Thanking Religion?

The idea of a God, and the lack of one, has been vital to my intellectual prosperity; to understand this occurrence one must look at my upbringing. In the early years of my childhood my parents were lenient when it came to matters regarding religion. However this suddenly changed about the time I was nine; by going to church my parents had initiated an impregnation of our home with religious dogma, from the ubiquitous holy imagery to the constant religious visitors. My environment was being enthralled with religion.

The predicament with this is that religion has this intellectual restrictive property; that limits the range of one's ken greatly. Let me explain. Belief requires a sort of surmising that borders on the insane. In the realm of belief God is all-knowing, and the bible is the source of all truth. This leads to great limitations in education, for if the bible contains all truth what is the point of exploration. Why go to school or do research if you could just stay home and read the bible or any other holy text. This was the type of thinking inflicting my mind, and I was happily ignorant of this for five years.     

Richard Dawkins abruptly stopped this period of complete ignorance one evening as I was reading his book called The God Delusion. Prior to this act of religious defiance one must get a feeling of the atmosphere leading up to this one moment. During this time I was exploring new areas of knowledge that were considered taboo to my religion. I was learning about the germ theory, big bang theory, and the evolution theory; ideas and concepts that labeled me an iconoclast to my community. However I kept on learning because these ideas were expanding my ken to new reaches that my religion could not and would not do. Furthermore, this new-found intellectual freedom catalyzed a hunger for more knowledge that persists to this very day. In this regard I find myself thanking religion for truly awakening the scholar in me.

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Glisten of Chastity

                                    Glisten of Chastity

   The whore lies in the bed bleeding. She weeps quietly there alone. Clouds edge up against the side of the bed and lift her to the cool winter night.

"Come let me see your face. Look into the dark splats of beauty in your eyes"

She raises her head to the blinding voices. Red pouring to the ground. The streets look weak from this hieght.

"What fair star fell beneath your skin that you had a crystal spark? Look at this figure before your eyes, it is your being."

                                                     
                                                       -Silence-

Cool winds pass giving a warm arousing sensation. She looks to the side to where the Earth has made its distance.The moon erupts suddenly into the sky with a silhouette figure descending

"You have darken your flesh. Here I am"

He moves smoothly onto her body onto the slit in her legs from which she bleeds.

"Let me taste the blood of which your soul has become."

His tongue moves over it. She looks onto the figure of whom remains silhouettte.

"There it is. The hallow black that fills your voids."

He plunges his arm deep in her abyss launching roars of groans. Tears floods here eyes. Hands clenched on the sheets she screeams.

"Here, bare witness to what was yor demise"

He holds it to her face as she begins to cry a broken cry. Blood now rushing out from her.

"You once told me you loved me. You once told me you glisten in glee for me, but you fell in his rage. You now bleed his blood!"

The river runs dry. No more blood. From the sky he gestures his hand as though grasping its infinity. With a whiten glow he places it against her chest . He cuts at his wrist bleeding.

"Here now, I give you life"

She awakes to his face.

"I want to love you" - She

He grasps her thighs and burrys deep with a rhymic beat. Moans fill the air.

"Taste the light that you crave inside you."

She embraces it fully, kneeling before his legs, bobbing her head.

"Eat now for you had hunger for life, you lost it in your demise."

The moon spills onto the bed molding into a chalice. He releases his flow onto it.

"Drink for it will brighten your soul."

She grabs the chalice pouring the smooth white liquid into her.

"Look into my eyes. I now proclaim you free of what you were, here now is light."



"Do you love me?"

"Yes"- She

He grabs her breast squeezing them until she screamed.

"Do you love me?"

"Yes"- She

He claps his hands an fire spit onto her body, burning.

"Do you love me?"

"Yes"- She

He snaps his fingers and a thousand arrows pierce her flesh.

"Do you love me?

PAIN, SCREAMS

"Yes"-She

He placed a blade in her palm directing it to his chest.

"Stab me if you do not."

"I do, I do love you."

He looks into her eyes and smiles .
He sings.
The skies melt onto the bed drowning her,as he flies away......air.....come..........back..........












She awakes into a soft silk bed. The room nicely painted. Floor coated in marble tiles. She gets up, opens the door and sees.....

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Thoughts From A Nobody

 Our world is continually going through a repetitive metamorphosis; 200 years ago we had barely conquered the means of using electricity, yet here we are conquerors of the digital age. What lead to these inconceivable alterations in human history? In my opinion, we owe all of this gradual progression to the great thinkers who innovate and invent. This leads me to wonder, where am I in this maelstrom of new trendsetters? Progression is not going to stop and new catalysts are needed to lead the new millennium into grandeur.

 The human mind is a mutable entity that embodies inconsistency to the fullest. However this tendencies to change is not a faux pas in part of the evolutionary process, but an endowment in some sorts. Due to this attribute we are able to always dream and aspire for betterment in our society because we know we are capable of it. Once we see the extent of our abilities we get a bit greedy and want more. Bigger skyscrapers, faster production, better technology, yet in this fuss we taint our gains. Ultimately, ironically, undoing the progression, yet we move forward; we are truly a comical being. 

