Aaron Joseph Learman

On February 11th, 2000 after going to the MSU hockey game against Northern Michigan, I received a phone call from my mom asking me where my brother Aaron was. He should have been home by then as he had left around 5:45 or so to go to home for the weekend. It was around 10:00 or so, I immediately started praying in my head, because it was not like him not to be where he said he would be. About an hour later my mom called and said Aaron had been killed in a car accident. 

This began my experience the worst thing that could ever happen to me. In fact I had though before that if Aaron died it would be the worst thing that could happen to me and since that would never happen, I could make it through anything. We are not sure what really happened with the accident. We have heard different stories. There was another car involved with three people in it, one died and the other two had serious injuries. 

Aaron had predicted that MSU would be in 2nd place in the CCHA after the weekend. He also predicted that MSU would be Big Ten champs, a number 1 seed, and National Champs in Basketball. He was right on all account. 

Aaron was more than my brother, he was my best friend, my assistant, my partner. We lived together when he was at MSU. He came down at took classes at MSU before his junior year of High School and he lived with me then too. He came to MSU with 45 college credits, 42 of them 4.0, and 3 credits of 3.5. He was in 6 honor societies and his major was the hardest major at MSU, chemical engineering. Aaron was a big sports fan and a big MSU fan missing only the Wisconsin and Northwestern games in football, going to many hockey games with me, and sharing a basketball ticket with me. 

I will treasure my memories of Aaron always! 
Click here to see an article about in in the State News

“Aaron Learman’s Words to Live By”
July 22, 1980 – February 11, 2000

The more you have to lose, the more fear you have.  But if you have nothing to lose, you have no fear.

God gives you certain tools when you are born.  It is up to you to know how to use them.

The past is the reference of life.  The future is the hope and dreams.  The present is where we are at in time doing the best we can with what we have and working towards what we want.

Live life one day at a time.  Not years at a time.  Success in the present will take care of future fears.

There is no greater thing in life than unconditional love.

Nothing is worse than an ignorant person who refuses to better themselves by learning and understanding.  Without communication, understanding is nearly impossible.

The more you can relate to something, the more you like it or even love it.

In life when you set goals and fail, you will feel a great disappointment.  But when you succeed, that feeling can not be topped by anything in the world.

Anybody can do the right thing when it is convenient.  But great people do the right thing when it is difficult.

Everybody has a place on their body if you touch it they will laugh – their heart.

Size has never been a barometer for measuring the worth of a man unless you are talking about the size of his heart.
-- Wilt Chamberlain 7’1”  Hall of Fame Basketball Player

Enthusiasm can’t be taught but it can be caught.

The more important a goal is to you, the more you need to focus on it.  Without focus, even simple stuff is hard to accomplish.

The greatest ability we have in life is the ability to handle adversity.  To go on through the tough times and the times we are prone to mistakes.  We must continue and look for life’s better parts.

Confidence is very important.  You must believe before you can achieve.  The hardest thing after self belief is walking the fine line between true confidence and arrogance.  It is truly a task in itself.

Anyone can see beauty on the surface, but it takes someone truly special to be able to see beauty inside someone.

The most successful coach is not the one with the most wins or highest win percentage, but the one who improved their players not only as players, but as people too.  They must make the sport fun, give everyone a chance, and still win.  That is the greatest coach of all.  Teaching the game and making it fun is the most important.

Matters of the heart should be answered by the heart.  Matters of the mind should be answered by your brain.  You don’t ask a garbage man for legal help or a business person about medicine.

The more you value something, the harder it is to share or give away that something.

Motivation gets you started but commitment is what keeps you going.

Forgiveness is one of the most important parts of life.  Without it we would live in total chaos with constant civil war and fighting.  We must forgive others even when it is hard.

The real world is a tough place and we need to arm ourselves, but not with a gun or knife, but with knowledge.  Everyday we receive the chance to learn, it’s our choice to arm ourselves and survive in the real world.

In life we all make choices, the tough choices are the decisions that decide who we really are.  Will you make the right choice when it is really important?  You decide.

Put pressure on anything and you bring out what is inside.  – Pat Reilly

You don’t miss something you have never tried.  Trying something is the start of a habit, if you try something bad, you start a bad habit.

“Men Are Four”
He who knows not, and knows not he knows not, he is a fool, shun him;
He who knows not, and knows he knows not, he is simple, teach him;
He who knows and knows not he knows, he is asleep, wake him;
He who knows and knows he knows, he is wise, follow him!
-- Duffy Daugherty  Former MSU Football Coach

 God never gives more than we can handle, we just have to decide to handle the challenge put before us by Him.

 I know not where life will lead me, but I do know God is watching me.  That is enough to show me I am going in the right place and the correct direction.

 It is better to try and fail, than never even attempt to reach your goals.

 Hard work beats talent.

 Determination and hard work will take you farther than luck or talent ever will in life.

 Courage is going on when you are afraid or scared, not never being afraid.

 If you have high expectations in life, your failures will bother you just a little bit extra, and your successes will be nothing special.  Even with high expectations, we must learn to enjoy those successes and not let the failures bother us too much.

 Every good relationship is based on trust.  Without trust, a good relationship can’t exist.  It is a mere understanding that you will tell them something that is important and they will do the same.

 Hate comes from fear, fear comes from ignorance and a lack of understanding.  So with knowledge and understanding we can end the hate and make peace.

 Why would someone who appears foolish speak, by them removing all doubt as to if they are foolish?  -- Mark Twain

 We can never actually repay our parents for what they have done for us, only try to make them glad they did do these things for us.

 To successfully get along with others, you need to walk in their shoes and know where they are coming from.

 It is said good things come to those who wait.  I believe good things come to those that work.

 Love of money may come later on in life, but love of sports should come first.

 Talk is cheap, but what they are saying can cost me more than I want to spend.  Common sense costs nothing, but if you use it, you can make a mint.

 Compassion, good will, common sense, understanding, and love are just a few of the things in life that are free.  Use them.

 Life has taught me, happiness is that most important thing.  Without it, money, fame, intelligence, looks, possessions, it is all pretty much useless without happiness.

learmanj@msu.edu