Blogging for me has been an exciting journey this year, and  I’m excited to look back to how blogging has affected me, and to look at some of the lessons I took away from it. I’m going to try to answer every question, but leave each answer concise

For me, blogging has helped me to develop my voice in my informal writings, helping to make my personality shine through my words. Before this class, I never wrote anything that was between the causality of a text message to the formality of an essay, so at first it was difficult for me to find a style that I could comfortably write in but still convey all of my ideas. As seen in this image, I think I was doing “too much”, and as an effect my voice sounded fake, but I’m glad the blogging process helped me to stray away from that habit.

My favorite blog, and also the one I am most proud of, was my most recent post, where I went in depth into all of the watches I own. It was a nice way for me to share a niche hobby I have with the rest of the class, yet still get an assignment done, and I think that that post had the most of my individual voice in it, explaining all of the vocabulary, and gushing about my favorite parts of each piece. My vacation list is a close second, but I am content with my first pick.

For me, I picked Ceremony because it combined two voices: one I was familiar with and one I was not. I was familiar with Tayo’s main character’s voice of being a young man with mental health struggles and moving to get help, but his NA and veteran voices were interesting to me. I would recommend you try and pick a book with at least one similar and different voice to you as a reader, to get the most out of the book.

My voices project helped teach me to absorb and diffuse information from all over. I had originally had a plan in mind for what I wanted to do for my project, but after watching some of my peers’ presentations, I saw aspects I wanted to mirror, and others I knew wouldn’t work for me and my ideas. With those guides, my presentation became more focused than it was in my original plan, furthering the importance of being flexible with plans and open to change.

The most important thing I learned about myself at NNHS is that some things just don’t work out, and that’s okay. I went into school trying to pinhole my way through the same classes my brother and his friends took, but I soon realized that I was very different from those people, so it was natural that my path would be different as well. That lesson branched out into my community and my world, and it helped shape me to understand that I’m really good at some things and terrible at others, and that’s just a fact I have to accept.

Be original. I have made relationships with students and staff alike just by being myself. Some people like it when I’m my normal goofy self, and other don’t, so spend time figuring out who likes what and balance yourself accordingly. Finally, never change yourself completely because someone is uncomfortable with you or what you like. If you’re not hurting yourself or anyone else, tell anyone who tells you to change to buzz off.

 

If you ask anyone who knows me, you would hear that I have a fascination, borderline obsession with watches. I got into the idea of wearing a watch as a younger kid, maybe 12-13, and have been collecting from that point on. It slowly became more and more of an addiction, and at this point I have somewhere between 10-12 watches. I obviously can’t talk about them all in depth here, but I’ll do my best to share any stories I have about them before moving on. This will be longer than 1000 words, but it’s my last post so I don’t care. Read it or don’t. Here we go:

I’ll be labeling the watches 1-10, from left to right top and bottom if you want to see which one I am talking about.

1. Skagen Hagen (Top Left)

 For starters, I’ll say that I’ve only ever bought one watch with my own money, and the rest of the watches seen here have all been gifts from all sorts of people in my life. The Skagen is a gift from my grandmother for my 14th birthday. What makes it special is that it is technically a “Smartwatch”, and is advertised as a hybrid. It connects to my phone so I never have to set the time, and there are three pushers that have some extra functions. For example, the top pusher will move both hands to a number on the chapter ring (circumference of the dial) to represent the date, the middle pusher will pause my music, and the bottom pusher will make a noise on my phone for when I lose it. I like to wear this watch when I know I’ll be doing some physical activity but don’t want to wear my Apple watch, because it also tracks my steps. Overall, a great addition to my collection.

2. Nixon X Star Wars Sentry SS “On My Command”

Likewise, this watch was also a gift from my grandmother. She had come to visit and when we were out shopping, I saw it in a display case, and she just bought it for me, not saying a thing. We really don’t deserve Grandmas. Anyway, I like this specific model because it is Star Wars themed: The dial displays a TIE fighter window, the seconds hand is a blaster firing a laser, and the case back on the back of the watch has a stormtrooper engraved into it. I like wearing this one when I have a long day because it’s super comfortable and sometimes it sparks a conversation.

3. Victorinox 26004CB

The one that started it all, this watch was a gift from my parents for my 13th birthday, after I begged for it for months. The crystal is scratched to high hell and the crown and dial are way too small for me to wear now, but I still like the watch. I don’t wear it much anymore, but I hope to one day fix it up, buy a new crystal, and make it look nice again. For now thought, it will continue to sit in my box.

4. Treehut Classic Boyd

Yes, you are seeing that right, this watch is almost entirely made of wood. A gift from my aunt for my 15th birthday, this watch is super cool. I had never seen anything like it, and when I got it I was super excited. I don’t wear it to school much because, being wood, it’s light and fragile, and I’m worried about scratching it, but I’ll wear it if I go out to dinner and I’m wearing a polo shirt and Khakis in the spring or summer. Unfortunately, I lost the extra links to the bracelet so it’s a little tight, so maybe I’ll go out and buy some replacements so I can wear it again, because it’s so cool, now, it sits in the box.

