player Michael Jordan reached what many considered his peak when he helped carry the Chicago Bulls to three straight NBA championships. Do you really think that Michael would've come back and won 3 more titles in his 30's if he didn't feel that he could grow as a player? I highly doubt it. It's not my place to tell anyone else what to do, but if you're a person that feels that you're too big to take advice from others, then you're likely hindering your personal growth. There are various levels that come to mastering certain aspects of life. If you've managed to reach your peak in one area of your life, look for other flaws and areas of your life that can be worked on. Believe me when I say that there is always room for improvement. Personal growth is a process that should be applied every day, and it's not a process that producers results overnight. Always keep in mind that when a person stops looking for ways to grow and improve, that person that has likely stopped truly living. That's just my opinion.

I think I pretty much gotten the gist of what I wanted to get across out there, so I'm going to go ahead and bring this to an end. I hope there is some meaning and understanding to be gained from this post. Like always, I appreciate those of you that take out the time to stop by. This has been another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I'll see you all in the next post. Peace!

©2015 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Learn How to Be Good On Your Own First.

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I feel that the social constraints and stereotypes that society has placed upon us has mentally messed up a lot of people. For many of us, Instead of trying to live our own lives on our own terms, we attempt to mold our lives in the form of how the general public will judge us based on those standards. For whatever reasons there may be, society has blindly given us the impression that something must be wrong with a person that doesn't have a ton of friends, or maybe isn't in a relationship with someone by a certain time frame. As I've gotten older in this life, I've come to realize that this way of thinking is truly a mistake from my perspective. In my opinion, we have to learn how to be good on our own first.

What's up to all my people out there? Welcome to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. It has definitely been a grip since I've written anything on here. In fact, this is my first official blog post for 2015. Despite the long layoff, I'm back at it once again with a topic that I think most of us can relate to. Before I get into my thoughts in this post, I wanna start off by saying Happy Late New Years to everyone out there. I know it looks pretty sad and pathetic saying that halfway through the month of February, but like the saying goes; "Better late than never right?" On a serious note though, I hope 2015 has started out positive for everyone.

So getting back to the topic at hand, we're talking about why we should learn how to be good and happy on our own first. Now before I say anything else on this matter, I want to say that by writing on this topic, I'm in no way saying that no one shouldn't need nor ask for help from time to time. I'm well aware that regardless how much we may think we don't need others, everyone needs someone else's help every now and again. The gist of what I want to get across is how so many of us tend to rely on others being there for us in order to be happy and content. This way of thinking primarily applies to many of those that are maybe seeking out a relationship or potential life partner. I mean lets face it, something must be wrong with you if you're a certain age and you're single right? That is what society and the stereotypes that we've created want us to believe.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I personally think this way of thinking is all jacked up. Now if you would have asked me if I maybe bought into that particular way of thinking 10 or 15 years ago, I probably would have agreed with the masses. My views on various topics and subjects have undoubtedly changed. I view these changing beliefs I've developed as the process of becoming older and wiser. We all seek out the love and companionship that comes along with having that special someone. If it's not a special someone, it's likely a group of friends that we care about. These are the people that we want around us more often than not. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting someone in our lives, or wanting to be around others. However, I feel that we put way too much of our personal value into other people. We tend to only be happy when these people are around and we're feeling good in their presence, but we're sad and depressed when they're gone, or if they've said or done something to anger us. It's like our emotions have become a direct chain reaction to others, which is not a good thing in my opinion.

Yes there are going to be instances where our feelings are linked to what those we care about say and do. However, it's something that shouldn't be happening all the time. Your happiness shouldn't be directly tied to other people. Instead, your happiness should begin and end inside of you. When it comes down to relationships and love especially, I have a belief that it shouldn't take a person finding someone to make them feel happy or whole. I believe that if a person is already happy with themselves, then the people that we choose to surround ourselves with will bring out even more of what should already be there. I see it as taking it to the next level. You're already good and happy on your own, and then you seek out those that have that extra gear to take your happiness even further. However, even if that gear happens to shift back into neutral, we will still find a way to be happy. Control your happiness; don't allow others to control it for you. That is just my two cents.

I believe I got the main ideas that I wanted to convey out there, so I'm going to go ahead and sign off on this one. I know that I tend to go on frequent hiatuses but trust and believe that no matter how long I tend to stay away, I'm still brainstorming and thinking of ways to get my thoughts out there for others to see. As always, I hope that there's some meaning and understanding that can be gained through these posts. Well that's it for this edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. Again, I hope 2015 is treating everyone well so far, and I'll see you all in the next post. Peace!

©2015 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.