Alligator

My Soundtrack:

The Birth: Chocolate by Snow Patrol

The World: Shrink the World by Yellowcard; Space by Something Corporate

The Call: Three Little Birds by Bob Marley

Supernatural Aid: None…yet

Belly of the Whale: Fighting by Yellowcard

The Road of Trials: All the Above by Maino

Apotheosis: Dig by Incubus

Boon: Blessed by Brett Dennen

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I chose chocolate for the birth stage because it talks about the stages of life and being aware of being alive, which I think associate well with the stage.

This could be the very minute
I’m aware I’m alive
All these places feel like home

With a name I’d never chosen
I can make my first steps
As a child of 25

This is the straw, final straw in the
Roof of my mouth as I lie to you
Just because I’m sorry doesn’t mean
I didn’t enjoy it at the time

You’re the only thing that I love
It scares me more every day
On my knees I think clearer

Goodness knows I saw it coming
Or at least I’ll claim I did
But in truth I’m lost for words

What have I done it’s too late for that
What have I become truth is nothing yet
A simple mistake starts the hardest time
I promise I’ll do anything you ask…this time
________________________________________________

I chose Shrink the World for the World because it talks about the world he lives in and he describes his life within his world and how he would change it if he could, possibly so he could advance on his own hero journey, such as when he talks about being worried about being boxed in and missing out on things in the real world.

If I could then I’d,
Shrink the world tonight,
So that I would find,
You and me inside.

A life in love,
A picture of,
A place I’m nowhere near.
A bleeding heart,
A good head start,
To anywhere but here.
Just let me out,
Please let me out,
Before I turn into a box of things,
Reminding me,
How much I’m missing out. (I am missing you.)

If I could then I’d,
Shrink the world tonight,
So that I would find,
You and me inside.
Of the last good scene,
A film that changes things.
Breaks us, makes us sing,
Leaves us wondering.

And through the wall my fist you call and then you always run.
So what’s it for, the love and war, it’s only fair for some.
You saved the girl you saved the world,
Well that’s not true it seems.
A lesson learned, speak out of turn,
I bite my tongue it bleeds. (Bite my tongue it bleeds)

If I could then I’d
Shrink the world tonight
So that I would find
You and me inside.
Of the last good scene,
A film that changes things.
Breaks us, makes us sing,
Leaves us wondering. Are you wondering?

If I could then I’d
Shrink the world tonight
So that I would find
You and me inside.
Of the last good scene,
A film that changes things.
Breaks us, makes us sing,
Leaves us wondering.

If I could shrink the world tonight.
If I could…

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I also chose Space for The World stage because it questions the qualities of the world and talks about what the narrator wants in their world, which in this case would be space.

Home, is this the quiet place where you should be alone?
Is this where the tortured and the troubled find their own?
I don’t know, but I can tell this isn’t you, your cover’s blown
Oh no, don’t you dare hang up this phone

Hey, give me space so I can breathe
Give me space so I can sleep
Give me space so you can drown in this with me

In this place
The lonely escapade in outer space
There’s no antidote for irony you say
that you have, when you know that you don’t
and you say, that you can, when you know that you won’t

Hey, give me space so I can breathe
Give me space so I can sleep
Give me space so you can drown in this with me
Hey, give me space but I can’t breathe
Give me space but I can’t sleep
Give me just one inch I swear that’s all I’ll need

These padded walls and TV screens
Sometimes they make me want to scream

Hey, give me space so I can breathe
Give me space so I can sleep
Give me space so you can drown in this with me
Hey, give me space but I can’t breathe
Give me space but I can’t sleep
Give me just one inch I swear that’s all I’ll need

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I chose Three Little Birds for the Call because even though its a less obvious choice and less literal, i think it addresses the Refusal of the Call and offers encouragement by saying don’t worry, which I believe would help the Hero continue on the hero journey, even in the face of something scary like their call.

Dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

Rise up this mornin,
Smiled with the risin sun,
Three little birdsd
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin, (this is my message to you-ou-ou:)

Singin: dont worry bout a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: dont worry (dont worry) bout a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

Rise up this mornin,
Smiled with the risin sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin, this is my message to you-ou-ou:

Singin: dont worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. dont worry!
Singin: dont worry about a thing – I wont worry!
cause every little thing gonna be all right.

Singin: dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right – I wont worry!
Singin: dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: dont worry about a thing, oh no!
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

_____________________________

I chose fighting for the Belly of the Whale because it questions what in fact they’re working and fighting for in life, but the narrator doesn’t lose hope. Even though they may feel they’ve been swallowed and they’re not sure why they’re fighting, they’re still going to do it and keep working towards achieving their goal, or in the case of the hero journey, their destiny.