5. Bulova 98A230

The first of my two mechanical watches, this watch uses a spring to provide the energy to run in rather than a battery and quartz crystal, like the other 8 in the box. This watch was a 16th birthday gift from, you guessed it, my Grandma. What’s also cool about this particular watch is that it’s what’s known as an automatic meaning that it will actually wind itself. The watch has a rotor that sways with the natural motion of your wrist, and just by wearing it, it will wind itself to full, which is super cool to me. I’ll wear this one for a medium-high level fancy meal, or to school if I know if I’m feeling it. I really like the exhibition caseback, because it shows all the inner workings ticking away. Overall, I’m really glad I own it.

6. Chicane Racer Chronograph

The first of my three chronographs (a watch with a stopwatch function), this watch has a super interesting story. I actually didn’t buy this one or receive it as a traditional gift. I got it from a golfer I caddied for, someone I know well and am friendly with, when I was 14. He noticed that I liked watches, and brought it for me one day, said he didn’t wear it anymore, and said it was mine. It’s the only square watch I own, and I’ll wear it from time to time, but I need to buy a new strap for it. Still, a cool watch with a cool story.

7 & 8. Michael Kors MK-8661 & Fossil FS5378 “Townsman”

The second and third chronographs, the first a gift for my 16th birthday from a family friend and the second being a Christmas gift at some point. The MK has a nice black dial, and I like the Fossil’s navy blue dial, and I think they go well with the leather straps I have on them. That’s really it. Nothing crazy, just reliable watches that I’ll wear from time to time if I wake up inclined to do so.

9. Ball Engineer Marvelight III

My pièce de résistance, this watch was an 18th birthday gift from my Grandparents, and is easily my favorite watch that I own. I could spew about how I love the green dial, the bracelet that has alternating brushed and polished links, the COSC mechanical chronometer certification, or the incredible history behind Webb C. Ball and how the Ball Watch company started, but that could be a post on its own, so I’ll just talk about what I think is the coolest aspect of not only this watch, but every watch in Ball’s arsenal: Tritium. All Ball watches have tiny gas tubes filled with Tritium, a measurably radioactive isotope of hydrogen that glows visibly. Most of the other watches in my collection have “lume” luminous material that glows when charged with UV light, but Tritium will glow indefinitely until its half-life of 12 years depletes its glow. I really like the design of the watch, and when I have enough money, I can totally see myself buying more models from the company in the future.

10. Casio MDV106B-1A 1V “Duro”

This is the only watch in my collection that I personally have researched, purchased, and modded with my own money. I wanted a dive watch (a watch with high water resistance certification and rotating timing bezel), but didn’t want to break the bank, and found the Duro, a watch that had everything I wanted in a $46 dollar package. I bought it and wore it for a few weeks, but I absolutely scratched the ever living shit out of the crystal, so bought a new, sapphire crystal and replaced it. I’ve had this watch for a few months, and I still wear it. For it’s price, it’s an absolute steal, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get into watches

If you made it this far, you’re either Stano or the options for posts to comment this month must have been really boring because you just read me yapping for almost 1400 words. I hope you enjoyed the read, and if you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them. For now, I gonna go but I hope I didn’t waste your time.

P.S. I also have an Apple Watch and a Garmin that tracks all my Golf data but I didn’t think I should include those

 

 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve never really been a big sports fan. I’d sit in the family room when my dad would put on Bears, Bulls, Cubs, or Hawks games, and grumble and moan when he’d put on golf, but I’d never look forward to watching a game, keeping track of a schedule, or even caring about who would win. That is, until last summer, when I began following a team that I’ll admit, has taken over my life a lot more than I thought it would: FC Barcelona.

I’ll start with my history playing sports. I never played any team or club sports during the school year as a kid, but over the summers I would swim, golf, and play tennis. My parents forced me and my brothers into the schedule to keep us from rotting away in our beds all day, and to be fair, it did a good job. However, when I played these sports, I never really cared about winning, but I rather enjoyed spending time with the other kids on the team. As I grew and joined the golf team freshman year, I changed that mindset and worked harder to bring my team success, but that was about it. Still no Chicago sports super-fannage; I would watch games when they were on but never go out and seek them. Even still, I had come into contact with every major sport except one: Soccer.

