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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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Are required classes more important that Fine Arts?

A while back in my junior year English class, my teacher asked the question along the lines of, “Are Fine Arts just as important as subjects like Math, English, and Science?” Now, I come from a very conservative town, so most of my classmates had very traditional views, resulting in the majority of them answering no, Fine Arts are not as important as the other subjects. But alas, we never got the opportunity to have that debate in class, but I was ready. That question has been pestering my mind since that day. Growing up, my parents would always tell me to get good grades in Math, English, and Science, because “those were the ones that mattered”. I never thought much about it until hearing that question. Why was it that my grade in Pre-Algebra mattered more than my grade in Theatre? Why have we been taught this from such an early age?

It boils down to the futures of the youth and the practicality of their future careers. Compare the amount of times you have heard parents or school counselors encouraging kids to become doctors or lawyers or engineers to the amount of times you have heard parents wanting their kids to be actors or artists or musicians. The difference is drastic, and understandably so. In most cases, the adults in a kid’s life want what is best for them. Being a doctor is a very practical job, usually coming with a steady income and benefits. There is a sense of stability that comes with having a practical job, something that everyone wants. But what if I told you that the jobs that adults don’t want the kids to get are just as important, if not more important as the others? What if I told you that fine arts are a defining part of every culture?

There are considered to be seven different fine arts, those being architecture, sculpture, painting, literature, dance, music, and since the twentieth century, film/cinema. Those might vary a little bit between who you talk to and where you are from, but those are the main seven.

Architecture

Every single building you have ever been in, of any sort, was made possible by the architect(s) who designed it. You would not have a house, a physical school, an office building, or anything in between if it weren’t for the art we call architecture. These things are necessary for everyday life, whether we realize it or not, and society as we know it would collapse without them.

Sculpture

This one might not seem as important as the others, but think again. It could one hundred percent be argued that pottery is a form of sculpture. According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, “pottery is one of the most common types of items found by archaeologists during excavations, and it has the potential of providing valuable information about the human past”. Had it not been for ancient peoples inventing and creating different forms of ceramics and pottery, we would know a lot less about them, and we wouldn’t have the basic eating and drinking utensils that we have today. Furthermore, think of the most iconic sculptures in history. David, by Michelangelo. The Statue of Liberty. The Great Sphinx of Giza. Although these aren’t essential parts of human history, what they symbolize are important parts of our cultures.

Painting

Painting, along with sculpture, are huge parts of culture and history, most notably, The Renaissance. Renaissance is defined as “the revival of art and literature under the influence of classic models in the 14th-16th centuries”. Think of paintings like The Last Supper, or The Creation of Adam on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Each of those are important to many Christian religions today, and are iconic pieces of work that basically define Christianity as a whole. I would argue that religion as a whole would be very different if it weren’t for the artwork created many years ago. Or think of the cave paintings left behind from thousands and thousands of years ago, giving us a glimpse of what life was like back then. Painting also paved the way for other forms of artwork to take place, such as animation and graphic design, things that we use/consume every day.

Literature

If literature wasn’t taught in schools, everyone would be… you guessed it: illiterate. Literature and language go hand in hand. If it weren’t for literature, it would be extremely hard to learn how to use language. And vice-versa. If it weren’t for language, literature would cease to exist. Every single book about anything you have ever read, whether it be business, self improvement, history, textbooks, or even fiction stories would not even be possible without literature. The Bible, Quran, Torah, and any other sacred religious text, which are the texts that a lot of people base their morals off of, wouldn’t be here, resulting in nobody knowing what each religion is about, causing religion itself to crumble. Most forms of news are written down, on a newspaper or online, and without that we wouldn’t know about the world around us. Sure we have live news networks on TV, but more on that later. So yes, literature is important.

Dance

Dance has been a way to express emotions for thousands of years. Swing dancing, slow dancing, or even mosh pits are ways to connect with other people, and have been for quite a while. Without dancing we wouldn’t have things like Homecoming and Prom, which can be big parts of the adolescent experience. Dancing is a great way to socialize with others and convey emotions without even having to say a word. Furthermore, dancing is a great cardio workout, which is great for your physical health.

