Blog Posts

Wow! Our school just started back up from Thanksgiving break, and we are only three weeks away from yet another break, yet this time for Christmas! The Christmas season brings about a lot of excitement, but for me it also brings about a lot of pressure as to what to get my family and friends for Christmas. I will be the first to admit that I am not a very good gift-giver. So this year, with me having a job, I am wanting to make sure I am getting meaningful gifts for all of my family and friends.

Another reason I am very excited for the Christmas Season and for Christmas break is because it marks the end of the first semester and the end of first semester finals. It is always a huge relief for me going into Christmas break because there is no schoolwork to stress about and finals are put behind us. There is also the excitement of having a new semester with new classes to look forward to in order to switch things up.

Overall, I am really pumped about this upcoming holiday, and what it means. It comes with a lot of fun times spent with family and friends, and a good time for relaxing and reflection.

With this being my senior year in high school, there is obviously a lot talk being done about college, and a lot of questions from peers and teachers as to what colleges we’re planning on attending and what we are wanting to go for. This can put a lot of pressure on us students, and can sometimes be stressful to think about. However, I do believe it is important to think about these things and to plan ahead in order to be most prepared for college right around the corner.

I have been looking at three different colleges that I am considering going to. These three are Taylor University, Indiana Wesleyan University, and Grace College. I have already been accepted into both Indiana Wesleyan University and Grace College. A big factor I have been considering is the tuition cost, as I want to have as little student loans as possible. I am wanting to go to college to major in Christian ministry. I don’t have any exact plans as to what exact job I am wanting to go into with ministry, but I am trusting that God will guide me in that area to where He sees it is best fit for me.

Along with all of this stress, I have decided to just step back and rely on God in it. On my own, this can be a very overwhelming process and decision, but being able to lean on God and rest in Him throughout this decision has brought me a lot of comfort. I trust that wherever I end up is going to be best, and that whatever I encounter will work out for my good as God promises. Thank you guys for taking your time to read this post!

In my family we have always been big on togetherness and unity, and holidays have always offered a great opportunity to express these values. However, as the years have gone by, my three older siblings have since moved out of the house and into their own. This means that this year at Thanksgiving we weren’t all able to spend it together. Instead, two of my older siblings were able to come over for a small Thanksgiving breakfast, but my oldest sister Hannah was not able to make it.

After our small Thanksgiving get-together Hannah invited me to come over to her boyfriend Danny’s house to join him and his mother Irina for Thanksgiving dinner. At first, being so full and ready to nap from the morning, I hadn’t wanted to get out and do anything, however, she eventually guilt tripped me into accepting the invite. Something to note about my sister’s boyfriend and his family. He was born in Russia and moved to America when he was 7. His mother of course is very tied to the Russian culture as she has lived their for the majority of her life. When I got to their home, I was surprised to see the only food I recognized was the turkey. Every dish there was Russian. There were probably 3 different types of Russian styled salads, including beet salad, crab salad, and some sort of Russian potato salad. There was also some type of soup that Irina had made that was a very popular dish among Russians. It contained both beef and pork, and a lot of different vegetables. It was a really enjoyable time just getting to experience the different culture in a small way. Overall, I was grateful for this unique experience I got to have on Thanksgiving this year, and it was a pleasant change from the normal traditions I was used to.

I wanted to write my fictional story about the life of a hitman because I found this idea to be very creative and intriguing. I am planning for my story to be about the life of a hitman and his biggest job. I also would like to tie in the struggles of balancing his family life along with his work, and how he tries to conceal his work from his family. The inspiration behind this piece is a combination of my love for action movies throughout my life, and my past obsession with assassin video games. As a child I used to love this certain franchise of video games called Assassins Creed. The concept of the game and the tactics the assassins used were always so entertaining and fascinating to me, and I thought it would be a very interesting story to write about. 

I believe the voice of my character came from the typical action movies I have seen, and I developed my hitman, Leon, based off of the other hitmen I have seen in films. With this story, I intended to make an interesting and compelling story with memorable characters that is unique when compared to any story from the past. I wanted to come up with an original idea that I found to be entertaining. I believe the story line I planned out for my fictional story will absolutely draw readers in and immerse them into the complicated and dangerous life of Leon Claude Villin. I chose to focus so much on the hitman aspect of the story because I feel as though it is intriguing and exciting. I think that the action of the story will make readers more interested and enjoy my story more.