This leads me to the internal impasse that inspires this post. Where am I in this maelstrom of new trendsetters? I see the news, the internet, the ever disappearing newspapers blasting into my face the accolades of these new age prodigies. There unlikely triumph over adversity, only strengthening their labels as scholars. These ambition that I have, are they unwarranted? I feel a sense of worthlessness when I think of the workaday contribution I have, and potentially will continue to have, on our society. Is it wrong that I want to do something to ameliorate the problems facing our world?

Are these feelings just fueled by personal gain? Is it that I want to be the center of attention, I want to be recognize, I want people to be proud of me? These are all things that I desire, but are they the sole reason I want to do good? And could this self-interest motivate not only my reasons to be good, but motivate the good we see in all human beings? This sensation of inadequacy still looms over me like a dark cloud; writing this post is almost as insignificant as my complaint. I am not sure if I will or will not make a contribution to the human race. But why must I feel bad about it?  

-Superbia et Occupatio

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Late Night Thoughts

I have always felt that my life has been nothing short of uneventful. I went day by day thinking that nothing was ever going to change. I felt so small and insignificant. I was only doing what seemed to be expected of me but nothing more in order to avoid problems. And I remember starting high school, it made me feel that feeling with fervid intensity. I remember walking down the halls and feeling invisible. People could see right past me, never giving me a second glance. I was so angry and fussy back then. Ha ha.

Of course, I don’t feel this way anymore. I have long since realized that no one is really putting me down on purpose and that my life isn’t as meaningless as I had once thought. I think that sometimes a big obstacle of ours is only seeing what we have left to do instead of seeing how much we have done. Stepping back and reflecting on what you’ve done can change a lot about your attitude towards things. I wasn’t stepping back to see my accomplishments, no matter how small they were. Sometimes our greatest accomplishment could be getting up from bed one morning. Sometimes our greatest accomplishment is to start the day.

Looking back at this year, I realize a lot of things have happened to me. I’ve earned a scholarship to study under amazing, respected artists who encourage us to pursue our goals. I've talked to important, talented artists who took the time to look at my drawings and demonstrate for us how they work themselves. And I've talked to one of my favorite voice actors from my favorite childhood cartoon because she had recognized some of my fanart. I'm just so grateful and happy that my hard work has brought me so much happiness. And I just can’t say my life is uneventful anymore. I mean, I would have never guessed that any of it would ever happen to me. And what makes me happier is that if it happened to me, then it could certainly happen to someone else. Someone else can have the chance of being just as happy.

Sometimes we should just step back and see how many great things have happened to us. How many obstacles we have overcome. How we have all accomplished something. How the world would have never been exactly the same without you.

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Gerome & Lily

Gerome: Tis it a fair day

Lily: Tis it fine

Gerome: I wonder how the sky is on the other side

Lily: Where?

Gerome: To where the lake falls beneath the sea. To where the sun awakes and sings. To where the flowers cascade through the open basin.

Lily: The words of which you speak what do they try to convey.

Gerome: My dearest Lily now that I have return from my long treacherous journey, from which danger lurks on thee grandest of scale. I have seen the stars across foreign skies. Now I have come to the lands of which brought my birth. I remember the day of which I first laid eyes on you.

Lily: Gerome. Of what message are you trying to let out.

Gerome: The sky was overcast..

Lily: Gerome no. Do not bring about these memories that long been in our past.Thy know of my engagement to Fredrick. I most honor it or my father will disown me of my family. Art thou know of this. The times between us should be left in its abyss.

Gerome: Lily please listen to me. When I peer into your sky I see all those things. The blue sapphires glisten amongst the moon. They reveal to me the world of which light constructs the realms. I long to come to stand before your presence to melt in your sweet delight. The infinite words I could speak of thy soul. The melodies the angels may sing for your graceful movements. Now Lily, thy soul has me at its mercy. Feel my heart. My heart that has beat in joy from the moment it saw thee that fair day in our youth. The vicious course of time has wounded me so. I present you with my entire possession. My love that holds me still. But please fairest Lily if thy were to reject my request take thy cleanest sword and drive it to my demise.

Lily: Gerome. Thee speaks of the most gracious words, but how can I leave my duties? How can I live with such dishonor?

Gerome: How can you allow me to burn before your presence? You once told me of the one true virtue: Love. Have you forgotten of such words?

Lily: Gerome......I..

Gerome: Lily. Now look deep into my eyes as I do to yours......What mystic beauty. Now tell me you don't love me as I do. Tell me your heart doesn't say my name with every beat.

Lily: ......Gerome...I..I do...I do love-

[Morning arose and the flames burst along the walls. The ground shattered open and consume them whole.]