My parents aren’t soccer fans, so we never had any reason to watch in in the house, so I never seeked it out, but when I was in 8th grade, I became good friends with my friend Jackson, who has played soccer his entire life, and has sold his soul to being a Chelsea FC superfan. It was an experience I had never had, and it was honestly fascinating to me how a sport could bring him so much joy and anger, even though the team was playing almost 4000 miles away. I couldn’t really relate when he would rave about how terrible his players were, how annoyed at the coaching staff he was, how undeserved the other teams’ win was (He’s honestly a D1 hater). But, the summer between Jr and Sr year, my family went on a trip around Spain, and our first stop was Barcelona. Our hotel was barely a minute away from the official FC Barcelona store, so when we had a free day, my family and I went in and I bought a Nike Tech with the crest on it (You have 100% seen me wear it it’s becoming a problem) When I got home, I figured I should watch a game since I bought the merch, and I went in bright eyed and bushy tailed. Little did I know that this stupid game where people kick a ball round and fall to the ground like babies would make me so happy, sad, angry, confused, and everything in between. I started to watch the games when I would have time, and slowly, bit by bit, I learned about the players on the team: their histories, their playstyles, their accolades and awards. Doing that made me feel connected to the team, and the fact that I knew something about a sports team that someone else didn’t was a completely new feeling to me. I started to watch more and more religiously, even if it meant waking up at 6:30 on a saturday to watch a 7 am game, which was actually 2pm in Spain. I looked forward to game days, I’d scout the starting line ups before the games started, and I did my best to learn all the rules of the game. It became a habit for me and slowly I became more comfortable doing it.

Flash forward to today, and I might have a problem. I bought a jersey and I do my best to try and wear it on game days. I watch every game I can, from the ones in the early morning on the weekend to Wednesday games in the middle of my lunch period. I know every player in the first team, their positions, their past clubs, and the trophies they won. I learned Catalan to understand the club hymn that plays before every home game. When I watch, I feel everything: joy, anger, fear, annoyance, all of it. I yell, I jump up, I curse and roll my eyes. I don’t know how it got to this point, but I’m happy to be a fan. It’s an experience that a lot of kids my age have had for a long time, but now, I can finally say, I get it. I get the hype, I get the emotions. I finally understand why they call soccer “The Beautiful Game”.

When I started this project, I decided to pick the poem, The Tyger, by William Blake. It reads as follows: 

I picked this poem because I remember my dad saying that this was his favorite poem, and when I looked it up, I knew it would be a good choice for this assignment. The basic idea of this poem is that the narrator is speaking out loud, either to, in my opinion, himself or God. He asks about a Tiger (I initially thought the spelling Tyger was a rhetorical choice, but that is the English spelling of the word in 1794, when the poem was written in England), and questions its features. He notes how the tiger “Burn[s] bright | In the forests of the night?” questioning the odd colors the Tiger displays in comparison to other animals that have more muted, neutral colors. The next line, “What immortal hand or eye, | could frame thy fearful symmetry?” is what leads me to believe that the narrator is speaking to God, as the reference to immortality seems to create an exalted tone, and the imagery of “frame thy fearful symmetry” reminds me of the a representation of God as building all living creatures out of clay, shaping and forming them into the figures we see today. Much of the difficulty for me in this essay comes from understanding the time period and the life of William Blake, because without that information the poem becomes infinitely more difficult to comprehend. Blake wrote this poem in tandem with another, named “The Lamb”, a poem in which a child is visualized holding a lamb and wondering to God about how it came to be. He wrote both these poems in 1794, when poetry and art in general were in a romantic period, which moves into the ideas of nature and humans’ place in natural beauty. When reading the poem, it seems that Blake is trying to convey the ideas of origin and creation, and how humanity is incapable of understanding the reasoning behind God’s creations.. The 3rd and 4th stanzas share this idea, as Blake states “And what shoulder, & what art, | Could twist the sinews of thy heart? | And when thy heart began to beat. | What dread hand? & what dread feet? | What the hammer? what the chain, | In what furnace was thy brain? | What the anvil? what dread grasp. | Dare its deadly terrors clasp?” The listing of the parts of parts of the figure-maker, its shoulder, heart, hand, and feet, seem to create the sense that the once who made the Tiger is incomprehensible to the human narrator. Additionally, the syntax, like hammer, chain, furnace, and anvil, create the idea of a blacksmith or tool-maker, which in Blake’s time seems to shadow God’s process in making the Tiger. These stanzas create the feeling that the narrator can’t comprehend how the Tiger came to be, and repeat use of “what” seems to elevate that feeling of raw fear and ignorance. This idea was incredibly difficult for me personally without understanding the context of Blake, his time period, and how people in his time view God. In understanding those aspects, the poem becomes easier to understand.

