Me at the End

I know I'm really late on this and whatnot, but I guess it's better late than never. I feel like junior year was my most experiencing year if that makes sense. I honestly did change a lot in the end, partly because of this class and also just everything that happened throughout the months. Nowadays, I do think of things that I used to never think of or wonder about and I guess I just analyze things more. Before, I think I was more of an impulsive person and I would just kind of do as I pleased but now I consider whether my actions are really correct and I also observe society in a different way I guess. I know this sounds really cheesy and cliche but it's really true. So I guess what I'm trying to say is I've matured a lot this past year and while it kind of sucked at times because it made me see things I didn't want to really look straight on at yet at the same time it's made me a wiser person and more perspective in situations as well. I also think I'm going to start my own personal blog now as well because it does help to just let out what you feel about everything without having to be judged or anything so I am glad I decided to take this class even though I was one of the only juniors. So if anyone reads this, I hope they have an awesome summer! And I guess you can try to find my blog if you really want to. Bye everyone!

Letter to the Prospective Philosophy Student

I honestly didn’t know what to really expect when I signed up for my Philosophy class. I guess I kind of expected it to be just like any another literature class; the only difference was that it would mostly consist of seniors. Well now I’ve obviously realized that in order to really enjoy a philosophy class you have to be ready to hear new and radical ideas. You should also be able to be an active participant in discussions which is something I definitely should have done more but I guess I’m more of a listener in class anyways since I feel more comfortable when I’m only with a small group of people. But overall I did like philosophy even though I still have like a lot of stuff to turn in but I will get to it…it’s just that procrastination makes you do dumb stuff like procrastinating and all. But yeah if you want to realize what life is and how other people see it then take philosophy! And have fun! J

Thoughts About Earlier Thinking

This topic is perfect for today because it’s my birthday and so I spent awhile thinking about the younger me I guess you could say. I thought about how much I’ve changed and how much a lot has changed and it’s like that Panic! At the Disco song that goes, “Things have changed for me and that’s okay” and well I don’t agree with the next verse that goes “I feel the same” well because I don’t feel the same; I’m not the same person I was when I was little. The way I think and see things now has changed a lot from when I started high school and I’m grateful that I’ve been able to open my eyes to all these new topics that I never gave much thought to before. Philosophy has helped me with this too. I mean I would have probably eventually gotten to thinking about things like the meaning and definition of sanity, society, status, morals, etc. but I’m glad I was given a class period a day to actually really think about it and form my own opinions on them even though I don’t really voice them a lot except to my close friends. One thing that I really started changing my mind on was friendship…like I was starting to really doubt what it was and exactly how to define who my friends really were. I try talking to people and I mean does constant communication really mean friendship? And a great example was today. Like I talk to so many people on a daily basis and I create this illusions I guess of what they mean to me and what label I should give them and it kind of started getting to the point where I jumbled up all these labels and I couldn’t differentiate who was who anymore if that makes any sense. It was kind of scary but more upsetting to me that I couldn’t really define what each person meant to me anymore because I started overanalyzing what everything was. I have to admit that today started out sticky and just not good but at the end of the day I can say I really did enjoy my day. The person that I was starting to doubt more and more everyday showed me that I needed to stop being an over thinker because I can honestly say I’ve had the same best friend for the past 7 years. Seven freaking years. That shows you that while the whole world may be falling down, some things can stay the same. I guess the point I’m trying to get to is that today I finally realized that everything is okay. Things get messy and things will always continue changing cause that’s the whole point of life and progress and time and everything and as long as I know that my family and best friends are there with me then I’ll be okay. This is super long and sorry if you actually took the time to read ALL of this because well to be honest I was finally just letting everything out which I think is what you wanted Mr. McCarthy even though it doesn’t make much sense…but oh well I tried at least.

