Live in such a way that if anyone should speak badly of you, no one would believe it.

The first trimester grades are now starting to populate in the online “Canvas” account that is provided to me by Guerin Catholic High School for my son, Zach. It’s a little mind blowing to me that the baby of the house is well-entrenched as a high schooler. It seems like five minutes ago that he was playing grade school CYO basketball at SLDM and meeting a new kid named Matthew Kordesh!

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The youngest of the three Kordesh kids, Matthew is the son of Steve and Barb Kordesh. He’s a freshman at Fishers High School. I’m not exactly sure what activities Matthew is involved in over there, but I know he’s on the tennis team, because we ran into him during Zach’s first tennis match of the season, when they faced the Tigers! He has the most genuine and bright smile, and the old CYO basketball teammates didn’t hesitate at all when I asked them to pose for a picture. Here they are above. Zach is on the left in GC’s signature purple, and Matthew is wearing his Fishers Tigers gear. There’s just a lot of goodness in this photo, and it makes me smile!

Friendly, hard-working, and funny. Those are the three adjectives that came to mind quickly as I decided to write about Matthew today. He’s a young man of integrity– both bright and kind. This is why when he joined the CYO basketball program at SLDM with a big group of close friends who mostly attended the parish school together, this young man was immediately respected and accepted by his peers on the team. He’s a positive kid who works hard, and therefore it was impossible to not find him likable! By his words and actions, Matthew Kordesh is easy to spot as a shining star.

I don’t know who Heraclitus even is, but I read his quote this week and I thought it was important.

The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become. -Heraclitus

As Matthew and all the young men I have grown to love are beginning their high school adventure, I thought it might be worthwhile today to point him out. He’s a young man of character who is getting it right. For instance, when they both finished their respective tennis matches on that day earlier this fall, Matthew came to find Zach and the two of them found a court and starting hitting together. Other boys began to join in, and mostly just laughter and friendly competition ensued between the rivals who hadn’t seen each other in several months. Matthew’s solid character reflects itself in his consistent, hard-working nature and sunny disposition. If anyone told me they thought otherwise, I simply wouldn’t believe them. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the kind of person we should all strive to be!

Good luck these next four years, Matthew! The Thieme family will be keeping our eyes on you and cheering for your success. You are a wonderful human who makes the world better by your positivity and integrity!