Connecting with Wallace

In hearing what David Foster Wallace was saying, I began to ponder on my own life. In this speech, Mr. Wallace talked about many things but there's something that stood out to me. It stood out to me because I do my best to have the exact mindset. He gave an example of an ordinary day at the grocery store, and a gruesomely long trip on the freeway. In talking about the time we spend here, he mentions the feelings that everyone will automatically feel in these situations. The feeling of your time being more precious and valuable than the person in front of you. When he talked about the woman taking a long time on the register with her coupons, and said that she could have a more meticulous, stressful life than you might think. I like that he said it's not likely, but it's also not impossible. Having this mindset helps me be a better person by not losing my temper while I'm in traffic or silently judge the person taking their time in line.


My goals in life are just have an impact. I have this dream, where I'm somewhere in the world, maybe in a place where they're less fortunate. Not just financials, but also natural disasters or being affected by a war. I wish to provide service and make the life of others better.

In college I'd like to study business and how to have, or run a business. I'd also love to study journalism.

I'm not sure that I am ready for college. In high school I had a terrible work ethic. I hardly studied, turned in mediocre projects and didn't pay much attention. What I think I need to do is get a job where I'm forced to work hard otherwise I wouldn't get paid. I had  job like this my Junior year and that time where I had this job, where I had to be up early and work hard in the sun, it built character and made me realize that I cant sit around at home anymore. I learned the value of hard work going to this job every other day. Over time since I don't work there anymore, I became complacent and lazy. So I'd like to get a physically demanding job to regain this mindset that I need to work hard because if I don't than no one else will do it for me.

What excites me most about graduating from Prep is not coming here everyday, ever again. This school has done a lot of me but I've been here for seven years. I'm getting real tired of coming here everyday. Nothing really scares me about graduating. It's a rite of passage that hopefully every student can experience.

I don't know if i'm ready to take care of myself. I honestly have no idea, and it might be a little stupid but right now i'm going with the flow. I'm taking the co-pilot's seat and letting the current events shape my future. To me, "real life" is nothing new. I have 4 older siblings who have families, and have had jobs and have experienced quite a bit. I've seen what's it's like to struggle, know what mistakes to not make. I don't know what my life will be like tomorrow, I just know I'm excited.

This is me, not fighting the tide.

WHAT IN DAMNATION?

"I decide to go over and lend a helping hand, you know? "Hello, ma'am, can I be of any assistance? It seems to me that you have lost something. I would like to help you find it." She replied: "Oh yes, you have lost something. You've lost... your life. 

Is it wickedness?"

For anyone that is a real fan of Hip-Hop, You would have probably heard this entire project through at least 20 times. On April 14, Compton rapper, Kendrick Lamar dropped his highly anticipated album DAMN. Lamar's newborn LP is already No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and did 306,000 first week. That is more than rap competitor, Drake sold on for his album More Life. It comes as no surprise, as many were on the edge of their seat waiting, after being teased with the single, and music video, Humble. 

This conceptual album had an entirely different sound and flow than his traditional work. To Pimp A Butterfly and good kid m.A.A.d city were both artistic and did a phenomenal job at reflecting Kendrick's views on topics such as, racism, black culture, and telling other rappers that he's much better than them. We hear K-Dot uses more auto-tune, changes the pitch and fixes his flow to go along with his faster-paced tempos. His new sound maybe just be temporary as this new speed of rap, and sound went along well with what he was trying to get across in this album. 

We can always count on Kendrick, being the lyricist that he is, to come with hard raps and even deeper lyrics. There was a lot going on with this LP, and the topics he touched upon were various. Lamar started this album with 'BLOOD', an intro with a scenario between him and a blind woman. The blind woman is our introduction to the main topic in this album that is Kendrick's Damnation. The blind women is his consequences and this is driven from the Book of Deuteronomy. That those who obey God will be blessed and those who disobey will be damned for giving into wickedness. Kendrick, being Kendrick can't make a rap album without having some sort of empowerment to his culture. He celebrates his heritage on DNA and throughout the project. We're all very excited to see what Kung Fu Kenny has in store, but for now, let's enjoy the music.