When reading this poem, there isn’t too much to be scared of in terms of the meter and rhyme scheme. It follows an AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJAABB form in terms of the rhymes, and everything fits other than eye and symmetry, which I’ve chalked up to the 1794 English people saying symmetry as (sim-uh-tri). The poem also isn’t Iambic, and the stressed syllable seems to be the “downbeats” (TYger TYger BURNing BRIGHT). However, there was a structural choice that Blake made that I had to re-read the poem to fully understand. The is a tonal shift in between the 4th and 5th stanzas, as the first 4 stanza seem to create the sense that this Tiger, a being created by God, cannot be understood by the feeble human mind, and as they try to rack their brains to find meaning in the form of the Tiger, they will only be met with confusion. However, the 6th stanza moves away from the point of view of the human narrator, and towards the idea of cosmic powers and Gods, when Blake says “When the stars threw down their spears |  And water’d heaven with their tears: | Did he smile his work to see? | Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” The “he” in this stanza refers to God, proven when relating “him” to “the stars” and “heaven”, which make it easier to understand Blake. Once I noticed this shift, I was better able to understand that the poem initially speaks on the inconceivability of creation and origin, specifically through the lens of fear and confusion, but then moves into a more starstruck and awe-filled view of the world and its creations.

All in all, this poem was difficult at the beginning, but thanks to the strategies we learn in class, and some relevant research on the background of the authors and the world he lived in, the poem starts to become clearer and clearer, until it finally burns bright.

My annotations and the downfall of my mental stability

 

To kick off this new semester of blogs, I thought it would be fitting to return to my roots and do a ranking blog (not because it’s easy), and I thought it would be fun to rank my top choices for places I’d like to visit in the future. For these rankings, I thought it would be important to not only base it off of its tourist appeal, but also its significance within its culture. Additionally, I’m going to leave out place I have already been to try and find new places to visit. Here we go.

#5: Italy

Some people may be surprised to see Italy so low here, and honestly it’s place could be switched with either the fourth or third spot, but I’ve decided to put it here. In terms of tourism, Italy is a goldmine, from its beaches, its beautiful architecture, and its rich sense of family. Additionally, Italy is home to a plethora of fine art to be enjoyed, and I could find myself wandering the halls of a gallery for hours on end. Another huge part of Italy’s appeal is its cuisine: pizza, pasta, and veal, to name a few. I feel like when I talk to people (especially Americans) who traveled to Italy in the past, they always tell me that they could have eaten the entire time, and that they would come home having gained 5-10 lbs. Culturewise, Italy is really into family and family values, a feeling that tourists find homey and inclusive when they go to visit. While I think it could be higher, for these reasons, I’ve decided to put Italy at #5.

#4: Greece

Like Italy, Greece is a tourists’ dream: White sandy beaches as far as the eye can see, and beautiful ancient architecture from, in my opinion, one of the most interesting cultures in human civilization. Greek mythology has always been interesting, and I think it would be amazing to see the ruins from that time period in person, up close and personal. Additionally, Greece has one of my favorite cuisines, from gyros, keftedes, and dolmades, to one of my favorite desserts, baklava. Greek food is another cuisine I could eat for days at a time, and I would always have something new to try. One of my bucket list items is to see white cliffs in Greece, so given the opportunity to visit, I would jump out immediately. For these reasons, the #4 spots goes to Greece.

#3: Japan

Japan is a beautiful country filled with rich history, cultural appeal, and amazing food, perfect for my list. I’d love to visit Kyoto and learn more about the Japanese empire and its culture, walking around the old capital for an entire day. It feels like there are so many incredible places to visit in Japan alone, like Tokyo, Kyoto, Shibuya, Akihabara, Hokkaido, and Sendai to name a few. While not typically as open/inviting to foreigners, I think that if I had a guide who could show me both the touristy things as well as any more underground places, I would have a blast. However, the biggest appeal to me is to food. Sushi and sashimi, ramen and udon, pork or chicken katsu, the flavors seem to be infinite, yet all appealing in their own way. I think that Japan could be higher on this list, but the final two have been on my bucket list for the longest time. For that reason, I’m putting Japan at #3.

#2: Brazil

Brazil has always been on my personal radar, ever since I saw Rio when I was a kid. I remember imagining going to carnival and spending five whole days partying, and that seems so incredible to me. Rio as a city has so much history, and I think that with its clear distinction between the city and pueblo up on the mountain, it’s one of the most visually appealing cities in the world. I’ll admit that I’ve never really tried any Brazilian food, nor have I ever heard of many of their dishes, which in my opinion makes the want to visit even greater. I think that if the World cup ever moves back to Brazil in my lifetime, I would totally make the visit to watch the US compete, because I think that watching a soccer match in Brazil would be an unrivaled event. For those reasons, I feel comfortable putting Brazil in the #2 spot.

#1: Philippines

I know that the Philippines aren’t high at all on other people’s lists, but I’m biased because I’m Filipino. I know the amazing food in the Filipino culture, like Pancit, Lumpia, Chicken Adobo, and Lechon Kawali to name a few. I’d love to trace my ancestry and visit the cities where my grandparents grew up, and learn more about a culture I’m deeply passionate about. My mom has never been to the Philippines either, and I think that a trip with her would not only be amazing for self discovery, but hugely satisfying as well. I’d love to visit the Philippines more than ever, which makes it supremely easy to be #1.