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A Certain Type Of Stupidity

Have you ever had a crippling embarrassment over being incapable of possessing the same skills as others? Recently, I went to a college day that my art program was holding. Everyone seemed so much more experienced than I was. I felt embarrassed to even say that I had work to show. I had never experienced anything like it, and it made me wonder what made me feel this way and if others felt the same way at times. 
I realized that it happens a lot more frequently than we would like to admit. Truth is, in an ordinary school, the same thing is happening all the time. The school is constantly ranking us on our ability to follow their system of judgement. Follow instructions, do your work, get good grades, don’t do anything else. If you have a high gpa or if you have advanced classes, people often assume that you are a very intellectual person. I would try to stay away from that type of thinking since that means that those who don’t do the same aren’t very smart. Which is absolutely not the case. The people who are considered very smart are just able to follow or cheat the system into working in their favour. The others just aren’t interested or capable of this type of intellect. Which isn’t very fair since there’s many types of intellect, I think. Someone in a lower level class might possess a skill someone from a higher level class doesn’t. If we judge them solely by this skill, then we could say that the person from the higher level class is “stupid” in the area. We don’t often see it this way though, since we’re so used to a sole type of intellect, the one forced upon us by the educational system. We hold certain skills to have more value than others. But I leave you with one of my favorite quotes: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”- Albert Einstein

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Time....

 Time. We see it through the actions that flow behind. It is curious how in one instance you are in the present and the other in the past. With this realization it is important that we cherish every moment of our lives. I am a high school senior and I know in just a few months all my friends will be going their separate ways. I've try to image being in the future and remembering this moment. I want to be able to recall a moment well spent.

It seems as though I slept one day as a fragile infant and awoke a grotesque beast. Its strange I see my hand everyday at it feel the same but I see the mirror and see it has changed. In a couple of waves my horns will extent and I will be dead.

"Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present"

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The Unkown

What makes this story so eery; why does this small package of words evoke such disturbing emotions. The answer is quite simple the unknown, what we don't know is what we are most terrified of. This concept could explain our obsession as a human race to explore and expand our knowledge; to reduce the dark regions of the unknown. It is quite funny that all our strives and achievements could all be motivated by fear. Does this devalue our inventions and discoveries; I don't think so. However it does provide us with fresh perspective on ourselves. What else is motivated by subtle entities like fear, the possibilities our beyond my ken, the horror they evoke.

-Pride&Ownership

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A Sea In A Turtle

The breeze of the open ocean caresses his face as he drives the boat. The boat is pulling a banana shaped floating device with tourists, or as he would call them “gringos”, on top of it. It was the middle of the day and he was weirdly tired. The sun burned in the horizon; making it uncomfortably hot, but this is what he expected living in Acapulco. He cut the trip short and headed back to the beach with the tourist.

He loved the beach, it was the only life he knew. He walked around the pier looking out into the ocean. He was scared; he had everything he wanted, but he was putting everything in jeopardy. He roamed around a bit more heading towards the aquarium; his aquarium.

This love of aquatic life was a hidden gem; uncovered by the opportunities brought forth by his unexpected successes. There was a whole variety of fishes and other aquatic mammals in the aquarium. He liked to just wander around and observe the animals. However one that really caught his attention was the turtle. He stared at the turtle; its size astonished him, Its movements so graceful. I stood there touching the glass with my face, eyes closed I was able to feel it move. He opened his eyes confronted with the eyes of the majestic beast from the sea. The turtle’s eyes looked into him, almost with compassion. That is when he saw it, the light of the ocean.

-Pride&Ownership

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A letter...

 Dear Enigma,

Time is short; I know this trite statement seems laughable to you because of its obvious truth. However these three simple words have never been more eminent before. Your death felt like an emotional band-aid being ripped away; leaving me with a scar. Time has only been a pacifier; I have yet to cope.

I' am yet to fully understand you. Your premature departure did not give us enough time. However through those short five years together we still connected rather powerfully, but yet I am left feeling dubious. You were always an enigma, so there is a possibility you purposely left me with such questions; why?  

-Pride&Ownership

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Spirit Week

 Once again spirits spirit enthralled the very being called the students of Firebaugh High School. This mass of spirit is concentrated into one week which is nicely named spirit week. This is where everyone, as minimal as it might be, shows their falcon spirit. I personally did not participate on the festivities due to my forgetful nature. However that did not stop me from enjoying and vicariously sharing in the spirit of the week.

Now the first day of this pep riddled week was named sports day aimed at letting fellow students, mostly males, to advocate their loyalty to whichever sports team they follow. During that day I saw a whole range of sports jersey. Every region of sport was represented; from basketball to baseball everything was there. The one predominant sport was soccer however. I blame this on the high concentration of Latinos; I mean I wanted to bring my sport jersey too, GO CHELSEA FC!!!

The next day, that I was able to remember, was dedicated to comic book heroes. Due to the fact that a blockbuster movie called "The Avengers" was barely released this year. The overall theme was heroes associated with that exact franchise. Some people even brought costumes, which was rather neat and sort of redundant considering that Halloween was the very next day.

Which leads me right into Halloween; which fell right in the middle of our spirit week. A lot of people came in costumes and all dressed up. There was some good ones and bad ones, but an overall good vibe was had. We even got a Halloween theme cookie for lunch, neato no?