In class we watched a film and read a book titled The Little Prince. I learned a lot from this film especially regarding childhood and maturing. The film dealt a lot with the idea of growing up, but also maintaining one’s childlike innocence amongst a rapidly maturing world. This taught me that even though I will be experiencing a lot of growth and maturity throughout my lifetime, I still need to make sure I am not forfeiting my childhood in the process. While it is important for me to go through these things that mature and grow me, it is equally important for me to focus on my childlike self, and to make sure I am holding onto that. It is so common nowadays for teenagers my age to be so focused on growing up and becoming an adult that they forget all of the benefits and wonders of being a child. 

I learned from the story and film when we strip ourselves of any remnant of our childhood this can lead to some very evil things. For example, as we saw in the film the adults who were forced to grow up and ditch their childhood, looked miserable and depressed. While on the other hand, the old man in the story who was very much in touch with his childlike self was carefree and happy. 

Moral of the story, don’t be in a hurry to grow up. At least this is the main lesson that I took away from this story. I think this has changed my life because it has made me think twice about my actions as I am in high school and as I am growing. It had made me realize that I need to hold on to my childhood self and not throw it away.

Sunlight…peaceful and warming.

Breaking through the clouds and through the tree-line

To reach us.

Illuminating the black-and-white society,

creating contrast with everything we thought we knew.

Where is it’s origin?

Where does it come from?

Yet it rises nonetheless, like a trustworthy friend.

If we are patient at the time of sunset,

we will see it rise up again like…

like royalty it holds it’s spot in the sky,

goving life to everything.

What a joyous day it is when the sun rises.

Though sometimes…

Sometimes…

We can forget.

Let us not forget.

Let the breeze not distract us from the sun’s warmth.

The sun’s warmth.

It’s delicate nature is welcoming.

A crosswalk we can use to reach

The Son.

 

I really enjoyed writing this poem because of the creativity that went into it as well as the meaning I put behind the poem. I thought the concept of coming up with a poem made up of words we conjured through walking around the school was a really unique idea, and I wanted to make mine have an important meaning behind it. I put within my poem an underlying message of faith, and I was pleased with the end product of my poem. I wanted to post it on my blog to show others what I had done, and to possibly reach their hearts in someway through it. I hope you enjoyed reading this poem of mine, and thank you for your time!

I walk through and suddenly, everything takes on a dark purple haze, and gravity instantly loses it’s effects. I begin to float upwards in the huge expanse of dark space. I come to a point at which a diner comes into view. Not a typical diner, but the front has been ripped off revealing the counter and the seats, and the people.

As I float upwards I reach the entrance, and I step onto the tile floor of the diner resting in the middle of nothingness.

The people, are that of circus side-show freaks. Some with extra limbs. Others outrageously tall or small. The lighting is strange, not that of a normal diner, but it holds a sort of galactic or extraterrestrial vibe within it. Like something you’d see in a cartoon about outer space. The people sit and talk and laugh, and I watch them. Before I jump back off of the edge and slowly, yet peacefully levitate back to the ground…

…and walk back through the door.

I chose this poem because I really enjoyed the creative process that went into writing it. I felt as though I was able to tap into some strange source of creativity in my mind where I was able to find this foreign land that I described. Overall, I just enjoyed writing this type of creative and imaginative poem, and I hope you all enjoyed it as well!

 

For my show and tell object in class, I brought in a picture of my beloved dog buddy, who is a beagle-whippet mix. Buddy is extremely special to me, and we share a bond that is not commonly found between many people and their dogs. I can confidently say that I love my dog to the point in which I would die in his place if the need ever arose. My family got Buddy in August of 2013 which makes him five by this year. My dog means a lot to me as I have always been a dog lover, and have just recently been able to appreciate them as I’ve matured and gotten older.

