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I'm at the gate waiting for my flight to go home. It's officially summer, and what started as a school year that had me taking a wonderful journey into the uncertain ends with the most amazing experience of my life that yielded happiness, love, stability and the most confidence I've ever carried. Year three will be even more amazing. Aloha, #oahu. #hawaii #airport (Taken with instagram)

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Lessons Learned From This Odd Morning

1. Everything will work itself out in the end. If you've done all you can, waiting is a concept you don't need to make enemies with.

2. Don't be lazy. That's how you break stuff and that's how accidents happen and money is lost.

3. If you really feel your morning sucks, go to Burger King, get a Croissantwich meal with Zesty and Ranch sauce for your tater tots, and get a Hershey's Sundae Pie on the side to make you smile.

4. If you have a significant other, be thankful, be happy and smile for them. That's all they ever want to see. And if you don't? Smile anyway.

Thank me later.

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#Dennys feast in which I finished ALL of this: an All American Slam with cheese on hash browns, cheese on eggs, bacon, sausage links, four pieces of toast, a Pacific Chiller (Sprite with blueberry and coconut flavoring), and a triple chocolate Hershey's cake slice with whip cream. Good morning/afternoon/scrapping! #food (Taken with instagram)

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I own a lot of expensive things, but at the forefront of my desk is always the card, the painting and the #tigger stuffed animal that @michelleesque gave me when we last saw each other. You see, today was not very easy on me but it's with my strength, hope, and never ending will to fight on that keep me going. Those three strengths are all sourced from my girlfriend. These three things and the countless others given to me by her mean more than anything. I think one of the best feelings in life is being able to reminisce and have happiness overwhelm you. We've got a mission to do in a few weeks but I do not fear anything. There's simply too much #love on both ends to worry. I love you, Michelle. Always and forever till infinity. (Taken with instagram)

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Hey everyone! I'd like to thank you all for the massive amounts of attention my instagram has been getting over the past few days. I really want to reply to everyone who gives me a comment and throw giveaways soon. Anyway, here's my first #ootd post! To school and work today, I'm wearing a J. Crew Gingham Dress Shirt, a pair of Polarized Ray Ban Aviators, and my J. Crew laptop bag! The first and third were gifted to me by my girlfriend @michelleesque, follow her too! I'll keep in touch with all of you! #fashion #jcrew

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Believe In Your Flyness, Conquer Your Shyness

I had so many self esteem issues as a kid that I never thought I'd imagine a day where I feel like I would be secure about myself. I grew up without a father to play catch with that would lead to issues when trying to fit with all the other athletic children. I wasn't exactly the cutest child that my Mom would show off to other people (my teeth required an architect to form braces for). I had a really abstract personality, I never picked up finger painting in Kindergarten, but wanted to always try and read The Hobbit because the cover looked cool - the list goes on and on. No, all I relied on was the fact that I was believed to be intelligent, perhaps even a child prodigy, and I worked hard to prove to myself and everyone else that I was and wanted to be one.

While I'm not so dependent on most people's validation any more (it's limited to a few people), I like where I am, absolutely happy with my personality and who I am. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones said it best when asked if he was into himself: "Well, I simply love the idea of what I do every single day and I feel like it's my destiny to be a great person. If that is considered 'being into myself', then yes, I'm very into myself". I think people classify the words arrogance and cockiness a little too close together, and both are misunderstood concepts far too often for a simple reason: shouldn't everyone believe in themselves to the point where it becomes undeniable?

Imagine how amazing this world would be if insecurities didn't exist. For me, I've seen insecurities conquer the most brilliant people, and it makes for the most grave of consequences. Think about it. Geniuses and revolutionaries that are never realized by this world because they felt like no one would care when everyone would. Amazing songs, essays, and poems that would have changed the world but someone was too insecure about some word placement or some other bullshit standard that they felt like they had to conform to when they didn't. Ideas and theories that would be the next evolution but they didn't happen - all because someone was insecure.

Point being: never ever believe that the world has anything powerful enough to stop you. Never believe that everyone is against you because more often than not, there are more people that believe in your ideas that ones who don't. Let your ideas be heard, your thoughts be realized, every thing you've ever kept inside because you are scared the world may not appreciate it...release it. Believe in your flyness, conquer your shyness!

I leave you with this quote from Kanye West:

"Although I haven't totally embraced this yet, people often say that one of my flaws is arrogance. If arrogance means being conceited, brash, cocky or pushy, I can be all of that sometimes. Arrogance has also been defined as an overwhelming feeling of self-importance. I do feel important, but everybody should feel this way about themselves. Arrogance is sometimes expressed by treating others with contempt or disregard. I try my best not to do this. You can be cocky without being arrogant. When you cross the line from being playful with your own expression of self-confidence and mistreat others, then you (meaning me or my imaginary friend) have become arrogant.

I feel my confidence + someone's low self-esteem = my arrogance.

Recognize and embrace your flaws so you can learn from them. Sometimes it takes a little polishing to truly shine."

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For every one reason there is to fail, there are another eight reasons to succeed.