Surrounded by Cuckoos, but I was the crazy one

If you’re surrounded by cuckoos but you’re considered to be the crazy one then that just means that normalcy is something based off the majority. I think we’ve discussed this in class because it seems familiar but pretty much our society’s standards of normal is whatever is being seen done by the majority of the people. Like if I were in some country where everyone eats meat and I decide that I don’t eat meat then people are going to look at me as if I were crazy because well I am since normalcy is something completely and totally subjective. So based off the title, you’re pretty much crazy if you go against what everyone else believes or whatever they’re doing. I’ve never really had this type of experience like I mean there’s been times where I’ve felt that I have a completely different belief from everyone else I was discussing it to and then it felt pretty awkward and weird for me but on the most part we agree to disagree and don’t resort to accusing each other being cuckoo or something. And sometimes being cuckoo is fine because being normal all the time does get boring. You just have to sometimes spice things up a little and get outside of the box because honestly if no one ever left the box then a lot of awesome discoveries and developments wouldn’t be part of our society today. If you research famous and legendary scientists, inventors, or philosophers you’ll be pretty amused at how many of them were considered as weirdos in their time.

Together

Being together is something good for the most part. A lot of times when people ask if two people are together, they’re usually referring to it in a romantic way. A lot of times though people don’t know when to balance things out with the person they’re together with and end up ruining all of the togetherness. Like for example, usually when a couple falls in love or they become infatuated, whichever term you like better, they seem to think that the best idea is stay together all the time because they feel that they are better together than not together. Then once they spend like a bajillion years together, well for high school couples it’s more like a couple of months if not weeks, they realize that they are tired of being together and decide they’d rather be alone. It seems to be that being alone is always like step one and together is step two and alone is once again step three/step one which I guess it could be either one cause it’s kind of like this circle. Oh wow like the circle of life! Yup, that’s exactly what I mean. So what I’m trying to say is usually things don’t end up together if they spend too much time together.

Alone

 Every time someone talks about being alone, they seem to always associate it with loneliness or sadness or something bad like that. Personally for me though, I think being alone is something good as long as it’s not on a daily basis cause then that does lead to loneliness. On the most part, whenever I want to be alone it’s because I just went through something super exhausting whether it be something physical, mental, or emotional. It’s also kind of nice to be alone when you’re tired of everything…not in some sort of emo way though, more in a just like want to take a break from the world kind of way. Being alone also gives me some time to just think some things over that I would have never given thought to if it weren’t for me being by myself. Thinking and reflecting is something everyone should spend some time doing in their lives because it gives their actions and I guess overall life some sort of meaning. Many people don’t realize how important it is to just take a breather every once in a while and let in everything that just happened, instead they just go on running through their whole lives without giving many important things a second thought.

Save the Earth, Do This!

           Everyone now is riding their bikes and what not so go ahead and give in to the pressure cause it's actually a GOOD thing. :) Biking is also really fun...if you're with people you like that is. If you're with your whiny little three year old cousin in the middle of a three hour bike trail...then that's not so fun. Also, since being all hipster and eco friendly is the coolest thing ever now you can find a lot of cool bikes and accessories for them practically anywhere. A good website to check out is republicbike.com, if you have money that is since this whole eco craze is kind of expensive ya know. Anyways, they have an amazing 3D bike shop where you can completely customize your bike and choose everything from the frame to the housing to the rim and the crank and okay I think I made myself clear. Being 5'4" kind of sucks though since the original Aristotle fixies are only for people 5'5" and up, oh well. Oh! And you can also get some really awesome accessories such as tube pad for protection and cable clips and all these really jazzy stuff. They also have some bike apparel but I personally would not get it but go ahead if it's your thing! So yeah go ride your bikes, they're way cooler nowadays than cars anyways.

Invisible

In the world, there are a lot of invisible things. Not because they’re physically invisible but just because people are not aware that these events are happening around the world. A good example is when we went to go see the Invisible Children presentation because many high school students are not aware that there are children that are younger than them are going through abductions and whatnot. Most of the time, things are invisible because we don’t take the time to go out of ways to see the poverty, crime, and other negative things that exist in the world just because we don’t feel like stepping out of our comfortable box. If more people became aware of invisible things, both good and bad, then our world really would be more peaceful and beautiful and all that good stuff. Many people don’t know all the good things that are a part of our world. For me personally, I’m trying to be more open minded towards things I’ve ignored before whether it be in big ways such as going to the Galapagos Islands and appreciating its beauty that few people get to experience or in smaller ways like realizing how pretty the sunset looks today or tomorrow or any day as cheesy as that sounds.