The main day was scrabble day; which gave students a chance to express ridiculous and fun messages through shirts with letters on them. This is usually the most popular day due to the fact that anyone can pick a phrase or word, photograph themselves and their friends representing the word through their shirts and have a rad picture to share on their Twitter or Facebook. I personally liked when the word "seniors" was spelled out, Go Seniors!!

-Pride&Ownership  
 

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Two Shades Of Homecoming

Homecoming was both a disappoint and an actual treat; why this contradiction you might ask. Well homecoming is split into two events: the football game and the dance. In my opinion, the football game was a disappointment and the dance was a treat (for most of the time). To fully understand my position I think I'll explain why the game was a disappointment first.

The first thing that was really disappointing was that the game was held at the stadium of our arch rivals Lynwood High School. Now I am aware that this was something that is beyond the schools control because our school doesn't have a stadium and is too small to get one. However the feeling of not having this game at our campus still takes hold. Next came a real disappoint; which was that the school our team was suppose to take on did not show up. This resulted in the game being forfeited and that was essentially the end of the night. No not really, but that was the whole purpose of going to this event; to see my school's team play and win. After this misfortune the cheerleaders and drill team performed making something out of a disappointing night. I did not even get a refund!!

Next came the dance; which was really fun and enjoyable. It started off rather slowly however, due to a miscommunication by ASB. However as people arrived and the music started going the event came to life, people started dancing and enjoying themselves; I even broke through my shell and danced with the rest of my friends. However one thing that was not at the standard of the dancing was the food. The food was literally two pieces of bland strips of chicken with a supposed salad on the side. Let me just tell you that I don't like salad at the best of days, but that salad looked like it came straight out the garden; there was an enormous raw mushroom in it.

However in the whole scheme of things; the dance was a great success in my eyes. Hope the next one remains at the same standards.

-Pride&Ownership       

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San Diego

I recently went on a trip to the sub-Californian city of San Diego; the purpose of the trip was to visit the universities of San Diego State and UC San Diego. Before I talk about the universities themselves, I would like to talk about the way to San Diego. There is only one word that describes the journey to San Diego; tedious. The trip going there took a whopping 3 hours; a quarter of the trip was spent on that bus.

However not all was bad, the view of the ocean was brilliant, especially as we approached the universities. As the hours seem to prolong themselves, I was able to rest for the first time in these fatigue rigged weeks. It was a torturous blessing you could say. However the main attraction was finally reached around 11 o'clock. We first went to SDSU, which is known to be a "party" school; that was the exact impression I received from visiting the university throughout the tour. In an overall sense the school appeared lively; with alumni roaming around happy to answer our questions and showing there jubilant natures.

One item that really stood out for me was the gym; which was an enormous establishment. The exercise equipments were renewed at a reasonable rate, even a climbing wall was in there; awesome. The academics were not touched on much and we were mostly shown the facilities and great student life. However some tidbit I was able to absorb was the surprising 100% job outlook for their criminal justice major.

Next came UC San Diego; the environment looked somber, but maybe that was just the clouds that blocked out the sun and sent a chill breeze to refresh us from the heat from hours past. However this negative ambiance was shaken off and the tour began. We were told about the opportunities to study abroad at the school; which was an exciting prospect for my classmates, but a sad limitation for me. Then we saw the library which looked like a space ship and had a Dr. Suess statue in front of it. We then talked to some alumni about student life in UC San Diego and ended the escapade by talking to a admission representatives.

However the real highlight of the trip came afterwards; where we went to the beach. Now the beach was relatively close to the university, but the real strain came in the form of steep hill leading to the beach. The way down was not so bad; with the constant threat of losing balance and rolling down to our inevitable death. Midway down we stopped to see a spectacular view. In which there was two ridges of two mountains left a strip in the middle filled with the beach and horizon; the sun almost setting giving it an orange glow. Once we reached the bottom, we had a good time running around, but never touching the water. The last part of the trip was the least enjoyable since going back up would be a mission. It was a very extraneous ordeal, but one that I enjoyed because of the excessive exercise.

Leaving I was very tired, but happy to have experienced this. I now could see where I would like to go for college and made fantastic memories as a senior. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and am happy to be a part of the Avid Class Of 2013!!!

-Pride&Ownership                      

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Movie Night: The Avengers

 It was the nineteenth of October and I found myself heading to my school at seven o'clock at night to see a movie. The night was of the cloudy sort with a kiss of a chilly breeze; fortunately I had brought my sweater. The scene was just right for a classic outdoor screening for a horror flick. However the movie shown today was The Avengers. It didn't take long for me to arrive at the school that would serve as a movie theater for the night. The admission price was a very affordable one dollar; you received a complementary button of your choice for the purchase. I had arrived a couple minutes early, so I took the liberty to explore the establishment prior to the movie showing.