I said I’d moved on and I’ll leave it alone,
But before I walk out there is something that I need you to know,
I got lost in a blink of an eye,
And I can never get back, no I’ve never got back,
You were not there when I wanted to say,
That you were everything that right and it wasn’t you but me to change,
Now I got to go it alone,
But I’ll never give up, no I’ll never give up

What am I fighting for,
There must me something more,
For all these words I’ve said,
Do you feel anything

I said I’m ok but I know how to lie,
You were all that i had,
You were delicate and hard to find,
I got lost in the back of my mind,
And I can never get back, no I’ve never got back
You were not there when I needed to say,
I hit the bottom so fast that my head was spinning ’round for days,
Now I gotta go it alone,
But I will never give up, no I’ll never give up

What am I fighting for,
There must me something more,
For all these words I’ve said,
Do you feel anything

What am I fighting for,
What am I fighting for

Never give up on this [x4]

Said I’m ok but I know how to lie,
But I will never give up, no I’ll never give up

What am I fighting for,
There must me something more,
For all these words I’ve said,
Do you feel anything

What am I fighting for (No I’m never gonna give up, give up)
What am I fighting for (No I’m never gonna give up, give up)

Said that I’d fight for the one that I’ve found,
I’m gonna stay here while I wait for you to come around,
I fight you’re apart of me now,
And I will never give up, no I’ll never give up

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I chose All the Above for the Road of Trials because they start out questioning who and what they really are and what they mean to the world, and move on to address the fact that they are important and meaningful and that they will fight for their goal, such as achieving their destiny.

Chorus: Tell me what do you see when you looking at me (x2) (Woooahhhh)
On a mission to be what im destined to be (Woooahhhh)
I’ve done been through the pain and the sorrow the struggle is
nothing but love (Nothing but love)
I’m a soldier a rider a ghetto survivor and all the above all the above (x7)

Verse 1: (Maino) Really what do you see, when you looking at me,
see me come up from nothin, to me living my dreams, i done been
to the bottom, i done suffered a lot, i deserve to be rich, headed
straight to the top. look how i ride for the block look how i rep for the
hood i get nothing but love now when i come through the hood
getting this fortunate and fame, money make all of us change. the new
Benz is all white call it John Mcain. how the hell could you stop me
why the world would you try? i go hard forever thats just how im
designed thats just how i was built see the look im my eyes you
take all of this from me and im still gon’ survive you get truth from
me but these rappers gon’ lie im a part of these streets till the day
that i die i wave hi to the hatters glad that i finally done made it
take a look and you can tell that i am destined for greatness.

(Chorus)
Tell me what do you see when you looking at me (Woooahhhh)
On a mission to be what im destined to be (Woooahhhh)
I’ve done been through the pain and the sorrow the struggle is
nothing but love (Nothing but love)
I’m a soldier a rider a ghetto survivor and all the above all the above (x7)

Verse 2: (Maino) Its easy to hate, its harder to love me yall dont
understand, yall quickly to judge me. put ur foot in my nikes picture
u livin in my life picture u stuck in a cell picture you wasting your life
picture you facing a charge picture you beating the odds picture you
willing to bleed picture you wearing the scars thank you for
making me struggle thank you for making me cry i perfected my
hustle tell me the world aint mine if you aint seein me lately im a
miracle baby i refuse to lose this is what the ghetto done made me i put
that on my father tryna hope for tomorrow when i think that i cant i
envision obama i envision the diamonds i envision ferarris if the
world was perfect all my people behind me aint u happy i made it
that im making this statement take a look and u can tell im
destined for greatness

(Chorus)
Tell me what do you see when you looking at me (Woooahhhh)
On a mission to be what im destined to be (Woooahhhh)
I’ve done been through the pain and the sorrow the struggle is
nothing but love (Nothing but love)
I’m a soldier a rider a ghetto survivor and all the above all the above (x7)

Verse 3: (T-Pain) Now we gon talk on this spot (spot) or if im out
on the block (block) i hustle hard cause its all the same (they know,
they know…..) and you know that grind dont stop just cos i rose to
the top (top) and everybody knows my name (they know, they
know….)
Ayyy still grinding (still grinding) still hustling (still hustleing) no
more pain (no more pain) no more sufferering (no more
sufferering) my ladys and my shorties and my thugs keep that task
and that shine and the love
All the above, all the above (x7)

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I chose Dig for the Apotheosis because I think it relates to my personal hero journey and my own apotheosis. A quality I have that’s important is my ability to dig deep and keep pushing through anything, and this song really addresses that quality.