Music

What do you think about when someone mentions the 60s? The 70s? The 80s? You might think of the crazy hair styles, the politics, the hippies, and the ridiculous fashion (which is definitely making a comeback), but something that never goes without saying is the music of those decades. The rise of pop, disco, alternative rock. The Beatles, Bee Gees, Journey. Bob Dylan, Elton John, Michael Jackson. In fact, you could talk about any decade from the last century, and the music of that time will always be a defining part of that discussion. Even centuries ago, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Chopin were superstars! Music has always been something that humans have loved and enjoyed, and it always will be. It is something that people can identify with. People can find a community of others with similar music taste, they can feel welcome and accepted because there are others like them. People feel pride when they hear their national anthem. Musicians write songs about politics, social issues, historic events. “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel is a great example of this. After 9/11, Alan Jackson wrote a hit country song called “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” about the tragic events that happened that day, and tells us that the greatest thing we have is love. On the opposite end we have “Weird Al” Yankovic, who makes ironic parodies of existing songs. Music has always been a way for people to express themselves and their ideologies, and to have fun. I have heard so many times that “this song/band saved my life”. Music is more than just instruments and sounds, it’s real, raw emotions, that covers every topic that a person could think of, and is a huge part of world culture. Without music we couldn’t connect with others nearly as well as we can with it.

Film

Have you ever seen someone get offended when someone else hasn’t watched Star Wars? I have seen that way too many times, mostly because I am a person who hasn’t watched Star Wars. But why does it matter so much? I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but it is because of the cultural importance of that movie. Star Wars is a universally known movie series. If you haven’t seen it, you know what it is and a basic summary of what it is about. Along with music people can find friends through having a similar interest in movies, for example, Comic-Con. Movies basically run every single marketing campaign ever. Whenever there is a new Disney Pixar movie coming out, you’ll see fruit snacks shaped as the characters, and McDonald’s happy meal toys based after the movie. You will constantly see posters and commercials advertising for the movie. Film, like music, lets the writer or director express their emotions and ideas to others. Film is just like literature, just easier to understand. It can teach and educate us, make us feel emotions, and blow our minds. Get a job in the film industry, and you are set. Another part of the film section of fine arts is TV broadcasting. TV can bring us the news, sports, and lots of other forms of entertainment, all of which are important to humans.

Either the kids in my junior year English class didn’t know what fine arts even were, or they didn’t know what the hell they were talking about, or both. Sure, the other subjects are very important, and help us further innovate technology and the world around us. Sure, having a career in STEM will be a great career, but you could make a career out of any of the fine arts above just as easily. Remove any one of the fine arts from society, and the world would be wildly different. Saying that the fine arts aren’t as important as Math, English, and Science is an ignorant and uneducated statement, and it shows that you know nothing about the world around you.

#fineart

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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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The superiority complex in the Music Community

I have loved music for as long as I can remember. My mom put me into piano lessons when I was about 8 years old, and I must admit, I didn’t really like them at the time, but I will forever be grateful that I learned piano from the get go. Playing music isn’t the only thing I love. I remember when I got my first MP3 player and I was so excited to listen to my own music. My taste in music was pretty similar to my older sister’s, because she was always blasting her music, so that’s what I listened to the most. She helped me download some songs onto my MP3 player, and I was set. I had a whole lot of Green Day, My Chemical Romance, All-American Rejects, and all that stuff, and I listened to them on REPEAT. It wasn’t until more recently that I have actually dug deeper into music production and theory and how it’s all made and put together. I think it is beautiful that every song has a story and how each and every note can make you feel something. It’s fascinating to figure out which notes sound good together, and which ones don’t, and why. It’s crazy to me that sometimes songs don’t even require any instruments, how it can all be computer generated. Why does all music need Melody? Or Harmony? Or Rhythm? Or does it? Music is a beautiful thing, and there is always more to learn about it.

I have seen a lot of hate in discussions about music. When someone says that they like the music of a mainstream artist, they might be called a “local”. For example, if someone were to say something online about liking a song by a mega pop star, say Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran you could probably quite easily find comments about how this person has a very basic taste in music. It goes even further than that though. Even if someone was to say something about liking a song by someone who is a little less known, like Frank Ocean or Tame Impala, as long as it is one of their most popular songs, people would make fun of them for it. I believe that there is a sense of superiority people feel when they like music that not a lot of other people do. There is nothing wrong with that, it’s human nature to want to be unique and different, but I believe some people do take it way too far. “I knew about them before they were popular” and “No don’t tell other people about [insert artist name here] they are supposed to be a secret” and other phrases along those lines are things I hear way too often. Shouldn’t we tell other people about music that we enjoy, in hopes that they might enjoy it as well? I don’t see an upside to being one of the few fans of an artist, and I don’t see a downside to making an artist more well known. The artist benefits, and more people get to hear good music. It’s a win for everyone.

