McFarland, USA

Yesterday I went to see a movie with my dad and sister, and my sister and I wanted to see a cute animated film, but my dad wanted to see this inspirational film called "McFarland". We eventually gave in after watching a tear-jerking commercial about the bond between a father and his daughter which pleased my dad and left us annoyed yet wanting to hug our dad too. The movie was about a group of Mexican pickers who wake up at dawn and work in the fields in extreme heat and then go to school all day, but through this exhausting work, they became fast runners. A football coach who was recently fired, moves to McFarland and after a few days, notices how fast one of the boy runs as he heads off to work. He then creates a cross-country team and these boys end up winning the state championships. These kids went from having nothing to getting an opportunity to turn their life around by instead of going to jail like most of their relatives have, they ran their way into college. This was a very inspirational story that allowed me to think that even when an outcome seems to be the only option present, I have the ability to change the future and through hard-work, anything is possible. I have the ability to change my destiny and become the person I want to be.

I Live For...

There are so many people who tell you what it is you are supposed to live for wherever you look; online, on posters, in books, etc. There are even people who get payed to do so! But to answer the question truthfully, it takes major digging within oneself and paying someone to come up with an answer that sounds noble enough doesn't sound too bad in comparison. But for me, besides telling you that I do live to experience all that life has to offer, I live for my family and those I know to hopefully be a positive influence in their lives. Most importantly, I do this for my mom. Her only wish, whether it's for her birthday or if I ask what she wants on any given occasion, it is that I succeed in whatever I do, mostly academics-wise so that I get good grades, go to a top university, and I grow up to be highly successful. This is what she lives for and this is what I also live for, too. My purpose is to balance fulfilling her goal by doing well in school and being successful, while also living life to the fullest by going on adventures and just being a teenager. It is hard because these two clash more than you would think, but I am always happier when I work to fulfill my mom's goal because quite frankly, if she's happy, I'm happy, and it's the least I could do for her being such an awe-inspiring mother and my best friend.

Because I'm Happy...

What makes me happy?
1. My family
2. Being alive in this world
3. Opportunities given to me by others

What makes me unhappy?
1. Stress- can fix by spending more time for myself, relaxing, exercising, not procrastinating, staying organized...
2. The amount of time I waste procrastinating- can fix by spending less time thinking or traveling too slow, be productive right after school, balance soccer and exercising with school, less time on phone...
3. Need to spend more time with family- can fix by spending my relaxing time with them, being more open to talk, being nicer to my siblings, choosing to spend time with them instead of friends...

Why do only the prettiest flowers get picked?

              A time I experienced loss was when I was around nine and my grandpa and aunt died a couple of weeks within each other around my birthday. I at first didn't really know what happened or what was going on, but in the back of my mind I knew it was because of the monster named cancer that was eating up both their hearts. The memory of that time is clouded with fog, but I do remember walking out to see my dad, full of giddiness and cheeks stretched into a smile because it was my birthday, only to find him extremely stressed so I immediately got shooed away. I cried not realizing the effects of the deaths of my two very special loved ones on my parents and labeled that day as the worst birthday ever. 
               After much thought about the situation as I sat in my room alone, I realized that birthdays are not just a day solely revolving around me and that I need to make room for other people. I decided to not be mad at my parents for not celebrating my birthday because it was my aunt's and grandpa's lives that needed to be celebrated most because they had wonderful lives that needed everyone's attention and theirs marked a significant point. I was very confused on why both of them had to die at the same time, even at all, but then I thought to myself for a long time and almost felt empathetic to the cancer, because it wanted to be inside two of the most amazing people I knew and although I wished it wouldn't be them or anyone, I needed to accept that these two glorious flowers were the chosen ones to be picked.

Humans Vs. Nature

Ever since humans have been thrust upon this Earth, it's been a constant battle with their fellow life-forms - nature. This epic battle starts with the generous nature providing food, air, and an environment for their human guests to dwell in. Soon, however, the greed and selfish attitudes of man take too much and give so little, angering nature. Fury arises with storms, hurricanes, and typhoons raging and breaking up the glorious sky. Man combats with the destruction of trees, using technology as its secret weapon and ultimately having the upper-hand in this ever-lasting war. All nature wanted was to provide for the humans, but they wanted more, and by making their lives better, they made nature's life worse. It is only a matter of time until nature grows wary and is defeated, but one cannot exist without the other, so the only losers of this war can be man. The only solution: a balanced coexistence.

Me vs. Me

Without truly knowing it, we all face our toughest battles each and every day with the toughest opponent of all. Ourselves. The heart wants what it wants, yet your brain is pushing you through reason and logic, and by the end, you're in a tug-o-war match with your internal thoughts and feelings. I was asked by a student to recall a challenge I had to overcome and find a lesson out of the hardship. But in order for me to pick out a meaningful lesson, I had to succumb to backing down and allowing the opponent to be won so I could learn something from it, because humans learn most from mistakes and a loss of some sort. That's just how we work... it's selfish really that we cannot open our eyes unless we are halted by some means of a sort, but that's how we, at least I, usually work. 

I always have to be right. Yes, I just exposed my Achilles heel and the one clink in my armor, but this is my hamartia that i struggle to get past. So, the other day when I was driving, my mother told me that I had to turn in a turning lane that I did not see. I did not listen because I thought I was doing everything right and argued that my driving instructor told me otherwise. But, on the day of the test, that was the only mistake I made, not turning from that lane. The stabbing of the knife through my heart from the mistake got twisted by the handle because my mother was right and if I had listened to her, I could have prevented it. I vowed to never argue with the advice she or anyone of that matter, kindly offers to me and to not set my pride and dignity on the weight of always being right, because I am not. 

Listening is sometimes better than talking, 
 Allison :)

Singing Lessons

          For the singing lessons starting January 5th, I decided after many days of considering my plethora of options, that I would sing Viva La Vida by Coldplay, relating it to the biblical stories my English class read. I chose this song because although it is one of my favorites, each verse references the bible. Not only that, it is fairly easy to point out bits and pieces of the references even without extensive biblical knowledge. The catchy tune makes it easy to remember and it gets annoyingly stuck in one's mind, allowing the biblical references I am required to teach to be absorbed and remembered by my "students". The song allows the listener to reflect on the previous lines with subtle pauses and this light-hearted song actually contains very hard and dense religious material ranging from the Old and New Testament with various meanings, leaving room for interpretation. I chose to teach about the bible because many songs on the radio reference religion and I would like myself and others to be taught how to look for these hints in songs and relate them to what we learned in 10th grade English. These refernces are everywhere in a teenager's favorite tune stuck in their head, but once I point them out in an extremely prevalent hit single, hopefully people will try to find other songs with religious meanings and will find how easy it is to break the song down and understand each lyric. 

            I plan to teach about these biblical references by making it mostly up to my "students" to pin-point each reference themselves and show them different view points with room for interpretation. This song can branch out with many different meanings so I plan on including as many unique standpoints as I can. Since my goal is to prepare my "students" with the ability to find religious meanings in other songs they listen to, I will have pictures hung up for the kids to look at while I sing, along with the music video, so they can try to link the picture with a line in the song (also for interaction purposes so they do not get bored). I will have a PowerPoint for after, explaining the references, which will include a multitude of pictures, videos, and interactive thinking questions. I am also going to either have students come up or raise their hands for feedback purposes, or create a quick game to get their minds thinking and challenging them to create their own interpretations.