Spotify Says That My Most Listened to Song in 2023 Has Been Strange by Galaxie 500

Written By: Dr. Rich Houston, Director of the Culverhouse School of Accountancy

My week was all over the place, but in some great ways. Invigorating, interesting, interactive, inspirational, fast-paced, fact-finding, challenging, multi-faceted, dialed in, and it’s going to rain. Therefore, what follows is reflective of that and a little lengthy, but cut me some slack—Fall’s almost over, it’s only an extra hundred words, and I haven’t mentioned Joe Walsh all semester. Whoops.

Quotes. The MAcc students wrote about their favorite place. Two answers I read consecutively caught my attention. The following is what I wrote to the author of the second, who said that hers was a specific couch. “The paper right before yours was about the dining table in the house in which they grew up. I never thought of a piece of furniture as a place, but what you're both saying is that they’re more than just pieces of furniture. So, perhaps the question should have been: What is your favorite piece of furniture, past or present, and why?”

Some other thoughts from the MAcc students, who I will really miss seeing every Tuesday and Thursday:

• No matter who you meet, you should treat everyone as if they were your friend. You never know what role in your life they might play.
• I did not realize the burden I was carrying. I would wager that most people do not realize how much weight they carry every day. I think that we all have chips on our shoulders and let our souls get weighed down by the wrongs we have committed, but I do not think we realize it. I had a chance to make some mistakes right, and I am proud of myself for capitalizing on it.
• A chance conversation reminded me that people are more alike than you think, you haven’t yet met all of the amazing people you will know, and there is so much reward in being open and vulnerable. Although we may not speak again, I am so grateful for the conversation, which reminds me of the quote “You still haven’t met all of the people who are going to love you.” I had no clue that I would meet this person and have that conversation. Life can sweetly surprise you if you let it.?

Yellow + Red = Orange. I saw a diagram on Linkedin, chopped it up, and added some comments.

How you think other people experience undertakings and how you think yours never play out:

Let’s bury that idea and put it to rest. Repeat after me: if it looks too good to be true, it very likely isn’t. Most peoples’ experiences, including yours and mine, are more like this:

Just because you can’t see someone else’s struggle doesn’t mean it’s not real. If you are struggling and trying to maintain the illusion that your life is a straight line, please take steps to let go, hold on tight, and enjoy life’s twists.

If you are struggling but successfully working your way through the red dots, good for you—allow yourself to be proud of how you’re doing it. Persevering through the dots and loops develops resilience and wisdom.

Musical interlude:? If you want to hear a cool and funky song, check out Trans-Island Skyway by Donald Fagen; if you want to hear a great Bee Gees song (NO! It’s not an oxymoron.) that you’ve never heard before, try Edge of the Universe; and if you want to listen to an excellent song that happens to have a great title, click on Sinatra Drive Breakdown by Yo La Tengo.

Ponder this. I heard a question that I can’t quit thinking about: What is your ideal version of what comes next? I’ve posed it to some people and the answers are very revealing with respect to character, goals, and where a person is in their life.

What is the ideal version of you that will enable you to move towards achieving your goals? What is your ideal version of what you will have achieved by December 16th, the day after finals are completed? Starting right now, work backwards to figure out what you need to do to accomplish your vision. Develop a list of small steps, cross them off as you complete them, do the best you can, celebrate all of your wins, both big and little, and don’t judge yourself too harshly.

Thoughts I deem worthy of bullet points:

• When you experience something that feels life-changing, how do you maintain that frame of mind?
• It’s so rewarding to see you guys grow into your talents. Often, you don’t see it yourself, or maybe you do but won’t let yourself. My suggestion is to find someone to check in with periodically who will tell you how you’ve changed since your last interaction.

• It’s important to have people with whom you can talk through your goals and plans. Specifically, people who ask the right questions, listen intently, and know you well enough to guide the conversation in a way that allows you to figure things out yourself. Isn’t it apparent that you think of things you otherwise would not have when you talk about it rather than just think about it?
• If the people around you don’t take you seriously, find people who do.
• Have you ever realized that you can make a great decision, but have a bad outcome? Or make a terrible decision but, despite the odds, have a good outcome?
• If you are struggling, seek out conversations with people who are authentic, present, and curious. Doesn’t it often seem as if the other person knows just what to say?
• This came up once again today: a very intelligent person who does not try their best because she is afraid that she’ll feel stupid if she tries and falls short. The flaw in that logic? She’s certainly not stupid and, if she tried, she’d know she’s not.

And, finally, I learned that individually wrapped Tums called chewy taste like bubble gum but are not, in fact, gum. They really are just soft, chewy…um…Tums. In any case, the generic chewy antacids that look like bloated Skittles taste and work better.