For this final entry of the semester, I’m going to look back at all the work I’ve done before for my blogs, and try to answer each question with an in-depth paragraph. 

When looking back at this semester, and all the blogs I had written before, I decided that my favorite was my second entry, where I rank my favorite songs to listen to when I’m driving. Music is such a huge part of my life, and I think that I was the most excited to write that first blog because it was a topic I felt super passionate about and I felt like I could have written another thousand words for that topic alone. I still think that Some Nights is one of if not my favorite song of all time, not just for driving. Something about the cadence makes me happy and the instruments are incredible. If I had to choose a runner up, it would probably be my third post, where I ranked off-campus lunch places, but I feel like the music post was more polished and I think I enjoyed writing it more.

Over the whole semester, I feel as if I’ve evolved as a writer in my ability to write in many different forms. As a person, and oftentimes in my writing, I take a humorous approach, not necessarily trying to be a comic, but trying to incorporate jokes here and there, whether it be a hyperbole, an expression, or something I feel like I have gotten much better at this semester, directly calling out the audience. I remember a time not long before AP Lang started junior year where my writing was cookie-cutter: it only served to get a grade, always following the same formula. After AP Lang, I branched out and tried to incorporate more of my personality into my writing; I wanted to write something that is uniquely me. There were times where I took a humorous approach, like in my third and fifth blogs, but I tried to expand my horizons with my fourth blog, where I tried to tackle a real life issue that is serious, while also trying to include my own humor into it. I think that throughout this semester, I’ve definitely expanded my writing, and my style as whole, being able to write something that not only shares both the content and the tonality I search for, but also in a way that people can easily respond to. While I’m definitely not a perfect author, and I don’t think I ever will be, I can definitely say that blogs this semester have helped me break out of my comfort zone and try new things.

While I learned a lot about writing from reading my own writings, I also learned by reading my classmates’ work. For example, I learned from Matthew not to take myself too seriously. In my first blog post, my earliest reading memory, I tried to make the blog feel too real, and instead of making it feel authentic as I was aiming to, my writing felt stale, rehashed, and to be totally blunt, boring. But, I read Matthew’s blog, specifically his Pickleball Wishlist, and I learned that in writing, authenticity comes from being true to one’s own voice, not trying to write in someone else’s style. When I read Matthew’s blog, I noticed immediately that it made no logical sense, because his list was over a quarter of million dollars in pickleball equipment, but that’s okay.  He understood that his writing didn’t need to be taken so seriously, and that people (such as myself) could enjoy his humor, while he still shared about an activity that genuinely interested him. While this was just one example, I’ve learned so much from my other classmates as well.

If I were to take away any writing lessons from this semester, I’d want to remember to always be authentic. Even if you think other people’s writing styles are more refined, it is always better to write something in your own style than to try and replicate someone else’s words, because writing is a very personal activity, and requires utmost attention and respect from the writer.

As I was trying to figure out what I wanted to write about for this post, I was sitting in my car at 3:13 and somebody cut me off just as I was about to leave. This bothered me, because I feel like there are certain rules you follow in any given society, and I figured that the NNHS society should be no different. Regardless, it seems that I was wrong, and that people either don’t know or don’t respect the unwritten rules of NNHS, so I figured it would be fun to list them and explain them for this week. These rules are listed in no particular order of importance, but should all be adhered to, and really, should not need to be said out loud in the first place. But, I digress.

#1 Leaving the Athletic Lot

Okay, I understand that when the final bell rings, everybody wants to get home as soon as possible. That completely warranted, but you have to understand that there are rules in place. I always park in the Athletic lot because in my opinion, getting out of the NPAC lot is damn near impossible. That being said, getting out of the athletic lot is not easy either. I always try to park in the Northernmost (Closest to Ogden) row because the more southern rows have to wait for kids to cross the crosswalk heading towards Benedetti, and oftentimes you can get out faster. The real problem for me is just before you exit the lot, where the Athletic lot and the Main Entrance lot converge (see below)

I feel like it should be pretty obvious, but at this intersection, you ALWAYS go one and one. Meaning, a car from the left, then a car from the right, and so on. It’s a system that works to make sure everyone gets out at a reasonable time, and normally when everyone adheres to the system, you can get 5-7 cars out on one cycle of a Benedetti-Ogden red light. HOWEVER, people have started doubling up, tailgating the car in front of them, and trying to cut off that driver on the other side. Stop it. This is such an easy rule to follow, and that fact that people try to cheat the system baffles me. I can’t believe I have to tell people this, but just wait. I promise you’ll get out. 