A Book to Read

My complete favorite book of all time is Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. It’s part of a series that mostly deals with prejudice and racism in a new light. The title references to what tic tac toe is referred to in Britain and it takes place in a world in which blacks are seen as superior to whites. It has references to real life events such as the apartheid in South Africa and also parallels Romeo and Juliet since the two main characters, Sephy and Callum, come from two families that have very different views in society and of course they’re in love. Also, races are not referred to by color in the novel but instead are referred to as Crosses or Noughts with Crosses being blacks and Noughts being whites. Overall, I like how Blackman is able to intertwine serious universal issues such as bigotry with more personal issues like love.

Movie Review

    My favorite movies of all time are classical Disney movies. These movies are amazing because they not only fascinated me when I was a child with all the animation and songs but even up to this day, I cannot get tired of Aladdin or Mulan or just about any other classic Disney movie out there. The latest movie I saw was Bambi so I guess I’ll review it. Bambi is a pretty simple movie that follows the life of a fawn trying to make it to buckhood with the help of his friends Thumper and Flower and his mom of course. The hidden meanings inside of Bambi are what make this movie one of my favorite Disney films because they teach you valuable priceless lessons such as never giving up and learning how to grow up. Also, I like how both the obstacles and highlights of Bambi’s life are emphasized throughout the movie to show that the cycle of life consists of both good and bad moments. I obviously think that Bambi is the most adorable fawn ever and pretty much all the animals in the movie are really cute when they’re little babies. The best part of the movie is the ending though because it leaves a lasting impression on you without being over the top but I won’t give it away for those people who have not  yet seen this amazing movie.

Art Review

Until a couple weeks ago, I never really gave art much thought. I knew that it surrounded me and whatnot but I never really went much further than that. One day though, while reading my APUSH book, I came across a type of art that was popular in the 1950s called abstract expressionism. It was really interesting to me the whole concept of letting your subconscious take over the art and just letting whatever you really feel go into it to make a creation. It’s probably my favorite kind of art just because it doesn’t even necessarily have to follow any rules. The only rule that seems to be implied is just having confidence to let yourself go and really paint whatever you feel like painting, instead of painting things that are conventional or traditional. The freedom of this style makes it appealing is what I’m trying to say.

            My favorite artists that use this technique are probably de Kooning and Rothko. I especially like Rothko because his paintings are really simple but they can mean a lot depending on how you want to view them, if you want to view them at all. I really like his use of color and how he doesn't really care whether it's completely coherent or not, it really is just his form on expression that comes out of it. Kooning uses more complex techniques and uses more colors in one painting. He tends to follow Picasso's method of abstractism. He was also more straightfoward with the messages he tried to spread through his paintings, especially those of society and culture criticism. Overall, I really do enjoy these two artists that sprouted out of the infamous abstract expressionist movement from the 1950s.

We Have the Right

          This is pretty broad because I feel like while we may have a lot of rights/freedom in some cases, in others we don’t. It’s only because it’s kind of hard to have a successful productive nation without having some regulations which we have to follow. These regulations in turn create restrictions for us and our rights as well. Sometimes that’s a good thing because the benefit of security is better than having the right to go on a killing rampage without any sort of consequences. Other times though, our restricted rights doesn’t equate to having security. I guess it really depends on your perspective of what rights are to you. I personally think though that our government is okay so far in trying to keep a balance between the two. I mean it could improve but when you think about it, essentially everything has room for improvement.