There was a total of three booths, two of which sold refreshments and one that sold buttons. The button booth was of no interest to me, so to no surprise I headed to refreshment stand first. I first went the booth that sold only two items: cookies and bagged cheesy popcorn. What really astonished me and made me seriously concerned for the well-being of my wallet that night were the prices. Two dollars for popcorn! Enough said. This idea of overpriced food made my hunger dissipate at an alarming rate. However I did purchase some coffee and pizza at an understandable total of 3.75$.

It did not take long for the night to get going and the movie began without a hitch. Now I had seen the movie prior, so watching the movie was a redundant exercise. However the reason I went to this school event was not for the cinema, but for the social experience. I speculate that most of the other alumni there were present for the same motives. I had a splendid time watching the movie with my friends; adding on to the experience as a whole.

I can say with full confidence that the whole event was an enjoyable one. The music and jubilant atmosphere were a forecast of the great night ahead. The movie was great and the setup was perfect to get the most out of the experience. I heard that another Movie Night was being planned; I can't wait for it.       

 

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Is Pure Altruism Possible?

 First of all, to have a relevant opinion on this, we need to know what altruism is. Altruism is the practice of a selfless act for the well being of others. In other words its doing something for someone, no matter the risks, for nothing in return. This is what my classmates and I had to discuss in our Theory of Knowledge class and ponder on whether this is possible or not. We were able to come up with several opinions on this and even took sides on the matter. It was an intriguing topic for us. Amazingly however, being so early in the morning, we were able to come up with some rather brilliant presumptions.

I believe pure altruism is not possible. One of the reasons is because what one of my classmates pointed out, we can't tell whether a person is altruistic or not because we don't know what they're feeling. You are not also capable of self judging yourself whether you are showing an act of pure altruism because just thinking about whether you committed that act will show that you really didn't do it for the well being of others, but instead to self acknowledge yourself. Whether it's a big risk you are taking in order for the well being of others, or a simple act of kindness, there will always be some kind of acknowledgement, whether it's from self or other people. You're still getting something in return, whether you want it or not.

Another reason why I don't believe in pure altruism is because of religion related arguments. In Christianity, God is supposedly the ultimate being and that all human beings should believe in him and give thanks to him for everything we have. Clearly this is not pure altruism. So if the "ultimate being" is not able to reach this, how will it ever be possible for a human to reach it. Some other arguments would be how the Christian religion believes that you have to believe in Jesus Christ in order to enter "heaven" because of his sacrifice he did for mankind. This is not a pure altruism either. This is from a religious point of view though.

In the end it was really fun topic to discuss in our class because of the various opinions that most of the time did make sense but would then be contradicted by something else and so on and so on. In my opinion, I would consider this as a paradox because we'll never really know what an act of pure altruism really feels like or tell whether a person is being purely altruistic or not. However, now that I think about it, maybe it is possible. For example, I'm sure most of us have all experienced this, where your parent makes you give your toy to your little brother in order to make him happy but makes you mad. Therefore, you're doing something good and get nothing in return. Unless your parent acknowledges you in some way, then you are getting something in return making it not selfless. Yea it's not possible.

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College Applications

 
     "I can't wait till I start applying to college", that's how I used to think when I was about 12 years old, but now I wish that I never had to apply. Now that the time has come and college application are open, I am stressing out over how to get certain information. I'm thinking how am I suppose to get in my SAT scores if I already put in my scores in the application, why would it ask for the same information twice. I kept hearing form previous seniors "I'm busy with college applications", but they never told me how stressful it is to fill out the application. I didn't know half of the things they were asking for, I either had to talk to my parents or talk to my teacher to get some help.
 

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The Rally of Max Pep!!

As I entered the packed gymnasium, filled with M.A.Firebaugh High School alumni, the atmosphere is electric. The pure energy felt throughout the relatively small enclosure was undeniable. An unaltered spirit of what it meant to be a Firebaugh High School student hit me as I entered the "area of max peppiness". The layout was practical and very well organized: freshman in the middle sitting in chairs, on the left bleachers a mixture of sophomores and juniors, and in the right bleacher the rest of the juniors with the undeniable head of the pack seniors. More after the jump.

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Pep-Per Rally

Today I witnessed yet another attempt of pep evoking mania by the Active Student Body. Throughout the presentation I could not help but notice a repetition of the same formula used to cook up these pep rallies. The previous two classes did the same music plus games plus candy equals a pep concoction.I don't want to put too much emphasis on this sole pep rally, but it could serve as a precursor of what we can expect of the cabinet of students in charge of our senior activities. Kudos to them because I would not be able to handle such a herculean task. But I digress back to the pep rally.

As I approached the area of max peppiness I could notice a rather desperate cry for seniors to come and participate in the rally from our senior class president. She was courteous enough to give use a explicit countdown to the rally. This of course had the desire affect as a herd of seniors came and congregated near the rally area. There was a game involving hula hoops, but this is pretty much all I can say on the subject because this was about the time the pep didn't captivate me and I left the rally. I want to make it clear that this is not because of the rally itself, but my inability to be pepped or rallied.