 

#2 Clogging Hallways

For the love of all that is holy, walk on the right side of halls. None of this middle-hall garbage that slows down traffic in both directions. If you want to stop and have a conversation with someone in the hall, by all means go ahead, but peel off to one side and don’t stop the flow of traffic. When people stop in the middle of the hall and I bump into them, and then they have the AUDACITY to glare at me, I swear a part of me dies inside. And speaking of glaring, why are you glaring at me when I overtake you? I saw the space, you weren’t moving fast enough, and I solved the problem. It’s nothing against you, but at the end of the day my legs are longer than yours and I just want to get to class. And another thing, the staircases. Stop shoving through people on the staircase. It’s a terrible idea that one of these days somebody’s gonna get hurt. Just wait for space to open up and move slowly. Again, this is something that shouldn’t even have to be said, but it’s not getting any better.

 

#3 Lightning Round

I covered my big two pet peeves of people just ignoring the rules, so I’l use this space to list some of the smaller rules people break for seemingly no reason. Hew we go:

 

• If I need to record something or watch a video, and you see me walking towards a huddle room, don’t speed up to cut me off before I get there. Why? You’re just gonna sit and watch TikTok anyway
• Stop making TikToks in the hall during classes if you’re blended/in lunch. Unnecessary and you make it awkward to walk past you in the hall
• If you walk up to your class and see people waiting in the hall , don’t walk up and try to open the door. Why do you think everyone is waiting? They know it’s locked
• Stop playing your own music on JBL’s in the hall. Nobody wants to hear that

 

Again, all of these are super easy rules to follow that when in effect create a better experience for everyone, but for some reason people seem to struggle with it. As long as you have some sort of compassion or understanding for your common man, we can work much better in our environment, and everyone will be happier. Looking back, I realize that a lot of this post was just me ranting about little things that make me mad, but currently I have 17 minutes until the deadline, so I’m just going to run with it. Thanks for reading, and for the love of God, please walk faster.

 

I wanted to take time in today’s blog post to cover something a little less whimsical, and more serious. Regarding recent events, and as we move into November, I think I’d like to talk about something that’s super important to me: mental health. I know this topic may seem a little too personal or too out there for an English class blog post, but I think it’s vital that we break the stigma around mental health, and more specifically, mens’ mental health. November is national men’s mental health month, so I thought that it would be a perfect time to break out this prompt.  If you were assigned my comments this week, I’m sorry that this may be a little heavier than other prompts, but I still think that it is important.

Mental health is defined by one’s emotional, psychological, and social well being, but if you were to compact that definition into a more descriptive one, I’d be content to say that mental health is the strength of your mental fortitude, how you combat stress and annoyances, and how you overcome negative emotions like grief or sadness. I think that even if somebody has never had serious issues with their mental health, they can relate to a time in their lives when they felt helpless, like nothing they did mattered, even if it was for just a second.

I’ll admit that I’ve had my own struggles with mental health in my life, and if I were to describe what if feels like, I’d say that if feels as if you’re at the bottom of a hole that you can’t climb out of, and you see thousands of people with rope to pull you out, but you’re so deep in the chasm that they can’t hear you. When I was at my lowest, I was self conscious about my appearance, my ideas, my hobbies, and most of all, I was terrified of failure and disappointing the people around me. Those feelings were enhanced by the stresses of schoolwork, extracurriculars, and a poor sleep schedule. I, like many other American teens today, felt stuck, and were incapable of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I spent every day going through the motions, and did my best to keep a smile on my face to seem okay, when in reality, I was struggling to find a good reason to not stay in bed all day. I recently saw a video that resonated with me, so I’ll share it here.

It’s vital, especially after recent events here at NNHS, that you check up on your friends. I know you’ve seen it all over Instagram and Snapchat, but it’s true. People around you could be suffering silently but be the most chipper of all your friends. Unfortunately, men are especially bad at talking about their feelings, as part of some ancient outdated notion that men should be powerful and commanding at all times. Men find it difficult to reach out with their mental issues because often they feel like their problems don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. I know that personally, I’ve felt depressed, and instead of reaching out for help, I would shame myself for feeling bad for myself because I could think of so many other people who had it worse than me. 

This idea is super common in people struggling with mental health, and specifically in men. Our generation needs to set the precedent that all people deserve to feel whatever emotions they are feeling, and have a support system to talk about their problems. If we keep all of our problems to ourselves, and bottle them up, we’re just asking for the pressure to build, and at some point down the line, for the bottle to burst.

The best way to cope is to release the pressure on a regular basis, never fully emptying it, but always coming close. If you release the pressure in the bottle on a regular basis, you’ll find you won’t be stressed, and you’ll feel more in control of your life. That idea of regularly venting the pressure, my friends, is called THERAPY (dun dun dun). So many people hear that word and get scared, worried that they’ll be characterized as the “therapy” kid. On the contrary, I think that every single highschool student should see a therapist at least once a month, even if they feel completely secure in their mental health. These people literally get paid to listen to you yap, regardless of if you’re relaying what’s causing you stress in your life or if you’re arguing that there are more doors than wheels in the world. The beauty of these sessions, from my personal experience, is that you never feel cornered. Sometimes, you feel like nobody will listen to what you have to say, but in a therapy session, you can’t vent what you’re feeling, and get an outside perspective on what you can do moving forward.