I think a step up from just listening to music is playing and having an understanding of music. Like I mentioned earlier, I have been playing piano for quite some time, and I know the basics of ukulele and guitar as well. This doesn’t make me a better “music enthusiast” than anyone else, but it definitely means that I know my way around music a little more than the casual listener. I believe that a step above me would be people who know music theory very well, and can make their own music. I have talked to these kinds of people and they seem like they are the least judgemental out of everyone in the music community. I got in contact with a local artist to ask a few questions about music production, and he was very willing and excited to help. It seems to me that the more educated someone is in basically anything, the more welcoming they are to others into their community. Of course there are still the pretentious people who boast about having perfect pitch, or being able to easily harmonize with a song, (also known as Choir Kids), but we don’t talk about them (kidding, all love). ;

The final step above that is being a superstar yourself. It takes a lot of vulnerability to open up and sing your heart out to the entire world. An example of that would be Billie Eilish. She is constantly criticized for every little thing that she does, a common one being the clothes that she wears. She frequently wears very baggy clothes, in hopes that she won’t be objectified. Although she very recently turned 18, she has been given nasty comments by adults from all around the world for years now. At a recent concert, she began to remove her baggy clothes, in a protest of body shaming, herself being a big advocate for body positivity. Being in the spotlight might sound like a good time, but celebrities time and time again talk about the pressure that is put upon them from very early on.

All that being said, I love the music community and I am so happy to be part of it. The aforementioned situations and scenarios would definitely be considered extremes. I like to think that the majority of people in general are kind and welcoming, no matter the community, some people just give bad reputations to the groups they are a part of.

It is one of my dreams to write and produce my own music. Not for the fame or anything like that that might possibly come, but only because music is my escape. That might sound cheesy, but have you ever heard a song for the first time and just knew that it was going to mean a lot to you? That’s what I want to do for others. In my opinion, music is the most powerful form of communication, and the world is better with it.

#music

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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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An analysis on The Ballad of Cleopatra by The Lumineers

The Ballad of Cleopatra is a short film by the American Folk Rock band, “The Lumineers”. The short film combines the music videos of five of their songs (from their album titled “Cleopatra”) together to tell the story of a taxi driver that the lead singer met and dubbed -you guessed it- Cleopatra. Separately, each music video tells it’s own story, all of them (except for Ophelia) with a woman at a different age as the main character. The Lumineers released each music video separately and out of the story’s “chronological order”, reinforcing the idea to the fans that they weren’t connected at all. However, once the band released the 24 minute Ballad on YouTube a little over a year after the album was put out, the full story started to take shape.

The moral of The Ballad of Cleopatra is “ifs”, “regrets”,“what could have beens” of life and it leaves you asking yourself what you truly value in life. Personally, it made me rethink every choice I have ever made up to this point in my life. So without further ado, the Ballad begins with the song “Ophelia”.

Ophelia sets the scene for the rest of the video. It starts out with the band performing at an event. Wesley Schultz, the lead singer, is playing the tambourine. He takes a short pause, then splits into two different versions of himself, one stays to finish the performance and the other leaves the venue, and starts dancing around the town. This is the first of many “splitting-into-two-versions-of-one’s-self” in the video. He eventually winds down his dancing, and gets into a taxi cab, consequently introducing us to the main character of the story. They chat for the duration of the ride, and although no words are actually heard, you can tell that whatever story the taxi driver is telling to Wesley is full of emotion, judging by the expressions they both make. The driver drops him off at a motel, and the Ballad begins.

The song “Cleopatra” begins to play as it shows passengers coming in and out of Cleopatra’s cab. Some we will see again, some just background characters, but all have their own unique story.

So I drive a taxi, and the traffic distracts me

From the strangers in my backseat,

They remind me of you

Cleopatra drops a couple off at the airport, and picks up her adult-looking son. It is evident that they have a strong relationship with each other, as they seem to enjoy each other’s company, laughing and smiling the whole time, and the camera shows all the pictures of her son that she has in her cab. They drive around until it’s dark, stopping for burgers on the way. Eventually it is time for the son to go to his father’s house. Cleopatra looks disappointed, but understanding. She drops her son off, and we see the first of many “what ifs”. Cleopatra splits into two versions of herself, the imaginary version going up to her ex-lover, talking to him and making amends. Realistically, it would be odd if she did that with no prior warning, but you can tell that, against all reasoning or logic, she wants to do it. But alas, the real version of her only gives the father a longing look, and gets back into her taxi. Cleopatra transforms into the youngest version of herself, and her backstory begins.