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Amazing. I was so inspired by the quote by UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones said in UFC Primetime: Jones VS Evans Episode 2 that I tagged him in it. Lo and behold, he retweeted me and I gained like a billion followers on Twitter. So honored, go get em champ!

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Well I went, to, the-hat-store-today-and-I-bought-myself-a-hat! HA HAA HAA HAAA!

I'll write a blog post on Donald Glover/Childish Gambino/He really should have been Spiderman soon. He's the modern day definition of a Hollywood triple threat.

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When you do the extra, you should never doubt yourself.

Jon "Bones" Jones, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

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24

These past nine months and this school year have and has been the most significant of my life.  Reflecting leaves me so overwhelmed it really is a feeling like no other, honestly. I don't think it's a feeling I can fully explain until the year is over, but for now I'm sitting at the 24 day mark until I leave the room I've been living in for two years for good (Ohia will get a very positive blog post from me, promise), until all of my boxes are in my driveway and until I am truly home for the summer. The thought of being home knowing how many things have been finished up here leaves me really mellow. Let me try and explain.

I've done a lot of growing up these past nine months. There has never been a time period in my life where I've felt like I've finally had things to build on until now. I didn't need to look for more qualities to attain or personalities to embody anymore, I was finally myself. I didn't need to scramble and stress out trying to find a job anymore, I finally attained an amazing one. I didn't need to wander to seek other hearts, all I needed to do was nourish my own. School got a lot easier once I calmed my nerves and just focused on doing great to make everyone proud back home. Stress has become all but fictional at this point. I've controlled a lot of my emotions in every day life and I've really learned to simply just love things for what they are.

I will admit, some of my insecurities still linger but most of them have faded at this point and they'll be phased out soon before long. Jealousy is something that continues to vanish into the air the less I think about it and I realize the fact that I am doing every single thing I dreamed of. There's no reason to be jealous of others when you're doing everything you want to do. I live in the sky and stare out at the city lights every night. I have money to call my own that goes above and beyond what a simple college kid makes, a living at 19. I have a wonderful girlfriend that is just as ridiculous as I am but is supportive to this mind-blowing degree I didn't think existed in people. No amount of words could express how absolutely thankful I am to have the things I do, everything I've been given just makes me want to give back to this entire atmosphere, and I set out to do that every single day of my life.

Quite honestly, I live to accomplish the dreams of my being and to inspire every single person I ever meet. If you dream big enough and you believe in the things you are doing, there is not a single thing you can't do in this world. No one can take your happiness away from you, no one can tell you that you can't because you know that you can. I've experienced the lowest of lows, and life will constantly try and throw things at you all the time to knock off your grind. Show life you're stronger than anything it throws at you. It seems like it was just yesterday I was forced to deal with people that were indecisive, opportunities that slammed the door on my face, futures that looked absolutely uncertain, all of these things are things to celebrate now. All of them built me, all of them now remind me how yesterday just creates such a beautiful today.

I still love celebration, but I've become a lot quieter with the things I'm doing being I know that none of them compare to whatever I'm about to do next. I have moments in the day where I forget to realize that this my life, that I'm really living through all of this...it's all surreal. I've had a few people tell me that the most positive and the happiest people make the easiest targets, and if that's true, make me the biggest bulls-eye. Hate is inevitable in this lifetime, negative feelings are optional. Your emotional reality is seriously whatever you're thinking of. The best in the world are usually the people who think they are and back it up every single day of their lives.

The best part of this is that I expected none of this to happen, I want to build on it now. I didn't expect to win the girl of my dreams I simply was just reading about on a blog a year ago, I want to build my relationship into the greatest love ever. I didn't expect to gain so many amazing friends with so many rich personalities, I want to show all of them how much I truly to appreciate them. I didn't expect to gain the money that would allow me to provide with the greatest of intentions, I want to turn my yearly salary into a monetary empire. None of it, none of it at all. Thing is, I expected so many other different realities to happen and none of them did at all. Absolutely wonderful.

I'll type another long post in 24 days when this is all over, but I leave all of you with a little message to my friend Christian:

Man, remember when I was sitting on your couch in October with my hands over my face wondering how my life could go to absolute hell and wondering how all of my plans were failing?

Let's laugh at that moment now. 

Cheers, everyone.

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I'm glad to have a girlfriend that works just as hard as me and matches my 115% day in and day out.

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THIS. I've had some problems with my Mac and WiFi. This is definitely the fix.

Dropped Wi-Fi on iMac

If anyone else has been having problems with there wi-fi intermittently dropping with Lion, even after the last wi-fi update, it is probably related to your security settings on your router.  I have Verizon Fios and they set up all of their routers with a WEP encryption.  The Mac has trouble with dropping the wi-fi signal when using this older,  weaker encryption.  Switching your router encryption to WPA-2 will give you better security and stop the wi-fi drops.

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It's so easy to hate on LeBron James, right?

You say he can't close games out, he just works at getting better.

You say he's arrogant, he just scores more points.

You say he's overrated, he's arguably having one of the greatest seasons ever in the NBA (check the stats).

