Daily Conversation #10 — Eric Shelton

One of the biggest goals Eric sets out to do with his life is be of service to others. That manifests itself in a multitude of ways: his faith, his commitment to the Army ROTC program, and just his daily life in general.

I asked why he chose to enroll in the ROTC prorgam. It was exactly this; it’s always been a goal for him to dedicate his life to others and he viewed one of the best ways to do that as enrolling in the army. He said that someone has to do it and he’d rather it be him than somebody else that he really cares about. He said he also did it for all of the people that did it before him.

This was also the answer to another of my questions: How do you hope to look back at your career and feel fulfilled?

Aerospace Engineering is a well-paying job, so that is a means for him to potentially help financially support people he cares about in the future. Eric did mention that it’s unlikely that he’ll be in Aerospace forever. Eric’s also getting a minor in Math and hopes to be able to teach in the future as well.

One of the biggest lessons Eric said he learned from ROTC is actually a quote from one of his superiors:

The smartest person in the world is the person who can hold two opposing ideas in their mind at the same time without going insane.

It’s so important for us to be able to understand others’ sides of things and not judge them for their belief. Everybody has life experiences that have deeply formed their opinions, so it’s important for us to consider that in an understanding way (I need to get better about this, and I’m really trying to).

One thing I’ve always noticed about Eric is his excellent ability to converse with anybody. As a matter of fact, I hope I’ll be able to get out of my comfort zone with this project and eventually become better about talking with everybody I come into contact with.

I asked him how he developed that skill. He said that you never really know where a conversation will take you. You have no clue how much someone might need this conversation, and that someone may be you (exactly what this project is about: I’m hoping it benefits both sides). He acknowledged that everybody just wants to have other people care for them, so simply engaging conversation shows them that you care about them.

I really enjoy asking people what the meaning of life is to them. Eric’s answer was two-fold: having fun, being decent. So, on a Christian level, he seeks out to live a life that God would be proud of by being there for other people and try to always affect others in a positive light. But, on a personal level, he believes it’s essential to have fun every single day. Furthermore, that being negative doesn’t help anybody, and ends up hurting yourself and those around you.

If you’re not happy and having fun, then what’s the point?

This wasn’t his main quote, but he said it and I really liked it.

Be the hammer, not the nail.

Eric believes that taking the initiative and being proactive is one of the most important things in life.

I firmly agree with this. This mindset has been something that I’ve been relatively good about in most aspects of my life; school, health, close friends and famiy. In other aspects, it’s not something that I’ve excelled at at all.

One of Eric’s strongest traits is that everybody’s a friend and he can talk to anybody like they’re a friend. This quote is something that I’m going to try to remember the next time I feel anxious about taking the leap. Thanks for taking the time to talk, it was a great time.