However I did return because well I needed some material to write this very intriguing post. As I returned I saw that the people were having a shouting contest over shirts, I wonder what they would do for pants or socks? However our gracious student leaders threw the shirts in the air for everyone to fight for. Funny thing is that a junior ended up getting a shirt, afterwards he was called out for it and swiftly returned it. To finish up the pep rally delicious and mouth pleasing MnMs were given away. So this was an interesting beginning to our senior year, hopefully it keeps in this boisterous attitude. 

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Club Rush

Day 1: Today was the first day of CLUB RUSH!!! Wait whats that you say well lets first start by describing club rush as a whole. Club rush is when the collective whole of all clubs in FHS gather to coax people to join their cause. It is held in the gym where booths all around ranging from Leo club to Anime club. Many of the most popular clubs were at the front of the gym and the rest scattered to take the next available spot in the hierarchy; my booth was near the entrance, which in retrospect was a pretty good spot. As people came, I could easily spot the ones who new what they were doing. They usually went directly to Leo club to sign up and left before the avalanche of people arrived. The first day was very energetic and boisterous, probably because again it is the first day. Hopefully it will continue to have this level of energy.

Day 2: "What is this about" has become the standard introduction in the event called club rush. I have been asked this question so many times today, it was close to irritation. However this inquiry was to be expected, but enough about my troubles what about club rush. Well today was the equivalent of the massive low you get after a sugar rush. Yes, the club rush has died down a bit. There was enough people to not make the event embarrassing and maybe I am over exaggerating, but the decrease in people is evident. This was to be expected though, maybe we should only have club rush in two days, whats with the third day. Oh well.

Day 3: I didn't go, so yeah.....
  

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The Plight Of A Senior

They always told me it was not going to be easy, but they sure didn't tell me it was going to be this frustrating. I have official been a senior for about three weeks and I have completely gone bonkers. As of now I have about a million thoughts a second being process by a brain that has been on stand by for at least two whole months. My computer has become my only friend; working with me for countless hours. Filing out scholarship, college, and SAT applications. My mind feels like it's been hijacked by the stress of college forms and scholarship applications and they aren't going to be giving it back any time soon.

My worst fear is that this is only a precursor of the more excruciating things to come as time mercilessly passes. For example IB tests that I was foolish enough to order a quadruple amount of. It seems now that the sweet little lies of summers, the false sense of time, has hit me like a ton of bricks. It's do or die time; what am I going to do? The distant fascinations of being a senior have become an immediate truth and it is not like I imagined them to be. Everything seems like it's under control but maybe I am just playing a cruel joke on myself. How I wish I had an agenda right now! 

Hopefully I am just overreacting, I mean my sleep deprivation could be the cause of it. This lack of rest has become a trite symptom among my fellow classmates. I swear one of these days my body will revolt against me and I wouldn't blame it. Nonetheless, this is all for college and my future and is therefore all worth it; right? I mean everyday this strong belief on my actions is being slowly chipped away by my mortal fatigue. So this is how my first couple of weeks have been; fun no?

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My Birthday

Today was my birthday; not that this is important. However it does raise the concept of  the "Birth-Day". If we break the word down; it literally means the day in which you were born. So what is it with this human obsession to glorify it. Do human beings just want to feed their egos; some how proving that we are the superior race on Earth? Celebrations are usually held for important events; why are our birthdays special or important? I personally do not celebrate my birthday for the simple reason that there is nothing that I have done to merit a celebration. And this is true with many other birthdays.

Many people associate 'birthday" with the beginning of life; I am not saying that a beginning of a life is not special, but does it require an annual celebration. There are approximately 7 billion people on earth; do they all celebrate their birthday? I can hypothesize that religion and the belief in a soul could be a reason of the celebration of birthdays. I mean if you believe that a soul was finally given to a human baby which resulted in the baby having life, in a religious sense, then maybe that merits a glorification of the event.However annual celebration for any particular thing, are important because they glorify a person or event that changes the world/country. Birthdays lack this.

 To me I do not see the point; I did nothing special today, why celebrate? I didn't make a contribution to science, I didn't win a noble peace prize, I haven't inspired a nation. The only person who deserves some sort of recognition today is my mother. For she is the one who had to ordeal the whole process of child bearing. So today I will say thank you to my mom, for giving me the opportunity to be her son. THANKS MOM! Maybe one day I will deserve a celebration on the day of my birth; but until then.....

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Deferred In Firebaugh

On Friday, September 7th, a group of lawyers and advocates of immigrant students(Southeast Leadership Network) came to Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School to help in the filing out of the deferred action form. This was a great event for the minority of undocumented students in M.A. Firebaugh High School and around the area. The seminar included a variety of professional lawyers who gave step-by-step instruction in completing the deferred act application.

The entire event was split into two groups: English and Spanish which catered to the two predominant languages spoken in our community. Each group had an individual presenter who instructed in their particular language. I can't talk about the Spanish group, but I was in the English group,which was a very expedient experience. There was also a group of separate lawyers that took individual people to take questions. This was very helpful, but sadly I was unable to talk to one of the lawyers.