If every student were to engage in therapy, not only would it help the mental health of so many struggling kids, but it would all but shatter the stigma around mental health. We don’t live in the 1950’s anymore; people are allowed to not be okay. The best thing we can do now is to guarantee that every person, whether they want to or not, can be heard in their problems and have a support system. Sorry this post was more serious, but it was important to me. See you next time.

This week, I wanted to touch on something else that I found important in my life these days: lunch. Since the beginning of senior year, I’ve eaten lunch at school a grand total of 0 times, and when I have both blended English and lunch back to back, the options are endless. That being said, I wanted to use this week’s post to rank my top three (I’m gonna rant so I can’t do 5) off-campus lunch spots. I’ll include things like location, price, and wait time in my rankings, so you’ll know I didn’t just choose my favorite restaurants. Here we go!

#3: McDonalds

In terms of location and price, McDonalds is a great option. Barely over a mile away, at maximum a 5 minute drive from the athletic lot. In terms of price, it’s McDonalds. Cheap, fried, and greasy; most orders clock in just around $10. Healthiness aside, the food is fine, as much as you’d expect from America’s face of fast food. Wait, fast food? Lies. The reason that McDonalds is so low on my list is the wait time. You may think, “Gabe, it’s fast food. The entire purpose is to  be fast. How could you have an issue with the wait time?” And normally, I’d agree with you, but for whatever reason, the McDonalds on Ogden and River has screwed me over on numerous occasions. On my way out of school, sometimes I’ll strike up a conversation in the lot, fiddle with my music, or watch TikTok for a little while trying to figure out where I want to go. When I finally pick, and head to McDonalds, I’ll order pretty much the same thing: 10pc Nuggets, Medium Fry, and a Medium Sprite (recently they ran out of Dr.Pepper). And, for some reason, they decide that my nuggets and fries need to be fried for an extra 11 minutes and send me to the waiting spot. I’ll be sitting, counting down the minutes until 6th hour starts. When I finally get my food, I’ll get caught at three red lights and by the time I’m out of my car, I have four minutes to get to class. I swear they have it out for me. However, most of the time, it’s a fine option for a quick lunch. For those reasons, McDonalds takes #3

#2: Jersey Mikes

The #2 spots undoubtedly belong to Jersey Mikes. Only a half-mile away, It’s easily the closest spot on this list. Plus, if you’re parked in the athletic lot, you don’t have to turn around to get there. For prices, it’s fair, with most regular-sized subs floating around the $7-9 range. Plus chips and drink, it really isn’t too bad. For time, it depends entirely on what you order. A cold sub will have you in and out in less than 10 minutes, while in my experience a hot sub can take anywhere from 7-15 minutes depending on how many other customers are in the store. Taste-wise, you can’t go wrong. If you don’t like what your food at Jersey Mikes, it’s entirely your fault. You can have any protein, any mix of veggies, condiments, breads, cheeses, or go with a classic or a favorite. During my golf season, sometimes I’d spend a little bit more to get my sandwich in Giant size, eat half of it for lunch, and save the other half for after practice. Tasty, close, and quick there is no doubt in my mind that the #2 spot goes to Jersey Mikes.

 

Honorable Mentions:

There are many other worthwhile options for lunch, but since I only have 1000 words to talk about my pick, I decided to throw together an honorable mentions list. Here are those picks:

Chipotle, Diehl Road

Potbelly’s, Diehl Road

Panera Bread, Ogden Avenue

Portillo’s, Ogden Avenue

These are all good options on any day, as they’re close and fast enough for off campus lunch, and (other than Panera) are all reasonably priced.

 

For specifically Fridays where I have blended english and lunch back to back and can go somewhere further, or somewhere that takes longer to get/eat the food, here are my picks:

Strings Ramen, East New York Street

Five Guys, East Chicago Avenue

The prices are a little higher, but when I want a real burger I always think of Five Guys, and if you’ve never tried Strings in Aurora, I strongly recommend it. It’s pretty good, and I prefer it over Sudoku Ramen, which is a little closer on Ogden Avenue.

 

The final honorable mention is the place I go most often, and would be my #1 pick if everyone could do it, but I have to mention home. I live four minutes away from school and I’ll go home and make all sorts of things I have in the house: burgers, mac-n-cheese, quesadillas, canned soups, and sandwiches. However, not everybody can go home for their off campus lunch, so I’ve placed it here. Still, I’m excited for my #1 pick.

#1: Costco Food Court

Ok, I know this isn’t technically a restaurant, but hear me out. Costco is only five minutes away from school, and like Jersey Mikes, the athletic lot exit puts you on the right path. Price wise, it’s absolute highway robbery.  I can get a slice of pizza, a hotdog, and a bottomless soda for less than four dollars. In this economy, that’s absolutely insane. As far as wait time, I can’t recall a single time I waited more than 45 seconds for my food to be ready, and it’s honestly a mystery to me. All of that, plus the food tastes great. Costco will try to tell you that a membership card is required, but it’s pretty easy to sneak past them. For all those reasons, Costco takes the #1 spot.

