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.