We all have a weakness
But some of ours are easy to identify.
Look me in the eye and ask for forgiveness;
We’ll make a pact to never speak that word again
Yes you are my friend.

We all have something that digs at us,
At least we dig each other
So when weakness turns my ego up
I know you’ll count on the me from yesterday

If I turn into another
Dig me up from under what is covering
The better part of me
Sing this song
Remind me that we’ll always have each other
When everything else is gone.

We all have a sickness
That cleverly attaches and multiplies
No matter how we try.

We all have someone that digs at us,
At least we dig each other
So when sickness turns my ego up
I know you’ll act as a clever medicine.

If I turn into another
Dig me up from under what is covering
The better part of me.
Sing this song!
Remind me that we’ll always have each other
When everything else is gone.

Oh each other….
When everything else is gone.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ohh
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhhh

If I turn into another
Dig me up from under what is covering
The better part of me.
Sing this song!
Remind me that we’ll always have each other
When everything else is gone.

Oh each other….
When everything else is gone.
Oh each other….
When everything else is gone.

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I chose Blessed for the Boon stage, because again, it relates to my personal hero journey. It talks about qualities that they have and the song is very bouncy and happy, which relates to the boon since it is a gift, and the tone of the song portrays that really well.

I welcome the sun,
the clouds and rain,
the wind that sweeps the sky clean
and lets the sun shine again.
this is the most magnificent life has ever been.
here is heaven and earth
and the brilliant sky in between.

blessed is this life
and I’m gonna celebrate being alive.
blessed is this life
and I’m gonna celebrate being alive

I dwell in the darkness
I let in the light
I sleep in the afternoon
and become the noise in the night
I trespass in temptation
suffered in sacrifice
but I awake each day with a new sunrise

blessed is this life, oh
and I’m gonna celebrate being alive
blessed is this life, oh
and I’m gonna celebrate being alive

“A rod is not for a destination but for a journey”

          -Buddhist precept

 

At the beginning of the scavenger hunt, I have to admit being more focused on the destination than on the journey. A certain other classmate of mine was also more focused on the destination when he purposefully told me false information to try to lead me astray so he could possibly gain a lead in the assignment. That encounter made me stop and rethink the purpose of the assignment, and I’m glad I did so.

As the first step of the assignment, I was to reflect on who I am and where my beginning place lies. I’m very familiar with my basic attributes, such as that I’m a 17 year old junior at Brebeuf, but I’m not sure how familiar I am with my deeper self. In addition, I don’t know where my Beginning place lies because I’m not sure I am in fact on a journey. Strengths I have include my leadership, strong will, and strength as a person. I do believe that I am possibly only a “partial” person, because I am not very emotional, and connection with emotions are probably important to maintaining a “whole” person.

I must admit, I looked for the medicines of which I knew the clues, not that I thought would best serve me on my journey. The medicines I was able to collect include compassion, joy, integrity, perserverence, and strength. Joy and compassion were both good finds as those would supplement the strengths I possess well. Those would help complete me as a person so I could find those qualities within myself more easily, and become “whole”. I’m not sure how much help integrity, perserverence, and strength would provide as I already somewhat possess those qualities, but they might be helpful in enhancing those qualities within myself.

The important message of the exercise I thought was to appreciate the journey to finding the token or medicine, not the actual medicine itself. Deciphering the clue and hunting down the medicine was certainly more meaningful than receiving the bag of sand or sucker. After a friend of mine intentionally led me astray, I realized the meaning of the exercise and the importance of the journey. That little snag represented any obstacle in a journey, and I appreciate my friend’s actions. If he hadn’t misled me, I probably wouldn’t have stopped to reconsider the importance of the scavenger hunt.

 

i don’t really know what to talk about soo i’ll talk about sectionals!

the boys won their first sectional game on tuesday against Northwest, and tonight they play Howe. If they win, they’ll either play beech grove or roncalli tomorrow night for the sectional finals. they lost to roncalli in double overtime earlier in the season, and i think they’ll be our toughest competition. hopefully we’ll win and move on to regionals!