McCarthy's (Chicago's) Birthday Week

           I guess I’m a little late on this so happy belated birthday Chicago and McCarthy! Uhm so I’m not sure what I should really say other than happy birthday but I have 250 words to spare so I’ll say about how MY birthday week went last year. My birthday fell on a Saturday last year so it was a pretty awesome week because I had all week to anticipate it. My birthday week pretty much consisted of counting down the days until my actual birthday and eventually came down to counting down the hours. When it finally came, it was amazing. Well not really, but it was pretty great. I went to the Hard Rock Café with my friends where we ended up sitting next to this bachelorette party which was a little awkward since they had like veils with penises on them, I’m not even kidding. But other than that, it was a fun birthday weekend for me. So I hope you guys have awesome birthday weeks as well! J

X is Known

         This is probably trying to say how Malcolm is moving on from doubting himself when it comes to his participation in his Temple. He is slowly starting to grow more secure in his understanding of racial tensions and more confident in expressing these feelings. He is even starting to give speeches at his Temple and trying to let the Negro know that he has HUMAN rights to be treated equal to the white man. He also lets them know that the origin of man was a black man and therefore the white man has descended from a black man so if anything the white man owes the black man something. X is slowly starting to know himself and therefore is starting to get more into what would later become his civil rights movement. This is how I think X is known.

X Marks the Spot

      

    Malcolm X is starting to realize what he's all about. He is starting to find his new philosophy in life through his Islamic religion. This is the creation of the spot he is marking. Thanks to his family’s encouragement and his newfound love of reading, Malcolm is quickly becoming more involved with his religion mentally, physically, and emotionally. This X is showing a new point in his life where he has given up all his bad morals and viewpoints that he had during the time he was a hustler and peddler in Harlem and Roxbury.

  This X also represented a new life in a literal sense since he was willing to give up his name Little in exchange for Little. The reason why was because he believed Little was only giving the white man more power since that is the name that was given to his descendents when they entered America as slaves. X is marking an important part in Malcolm’s life in which he is able to open his eyes and broaden his horizons thanks to his newfound religion.

Album Review

             It’s really hard for me to do a whole album review because I get most of my music from Pandora so I tend to have a lot of different songs from different artists. One of the albums that I really love though is Everything in Transit by Jack’s Mannequin because it’s one of extremely few albums where I love every single song in it. Lately, I’ve been listening to “Bruised” so I guess I would say that song is my favorite. It is probably my favorite album just because it’s been six years since it came out and I’m not tired of listening to it. I think that’s when you know you’re pretty much in love with the music.

            A great part of the music in this album is the variety of artists that are included. The producer of the album was also the producer of Incubus (Jim Wirt) and Tommy Lee (from Motley Crue) did an amazing job playing the drums. Andrew’s voice is the part I love the most, it’s full of emotion throughout all his songs, and you really can feel the emotion he is trying to represent. All of this adds up to a great album which I love to listen to all the time, whether it’s after a super long exhausting day to calm me down or right before going out to get me pumped up.

I Know This Means Something

For some reason, this week has dealt a lot with self reflection for me. In my Brit Lit class, we’ve started a new theme called Faith and Doubt. At first, I thought it would be the same as with the other themes we’ve done but as tacky as it sounds, it’s really led me to wonder a lot about things I believe in. The hardest homework assignment I’ve had this whole week was to make a drawing of something I have absolute faith. It wasn’t until then that I realized how much doubt and mistrust makes up today’s world. The drawing aspect was completely doable; finding something that I really truly do believe in was another. Some important person once said that in order to really have faith in something, you had to doubt it and overcome that doubt in order to have faith in it. Our belief that we are living in a physical world and not in just someone’s dream shows the faith that we live in a real, tangible world. I guess what I’m trying to say is that up until this week, I never realized how important it is to have faith, and not always necessarily have proof or evidence in order to truly believe in something. Having faith in the people you love, in yourself, in humanity, and in the world is something that means something. I know it does. 

Ultimate Recipe

        One of my favorite snacks would definitely have to be arepas which are a Colombian delicacy. They are delicious and my favorite part about them is how easy they are to make. They also are perfect for just about anyone, whether you enjoy exotic or more ordinary foods. The following ultimate recipe will ensure you the most amazing, tasty arepas possible.