In conclusion, the event was very helpful. They catered to the languages in our community and provided a more personal assistance. The future looks bright for undocumented students looking to help the community.

 

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To Be Or Not To Be?

 To be or not to be. A question that puzzles us all. Poor Hamlet suffered from this dilemma. Is it better to go against the offender or is it better to withstand the pains that it has brought him. As we enlarge this to a more bigger aspect we see that our quest of living are brought down to these choices. Is it better to be. For being is the way we have thought to see life, living as human "beings". Therefore not to be would require one to stop being one self. So can it even be possible to refrain from being. "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time. The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, the pangs of despised love,the law's delay, the insolence of office and spurns." Is Hamlet claiming that it may be impossible to "Suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." Are we all destine to suffer Hamlet's fate?

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Goals For My Senior Year

Well, Senior year is finally here. I honestly can't believe how quickly time has gone by. It almost seems surreal. Anyways, my goals for this year are like everyone Else's, to graduate from High School and get accepted to a top ranked school. I'm not sure what I want to pursue yet but I do know it has to be within the field of science. Therefore, I'm going to have to step it up a notch and have that ambition in order to strive throughout my Senior year ; I want this school year to be memorable for many years to come. I know there are many more obstacles to overcome, but I know that I am capable of overcoming any obstacle that stands in my way. It all depends on how much I want something and how hard I am willing to fight for it. You always need to have a goal and have the ambition to accomplish the goal you are fighting for.

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Blast From The Past

This video was made by past Firebaugh alumni; kudos to them this is really well made.

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First 5 Days

This first week has been a little mundane to tell the truth, but it was alright I guess. I got to see my friends again and it was pretty exciting to first step into school as a senior. I don't really feel the difference between this year and last year, I got most of the same teachers and only 2 new teachers, so it feels like I'm still an eleventh grader. When I watched the freshman and sophomores go into the school, I was thinking in my mind "Ha you guys are trapped here for another 3 or 4 years, but I'm almost free." I still don't like how my school looks because it looks like a small prison, but I guess its not all that bad.

The first four days have been a little painful because it felt like I went back to my regular routine and I wanted to break free from it. I was getting depressed about what was going to happen in the near future like college and choosing a career, but thanks to one of my friends I was able to move forward. I really liked the new reward system that the school created because now I have a chance to go to an amusement park as a reward for have a good GPA. I thought the first four days were interesting to say the least. I wanted something to happen, ANYTHING to happen that would add a little excitement to my regular life.

The final day of the week was the best day out of the whole week for multiple reasons. First, it was the day before a three day weekend. Second, I stayed for a while after school and found Bulaoshi playing badminton with a Chinese foreign exchange student and I started to play with them. Finally, I got to know two other people while playing badminton and after that Bulaoshi treated all of us to some Chinese food. Now I will help the foreign exchange in chemistry and will start playing badminton on Fridays (sometimes).

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First Busy Week Of School

I am in this picture

Hello there my name is Pedro Hernandez and I am currently a 12th Grader (senior) from Firebaugh High School (FHS). There have been some slight changes in the school this year. For example the phrases that have been put on several doors/walls around the entire school. Some are inspiring but some seem silly in my personal opinion. The most nerdy phrases in the school are the ones that have to deal with "Star Wars". In my opinion they should write better and more cool motivational phrases instead, but that's just my opinion.

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Yes; A Video!!!

I did this in the 10th grade...so; enjoy

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One Week Down, So Many To Go

Student Stampede

Yes, The great institute of learning named Firebaugh High School has had it's first week of active school. Freshmen tread the new environment that will be their school for three years; Sophomores still don't know what to do; Juniors prepare to be the top dogs next year, and finally the people who matter; The Seniors are preparing for a headache filled year.

The school has physically not changed much. The buildings and rooms are all the same, but they are clean. Which is one of the few things I expected from the school coming back. However one new physical aspect of the school is the motivational quotes scattered and mostly concentrated in the entranced of the school.

 As you can see some of these quotes are a bit childish, but all in good fun. The first week has been pleasant; although getting use to late start Wednesdays will be hard. A new motivation program was unveiled, although a similar program was reveled last year and it was a complete failure. Cool merit buttons are being given away. And we finally have scanners for our IDs for lunch; Yessssss.

So lets keep this up yeah!!!!    

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First Week Of New School Year

Good first week of school. Another year of school another year to learn. School may seem as a prison, as a escape, or just plain boring. But lets us see the objectives. School was establish to bring an vast array of knowledge in one convenient location. Basically, it's just the ideal way to get smarter. Then why is it that people tend to have a sense of resistance towards education. Is the fault of students, the teachers, or maybe the society as a whole.
    
Therefore, we as students must fight against our own feel for resistance and not just listen to the teachers but go beyond that and learn from different sources and perspective. We have to remember that our future is in our hands. A good education is vital for our possibility to succeed. Take advantage of all the resources at school:

1. Teachers
2. Computers
3. Lab
4. Textbooks
5. Novels
6. Food
7. Sports

And best of all they are offered to you for free.
So as this year begins lets try our best to be our best and truly strive for a better education.