My dog just recently got struck by a Fed Ex truck and got a laceration that reached down to his spine. I received the news while in my study hall from a text that my mom sent me. At the moment of her text I was unable to comprehend what my mother was trying to tell me even though the text she sent was very clear. For whatever reason, the words just did not connect to make sense in my mind. I was in shock. I remember going out in the hall to call her in a complete daze, everything in reality seemed to be slipping away. I talked to my study hall teacher and left school, so I could go to the emergency vet in case of the event that Buddy had to be put down. When I got there he was already undergoing emergency surgery to deal with his wound. We then received good news. He was going to be okay. The emergency vets went on to inform us of the complications of his injury, and told us of all the things that would have to be done in order to insure his recovery.

It was truly a miracle that Buddy survived the incident, and at that with no permanent injury or broken bones. I am truly thankful to God for not allowing the injury to be more severe than it was. Buddy has since been recovering extremely well, and is going to be having his drain removed a day after I am posting this. I love my dog dearly, and am extremely grateful that God has allowed me the gift of being able to spend more time and make more memories with this special pup.

Thank you for reading! Below are some pictures of Buddy and of his recovery from the accident.

Real Love…

Is not always making someone happy

because how many of us know, that what makes us happy,

is not always what’s best.

Real Love

Is doing what is best for someone.

When you love someone with real love—

you aren’t worried about offending them.

Real Love…

Is telling a child that they can’t have all the candy in the world.

Sure they may be mad at first,

and maybe they’ll think you hate them.

But you know that it is for their benefit.

Because…

You know what it was like to be a child, and you know

that all the the candy in the world,

as good as it might sound to a child, has it’s consequences…

like some serious dental issues.

Real Love…

Is calling someone out when they are making

destructive

or

harmful decisions.

Because you don’t want them to hurt.

Real Love is…

Misunderstood.

 

I typed this real love poem to share my thoughts on the concept of love, as well as my beliefs on what true love actually is. I think it is a common misconception in today’s society that love is simply this fleeting feeling we have with certain people from time to time, when in reality I truly believe that real love is an action, and that action involves doing what is best for other people. I decided to write this poem just to get my thoughts out in order to express my feelings and beliefs in some written way. I am very grateful for this platform we have been able to use in order to share our thoughts, and I feel as though it has been very beneficial to me.

This picture I have chosen from my camera roll tells of a story that holds a lot of value to me. It was taken a few years ago in the middle of my Level 2 test in Commando Krav Maga (CKM). I am a martial artist, and I used to train in CKM for about one and a half years. CKM is very unique from other traditional martial arts in that it is a combination of all the other arts. It is commonly referred to as the “stolen art” for this very reason. It was developed in Israel for the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) to use in combat at a time when war was being waged on all fronts. It is extremely practical and effective against things such as multiple attackers, knife or gun wielding attackers, and simply hand to hand combat. Another thing that is interesting about CKM is that it does not go by the belt system, it instead uses levels. There are eight levels total, and it takes 25+ years for a typical person to get to level 8.

In the picture, I am in the process of training to become level 2. This was my first test, and I had extensive preparation leading up to that day. More specifically, I was in the middle of the technique portion of the test, in which I had to rehearse all of the techniques I had learned up to that point from memory.

After this part, I went through what we called the “live” testing portion. This is the part of the test when I am attacked by multiple attackers for four minutes, right after doing an intense cardio workout. We had to carry one 50 pound sandbag in each arm while sprinting back and forth across the room from wall to wall, while being timed. The time we had was determined by having us sprint one lap as fast as we could, that time was then multiplied by the number of laps we had to do (10), and we were expected to run each lap as quickly as we had for our first one. Obviously this idea was put together with the intentions of us failing, and when we inevitably did we had to walk the bags back and forth 10 times. If it puts it into perspective, one of my training partners pinched his sciatic nerve from doing this, and was consequently out for about 6 months. As soon as I had touched the wall the tenth time, four of my training partners armed with training knifes, guns, and the intention to make it as difficult as possible for me, surrounded me and began attacking.

After being completely physically exhausted, I had to put to test all of the things I had learned for the past year. At the very end of the four minutes in the “live” portion, my head instructor picked up a gun and held it to me, which I knew was my final test. However, what I was not ready for, was the open handed smack across the side of the head that I received.

In the end though, I did pass my test and was promoted to level 2. This was an extremely gratifying moment for me, and this picture represents a day of my life that I am very proud of.