 

I hope that everybody else enjoys off-campus lunch as much as I do, and I hope you can find the time to try at least one of these restaurants. Happy lunch-ing!

This week’s blog post, I want to tackle an issue that is very near and dear to my heart, that being music. Music has always been a huge part of my life, and I’ll often listen to music in any given situation. However, I’ve realized that I spend the majority of my time listening to music in the car, and if you’re anything like me, you too are blasting your tunes to and from school, work, practice, lunch, or wherever you may be heading. I’ve got a special playlist that I like to play pretty much any time I get in the car, and today’s post will cover some of the best songs on the playlist. That being said, my taste in music may not be popular, and I may get some hate for these takes, but this is my blog and I’ll do as I please. Without further ado, here are Gabe Bresnick’s top 5 songs for your rides.

 

#5

“This Love”, Maroon 5.

“This Love” originally came out 2004, and features the incredibly talented Adam Levine on vocals. The song’s lyrics (as most songs do) tells the story of a rocky relationship that the narrator has a hard time moving on from. While I enjoy the story it tells, this song secures its #5 spot with its expertly crafted bridge that’s easy to belt out when nobody’s around. If I was doing a top 10, Maroon 5 would be on this list at least 2 more times, but I had to pick one song, and “This Love” was the first to come to mind.

 

#4

“Handclap”, Fitz and the Tantrums

“Handclap” is just one of those songs that gets everybody going. Up-tempo, simple lyrics, and listener engagement solidify its position at #4. It is nearly impossible to attend any middle or high school dance without hearing this song at least once, and it works even better in the car. I have distinct memories of driving carpool and everybody singing along and clapping, and I’ll be the first to admit that the hands come off the wheel to clap for this song. Regardless, “Handclap” is a no-brainer for #4.

 

#3

“The Nights”, Avicii

“The Nights” is such a good song; upbeat with positive lyrics about making the most of your life, strong instrumentals during vocal breaks, just the perfect package. The song came out in 2014, but is still a solid option for the car, and I’d go as far to say that it’s Avicii’s best song. I’ve put it at the #3 spot for because of the forward pushing backbeat and the ethereal synth that make it a song that pairs perfectly with flying down a two-lane road with the windows down. I absolutely love Avicii’s work and I hope that he found peace in his next life.

 

#2

“Drive By”, Train

I’ll be honest, choosing songs started to get really tough right about now. There are so many good choices, but at the end of the day, the #2 spot undoubtedly goes to “Drive By”. Train is a band I have like for a very long time, and have some amazing songs like, “Hey Soul Sister”, “Save Me San Francisco”, and “50 Ways to Say Goodbye”, but “Drive By” for me will always be Train’s #1. The catchy chorus and the driving tempo mixed with verses that are in between sung and spoken make  for a great song for the car, especially when you’ve got your buddies in the backseat. As hard as this choice was, I feel confident with “Drive By” in the #2 spot.

 

Honorable Mentions

Choosing only 5 songs without listing some other bangers would have been impossible, so here’s some other songs to give a listen:

“Rocketeer”, Far East Movement

“Glad You Came”, The Wanted

“Maps”, Maroon  5

“Replay”, Iyaz

“Everybody Talks”, Neon Trees and

“Runaway Baby”, Bruno Mars.

Any and all of these songs are great for a drive, especially with the windows down in the summer. That being said, there can only be one champion, and while this is my opinion, I think that you’ll be able to see where I’m coming from. My #1 song for the car is…

 

#1

“Some Nights”, fun.

This song is so good. The lyrics tell the story of a young man who doesn’t know his place in the world, and has these intense feelings of being lost “some nights”, as he asks himself, “What do I stand for?. This is not only relatable but powerful, as the song continues, he decides that he found his purpose and his place in the world with the lyric “Man, you wouldn’t believe the most amazing things that can come from some terrible nights”. These lyrics can be interpreted by nearly everyone as all people have felt the sense that they don’t know who they are in the world, and the song shows that it’s okay to be lost and that terrible nights can lead to amazing things. Not only are the lyrics expertly written, but this song is musically incredible. It doesn’t follow the common ABABCB song form (Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus), but rather has multiple different forms, all of which flow seamlessly together. There are long parts, and quieter parts that build back up. All together, Nate Ruess and fun. have created, in my opinion, the best song for car rides. I can honestly say that I listen to this song at least 3 times a week, and I’m still not bored of it. For me, it’s perfect. 

That being said, I’d love to hear any other ideas in comments of great songs for the car, and who knows, maybe I’ll make a new playlist. I’m running out of words here, but thank you for reading and I hope to see you again in the future.

 

-Gabe Bresnick