 

There has always been lots of hype surrounding Kairos, due primarily to its secretive  nature. Like others, I was unsure what to expect. It’s a pretty long retreat, lasting from tuesday night-friday night, and i honestly had no idea what we were going to spend all that time doing. as many will tell you, this retreat is a must for a brebeuf student. i feel your brebeuf experience would be incomplete without going on this retreat. brebeuf is about being open to growth and loving, in addition to men and women for others, and this retreat speaks volumes for those qualities. i don’t think it’ll make much of a difference when you go, junior year as opposed to senior year, but it is well worth it. trust me, it is best kept a secret, so don’t ask your friends who have gone already what happens. just go into it with an open heart and mind, and you’ll surely get a lot out of it.

 

random song i like :

 

okay this is seriously one of my favorite videos everrr

 

just think what would happen if we all loved each other a little more.

& if you need a free hug, i can help you out =)

 

 

can you tell i just figured out how to put videos in??

but i really like this group, and this album is particularly good, so here’s one of their songs! =)

I always get comments like oh cheerleading isn’t a sport, its not hard, you guys don’t do anything, and the other day i sat down and thought about it. honestly, most of the people who say this to me have never even attempted it, so they haven’t even experienced it for themselves.

i’ve cheered football and varsity basketball every year at brebeuf, and this year was my first year on the competition team. we practiced 4 times a week, had games on fridays, and competitions on the weekends. over the summer, we practiced 2 times a week and went on a couple different camps. cheer camp isn’t a joke haha its not all rah rah go team. we get up at 7 and eat breakfast and work out from 8 in the morning until at least 6 at night, usually later.

at practice i regularly get kicked/elbowed/punched in the face during stunts, fallen on top of, etc. i got an insane bloody nose before a basketball game last year because my flier messed up and fell on my face when she was twisting down from a stunt. during football games my hands regularly bled from tumbling on the rocky track, and during basketball season i constantly have bruises on my hands from tumbling on a hardwood floor.

cheerleading is the most dangerous girls sport, accounting for 67% of female sports injuries. the stuff we do isn’t a joke, we throw people around and hope that they get caught correctly, and we throw our bodies around in increasingly difficult tumbling skills, so when people tell me that we don’t do anything and that its not hard, it gets frustrating when i’ve put so much time and effort into it, so hopefully people will understand more of what we go through and put into the sport.

 

the first video is of the cheer squad from the gym we travel to for cheer camp during the summer, ICE athletics. The second is just a random partner stunt video.

 

 

 

why do we feel compelled to speak in a weird voice to babies? or even dogs?

i feel like thats how your voice just comes out naturally when you speak to them haha because i’m not sure people sit there and think, hey maybe i’ll talk in a funny voice to this small human and see what happens, you know?

my mom and sister speaking to our puppy made me stop and think about it, and i can’t figure it out. maybe we’re subconciously scared that our big boy/girl voices are too much for their small bodies to handle?

its a mystery!

We were talking about this the other day at lunch, and its something that i really notice during the winter time

it really bothers me when i see homeless people or someone whose car broke down and i can’t really stop to help them because in our society today thats considered to practically be a death sentence. a couple weeks ago i saw the same lady standing on the same median for 1-2 weeks, and she’s probably still out there somewhere seeking help. I know that there are organizations you can donate to and all of that, but honestly how much of that gets back to the people who really need it? surely there isn’t enough to get around to everyone. if it were me standing out there in the cold for weeks on end, i obviously would want someone to help me out.

i’ve read articles about homeless people dying because random teenagers thought it would be funny to beat them up, and clearly their bodies can’t withstand the same kind of abuse a healthy human’s can. some people think that it’s their own fault that they’re homeless and that they’re just lazy and they should just go get a job but i really don’t think its that simple. obviously if they could just walk into a mcdonalds and get a job then a lot of them would probably take advantage of that becuase i’m sure they don’t enjoy sleeping outside and not knowing where their next meal is going to come from.

whether its their fault or not, they’re still human and deserve the same basic human necessities: shelter, food, and clothing. they also deserve some level of respect because they’re still people with feelings and probably have more heart and humility than people who are 100x more privelaged.

i just wish there was something i could do to directly help those in my area but i can’t do much because of safety concerns.

I just wanted to clear my name because AJ so kindly tried to call me out in English today for cheating during health. For the record, my team dominated due to true skill and AJ is just bitter because he wasn’t doin so hot. Come on, we had 16 points because we were getting the questions right and we made a good shot. Its not my fault you guys only had 6 points and you missed all your extra shots! =) Also, Tori tried to say i cheat in spanish, which is also untrue. I’m really not sure where these allegations are coming from but i think we have us some sore losers! Better luck next time guys!! =)