Ingredients:

·  1 cup arepa flour (precooked cornmeal)

·  1 cup crumbled ricotta salata or grated mozzarella (1/4 pound)

·  1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

·  1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preparation:

Toss together arepa flour, cheese, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl, then stir in water until incorporated. Let stand until enough water is absorbed for a soft dough to form, 1 to 2 minutes (dough will continue to stiffen).

Form 3 level tablespoons dough into 1 ball and flatten between your palms, gently pressing to form a 1/4-inch-thick patty (2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inches wide), then gently press around side to eliminate cracks. Transfer to a wax-paper-lined surface. Form more disks with remaining dough in same manner, transferring to wax-paper-lined surface.

Heat oil in a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then fry arepas in 2 batches, turning over once, until deep golden in patches, 8 to 10 minutes total per batch. Drain on paper towels.

Once you complete all these steps and are left with scrumptious arepas, go ahead and add a slice of cheese or some sausage links to finish off a guaranteed flavorsome snack that is sure to make your day!

Good Food Review

           In this world, there are a lot of people with a lot of different interests and hobbies. Something that the majority of us can agree on though is the enjoyment of good food. This past week, with the assignment we had and everything, I was able to go to restaurants more than I usually do. I really do like going somewhere new and eating something I’ve never tried before, especially when it turns out to be delicious.

           Well since this is supposed to be a good food review, I’ll review the latest food I had that I thought was well, good. Last night my Mom decided to make some tostadas which are one of my favorite homemade meals. They have just about every single flavor in them with the crunchy shell, spicy chicken, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce, and red beans to finish it off. I’ve always loved food that contains a variety of contrasting flavors that come out to an amazing delicious, yummy taste. I’ve never liked dull bland foods that consist of just one thing such as plain pasta or grilled cheese. I don’t mind them, I just don’t prefer them. Overall, good food for me is food that consists of several diverse tangy tastes. Again, this probably comes from the fact that I was raised up being exposed to so many different, out of the ordinary foods.

King Still King

            At first I took this the literal way, thinking of Medieval Times and whatnot. I then realized that Martin Luther King is this upcoming Monday and thought maybe that was the whole intention of this blog. Do I still think that King is King? In a way yes and in a way no. He still known for being one of most, if not the most important civil rights figure. There are very few people in this country who do not know who King is. The truth of the matter though, is King has turned more into a day where we have no school or work because after thirty years, the importance of his actions have not necessarily been forgotten but they just are not remembered in the same way. He is still a hero for his courage and guts to stand up for what he truly believed in, something many attempted. What exactly made him so different from all other activists? He not only had a humongous impact for the advancement of African American civil rights during his life but afterwards as well. He is really someone we could refer to when asking ourselves where our current society and culture would be if it weren’t for him. It’s odd to think that this great movement was around as little as forty years ago. Thanks to people like King though, humanity has been able to greatly advance in so little time.

I'm a Shoe

 

I am a pair of Converse shoes. Why? Well I like to think that I am a fun and relaxed person which is what comes to mind when you think of Converse. Converse shoes are shoes you can wear with t-shirt and jeans when you’re having a lazy day. They are also shoes you can wear with a dress to make it a more casual look. In other words, they are shoes that can go with essentially all your wardrobe. The versatility and flexibility of this shoe is what I can relate to because I don’t think I am rigid and inflexible.  I can be completely dressy and girly one moment and the next moment I can be lazy and casual.

            Converse are also classic shoes, they have been around since 1908. The reason why is simple: they are timeless shoes that can fit into any type of event. There Converse for every type of person, the more laidback pastel color lover to the more outgoing neon person. Converse don’t discriminate with age, everyone from infants to senior citizens wear them. This careless aura that the shoe gives is something I would also like to relate myself with. The fact that I love Converse and would wear them everyday makes them even better. Overall, Converse are pretty much the best.