Maybe it is easy to hate on LeBron.

Being at the top makes for the easiest target, after all.

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My inspiration to play baseball when I was younger. Greatest of all time.

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Bug Fixes

I'm very happy to be getting some much needed rest at home before I head back to Oahu to finish off the year and my fourth semester in college. Over the past few days, I've realized things about myself that have gone a far way in improving the mentality I approach every day with:

- I've gained back the confidence that has made its appearances at times and left at others, plus ten times that amount in the process. It's quite a beautiful thing, I've honestly never felt better about myself or life in the intricate processes I deal with in my everyday life. I've come to the conclusion that insecurities don't make much sense to begin with, that it really is good to be absolutely self sufficient at times but realize that there are a ton of people that want to see you do amazing things and you can count on their support to drive you. I'm a lot more calm, a lot more positive, a lot happier, and I've truly taken on the mentality that life is what you make it. My emotions are driven entirely by what I'm thinking about, so why not just focus on the good, balance that with reality and pursue amazing?

- I've started meditating. I always thought my mind was too unjust for meditation but I really seem to have got it down. Before bed, in the shower, at normal points throughout the day, any meditation is good meditation. It immediately clears my head of any negativity that may be in there, because life can get demanding. But in essence, I never feel as if its a sort of taxation for my fortunate circumstances, I simply enjoy everything because even the bad builds character. Meditating seems to flush a lot of the negative thoughts from my head and allows the positive ones to become plenty, and thus my mind is geared to absolutely enjoy the wonderful, see the silver lining in the bad and increase my happiness.

- I drown out the noise and minimize the unnecessary thinking. Constructive criticism is a great thing, but the pointless blabber I sometimes hear about myself from people that have never said a word to me simply doesn't matter anymore. Over-thinking anything in the process for that matter doesn't either. They're mood killers, to be quite honest, so why should I stick around and mess with either? I'm sure something is being said somewhere I'm not looking at. And every single person on the internet can say that about themselves too. The time I use to spend thinking about people talking and this facade about "competition" I made had is now used to put motivation toward accomplishing more and give more love to the people that deserve it. Again, my mood is created entirely on what I'm thinking of...good thoughts equal a good mood, paranoid thoughts equal a negative mood.

I'm sure these fixes to myself are going to be tested more than enough when I head back, but none of it concerns me. I'm going to end this semester, this school year on a note that has been like any other I've ever experienced in my life. School will have an excellent finish because I've thoroughly enjoyed all of my classes, and I'm well on my way to having a shot at graduating college in 3 1/2 years coming into it year early out of high school to begin with, the people that have been behind me are seeing their lives enrich in ways that makes everyone happy, and my job is wonderful. I'm glad that the great amount of money I'm making can be used to buy some amazing things for people, as well as retaining it when I return from the summer. My seventh IT certification test is coming up soon, so hard studying will be done for that. So in essence, you can go ahead and let that negative part of the world sees some of things my dreams have allowed me to attain for people...it's the only thing I'll give a thought to for a second. 

They can make me competition or say some misguided things all they want.

I just want to continue to push myself to be the most amazing student, the most amazing coworker, the most amazing dreamer/achiever combo, the most amazing boyfriend, the most amazing friend, the most amazing brother and son, and the most amazing human being I can be.

I love my life. Nothing else really matters but the positive things.

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The Unlikely Rise Of Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) In The Justin Bieber Era

Any judgment or deeming The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) as merely Drake’s sidekick is absolutely wrong. In fact, he’s anything but – in the past two years that he’s been relevant, Abel Tesfaye went from a talented voice in the absolutely crowded Canadian R&B market to an absolute superstar, forming perhaps one of the most street known and internet popular crews in OVOXO with Drake and putting out three incredible mixtapes and sitting on the verge of what is to a smash debut. It’s been years since the genre has seen anything near the subject matter, content and ambiance that The Weeknd sets. From crooning about his nonchalant mood on sipping promethazine in the Drake assisted tune “The Zone” to his absolutely frantic bravado about serving as an overall warning to any woman that crosses his path in “The Birds Part 1”, Tesfaye brings something so unnatural to the R&B game it commands the attention of anyone willing to give him a listen that go beyond the norm. In fact, even his covers are nothing short of absolutely empowering as well. His cover of the Michael Jackson hit “Dirty Diana” that starts the critically acclaimed “Echoes of Silence” mixtape released in December 2011 draws comparisons to the late King of Pop in more ways than one. The falsetto that Tesfaye hit absolutely stun any pair of ears or speakers that it encounters, and is arguably the largest and fullest sounding voice that has come around since the first time we heard Billie Jean decades ago. In a genre that has been dominated by the Chris Browns, Justin Biebers, Ushers and Ne-Yos for the past decade, The Weeknd is harsh and absolutely intoxicating breath into the genre. Whether he hits the same amount of superstardom as the absolute greats remain to be seen, but Abel Tesfaye has solidified himself as a power player and a fantastic potential groundbreaker in the R&B game. And at a time where music as a whole is searching for its new heroes, this is an absolutely wonderful thing.