Predictions Rosters: Injuries and Consequences

It wasn't much of a surprise that the Arizona Cardinals let go of wide receiver Michael Floyd two days after he was arrested for driving under the influence the morning after the team arrived from their loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The Green Bay Packers have been hit with another troubling event. Running back James Starks has been placed in the leagues concussion protocol following his car accident on Monday.
Another Packers obstacle is Aaron Rodgers calf injury. Rodgers will continue to play despite his discomfort but this means we probably wont be seeing the Aaron Rodgers we're used to this Sunday.

The Falcons are also missing players at practice. Julio Jones has been hurt with a toe sprain.

The Colts are having some quarterback troubles as well. Andrew Luck has been dealing with elbow and shoulder injuries, so we will just have to wait and see how he preforms against the Minnesota Vikings.

How do the players feel?: Fight for Playoffs

For this week, many players have expressed how they feel about the games and how their teams preformed.

Aaron Rodgers is currently suffering from a calf injury but will continue to play. He says that the chances for the Packers to make the playoffs is "strong to quite strong".

Michael Floyd has been arrested and charged with a DUI. He has not given a statement.

Everyone has known for how while how Larry Fitzgerald feels about his situation in the league given how long he's been in it, and with his recent accomplishment of receptions in a career, he gave the statement that he wont be around long enough to catch Jerry Rice and Tony Gonzalez.

Scores: The Final Whistle

Scores for Week 10

Green Bay Packers 25                      Chicago Bears 10                                                           

Tennessee Titans 47                         Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36

Cleveland Browns 7                         Minnesota Vikings 20
Baltimore Ravens 28                        Washington Redskins 26


Kansas City Chiefs 20                      Miami Dolphins 31
Carolina Panthers 17                        San Diego Chargers 24


Houston Texans 24                           San Francisco 49ers 20
Jacksonville Jaguars 21                    Arizona Cardinals 23


Denver Broncos 25                          Dallas Cowboys 35
New Orleans Saints 23                    Pittsburgh Steelers 30


Los Angeles Rams 9                       Seahawks 31
New York Jets 6                              New England Patriots 24


Atlanta Falcons 15                          Cincinnati Benglas 20
Philadelphia Eagles 24                    New York Giants 21

Beagles, Pizza, and Art

There are some things that make me happy as soon as I see it, and I would  to share those moments now.

Starting at
#10: Seeing a Beagle, doesn't matter what age, I absolutely love beagles.
#9: Getting out of the car after a long road trip.
#8: The fresh smell of the forest. The scent of pine trees makes me nostalgic.
#7: Seeing that Netflix got new movies.
#6: Listening to the song The Middle by Jimmy Eat World
#5: When I open a box of pizza from Costco.
#4: Coming home to a clean bed ready for you to lay on in.
#3: When I see my sister's son. He's so adorable.
#2: When I get started on a new painting
#1: Any time i'm in the presence of my girlfriend.

All of these make me happy instantly. If i'm having a bad day, if I need a pick me up, I can always count on most of these things to totally switch my mood up. I can't exactly get out of the car after a long car ride every day.

Peace, Love, Positivity

A person that inspires me is Sir Robert Bryson Hall, or better known by his stage name, Logic. Logic is a rapper from Maryland. In his neighborhood, there was a lot of violence and murder. He grew up in a home where he had a bipolar mother who would beat him for being half black, and a father who wasn't really around, but would visit occasionally to buy weed and other drugs from Logic's brothers. See, in his home, they cooked crack. It seems like someone who grew up in this kind of environment would ultimately grow up to do the same things.
Logic did start to go down the same path for a while, until he was in his late teens, he got really into music. He released a mixtape, and has done so for the past six years. He has since then become very successful. He has released two albums, his most recent album sold over 130,000 copies in the first week, and had 19 million streams.
Logic came from a really twisted home and decided to not get sucked into the preconceived notion that he needs to sell drugs and murder to survive. He now lives in Malibu with his wife and his dogs. He is inspiring to me, didn't grow up in the same conditions so I have no excuse to not be successful. He preaches Peace, Love, and Positivity, and makes me want to be a better, respectful person.