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Last Post As An Eleventh Grader

Cool Falcon

 I know I did a similar post earlier in the month, but I don't care I'm going to do this post anyways; rules are for fools. No need to worry though I am going to say new more relevant things this time around. Instead of foreshadowing my possible future as a senior; I will reflect upon my majestic venture as a junior at Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School.

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Severus Snape

A True Hero

Snape (from The Harry Potter movies) is made out to be one of the villains in the movies, but he is a hero. Once I saw the first six movies, I was thinking that he is only trying to get back at Harry for what his dad did to him in the past, but it was a complete misunderstanding. He was protecting Harry since he was a baby, when Harry's parents were being targeted by Voldwmort no one wanted to help them, but Snape tried to help. He asked Dumbledore to help them, but he said no as well. Even though Harry's dad bullied Snape and married the girl that Snape loved, he still tried to save him and his wife. 

In one scene in the last movie, Snape was talking to Dumbledore in the past (when Harry was a baby) and Dumbledore said that one day Harry will have to die for the greater good and this infuriated Snape. He said "So your just raising him to be a slaughtered pig." When Snape said that I was thinking that he is the true hero of the whole series because he fights for Harry safety. I have never seen a character like this in any movie and was shocked when I saw Snape's past. I have misjudged him and all the other characters I thought to be heroes.

When I saw Dumbledore save Harry a couple times I thought that he was the Hero, but that was all just an illusion because he planed to kill Harry later on. Harry was even shocked to find out what Snape has done for him his whole life. Snape deserves the title of a True Hero for the things he has done.

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Oh School

Today I returned to school; no not for actual learning purposes, but for an orientation. This orientation is some sort of tradition for the school because we do it every year and they say the exact same thing every year. I saw some old faces that I would have preferred to have seen later. I received my I.D.( the picture for it was awesome), had a very ORAL orientation, and received my textbooks. Yes I know very exciting stuff, but I survived. This fun-filled day started with arriving to school and heading straight to the gym.

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Mexico....

Yeeeeeeessssssss!!!!!!

Mexico has won the final leading to their first gold medal in the summer Olympics. I am kind of lost for words and I don't think I could do an adequate job of describing such a momentous occasion. So instead I am just going to enjoy this moment; It's a good day to be a Mexican. All I want to say to the national team is thank you and you guys have just made history; enjoy it fellas.

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Mexico In The Final

Yaaaaaay!!!! Mexico is in the final!!

The Mexican national football(or soccer what ever you want to call it) team is in the gold medal match against Brazil in this year's summer Olympics in London. Since I am originally from Mexico this event is sort of a big deal. Therefore I have decide to write a short piece about this match. Now I know this blog is about school, but since school hasn't started yet; why not talk about soccer. I mean there is no law against it, so deal with it.

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Final Year

Once again I have to go back to school like most people and wonder will this year be the best year of high school? I am somewhat excited of going back as a senior, but at the same time I wish that I could have more time to enjoy these restful days. Knowing that this will be my busiest year gets me motivated to work even harder especially since I will be joining a lot of clubs. I am excited about seeing my friends, but I could care less for what they did over the summer. I know many obstacles are going to be in my way, but I will go through them with full force.
I plan to gain a lot of experience over my last year in high school, I will meet new people and try to be more lively. I know that I look depressed at school, but that will change because now I know that I am near the end of high school and heading into college. I don't know what this school year will bring, but I am ready for it.

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Back To School!!!!

Happiness, life, joy, elation, fulfillment, bliss these are all adjectives I would use to describe my summer vacation. While engulfed in this big glob of happiness I seem to have forgotten that I need to get back to a little thing called school. I cannot tell you how many times I have had my summer completely obliterated by back to school commercial. Telling me that yes I need to prepare to get back to that "dungeon of boredom".

So now that my summer is ruined and now that I have school in my thoughts. I think it be a good idea to write about how I feel going back to school and what I expect to accomplish in my last year being apart of this countries educational system.

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Dreaming....

Recently there has been issues towards immigrations and this has affect immigrant students. This is an issue that directly affects me, which is the reason I have decided to write about this. About two years ago I wrote a speech, which I presented to my avid class, about immigrant students and why I thought we deserved a road to citizenship.

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An Explanation Of Truthiness

 

 I recently saw a hilarious episode of The Colbert Report. In this particular episode Stephen Colbert talks about truthiness and its implication in our current political world. But what is truthiness and can it be used as a source of knowlge? Well more after the jump.

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Hi!!!!

Hello and welcome to GrapesAndWaffles, a new blog for MA Firebaugh students and alumni alike. For those that live under a rock and don't know what or where the marvelous Marco Antonio Firebaugh High School is at here is a quick overview. Firebaugh is in a small town(or city i don't know) called Lynwood. It is a fairly adequate and new school that was established in 2005. Something noteworthy about this school is that it is an IB school that kind of dandy huh. Our mascot is a falcon which is alright I guess if you are into falcons(who in their right mind likes falcons).

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