The piano melody “Patience” plays as Cleopatra talks to people at her father’s funeral. Her boyfriend stares, walks up to her, gives her a big hug, and whispers into her ear, “if we don’t leave now, you may never make it out”.

‘Cause if we don’t leave this town

We might never make it out

I was not born to drown

Baby come on

The song “Sleep on the Floor” starts playing. Cleopatra splits into two versions of herself again, the real her staying at the funeral, and the imaginary her running off with her boyfriend. But wait, that wouldn’t make any sense! She couldn’t just leave the rest of her family to grieve and take care of everything while she goes off! That would be unfair. That being said, love doesn’t make sense. Love goes against all common sense and reasoning. When you love someone, nothing else matters except for them. Why wouldn’t she leave with her boyfriend? I mean come on, they are in love. It goes on to show their imaginary life together. They buy a car and travel past state lines, never looking back. Sleeping in motels and on random stranger’s couches, they really don’t have much, but they have each other, and that’s all that really matters to them. The montage of struggles continues. Their car breaks down, they get into arguments, they eat Ramen for dinner, but despite it all, they are as in love with each other as always. They decide to get married on a whim, and celebrate the night away. As they lay in bed, Cleopatra stares into the camera, and the scene shifts back to the version of her that stayed, what actually happened, driving in her car, with a somber look. She then transforms once again into a different age, ten years older now.

The song “Angela” begins. Cleopatra is laying in bed with her husband, showing off her very pregnant belly. She sits up and looks at her sleeping husband. Although they are obviously together, she isn’t in love. This isn’t the man she wanted to end up with. She splits into the two versions of herself. The real version getting back in bed, and the imaginary version leaving her husband behind. She gets into the car. She drives all night and into the morning, stopping at a motel. She gets out of the car and gets a room, but not before she looks into the sky, smiles, dances around, and for the first time in a long time, feels completely free.

Oh Angela it’s a long time coming

Oh Angela spent your whole life running

Home at last

A taxi drops 75 year old Cleopatra off at a nursing home, and “My Eyes”, the final song of the ballad begins. She is greeted by a worker who walks her to her new room. She sits on the bed and stares out the window with a sense of yearning, almost as if she is reflecting on everything that brought her to this point.

Too young to know, too old to admit

That you couldn’t see how it ends

She tells stories to the nurses, knowing her time is coming. For the last time, she splits into two versions of herself. One stays in the wheelchair, the other walks down the halls of the nursing home. Each age of Cleopatra is shown walking down the hall in place of the current Cleopatra, for a split second each, signifying the growth she has gone through and the experience she has gained throughout her life. She looks back one last time to where she came from, and then takes a step into the darkness.

This hauntingly beautiful tale of a simple taxi driver has so many lessons in it. There is not a single life story that sounds like the next one. Through the heartache and pain, the moments of pure ecstasy and joy, we all learn a thing or two on this journey called life. It’s always an interesting thing to wonder how our lives could be different if we had taken another path. But no matter how many times we wonder ‘what could have been’, no matter how many regrets we have, it is impossible to undo what has already been done. And personally, I think that is the beauty of life. The beauty that although we might not be where we thought we should be, it’s where we were supposed to be all along.

#music #the lumineers

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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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Music

I have loved music for as long as I can remember. My mom put me into piano lessons when I was about 8 years old, and I must admit, I didn’t really like them at the time, but I will forever be grateful that I learned piano from the get go. Playing music isn’t the only thing I love. I remember when I got my first MP3 player and I was so excited to listen to my own music. My taste in music was pretty similar to my older sister’s, because she was always blasting her music, so that’s what I listened to the most. She helped me download some songs onto my MP3 player, and I was set. I had a whole lot of Green Day, My Chemical Romance, All-American Rejects, and all that stuff, and I listened to them on REPEAT. It wasn’t until more recently that I have actually gone deeper into music production and theory and how it’s all made and put together. I think it is beautiful that every song has a story and how each and every note can make you feel something. It’s fascinating to figure out which notes sound good together, and which ones don’t, and why. It’s crazy to me that sometimes songs don’t even require any instruments, how it can all be computer generated. Why does all music need Melody? Or Harmony? Or Rhythm? Or does it? Music is a beautiful thing, and there is always more to learn about it.

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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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If you had the chance to change your fate, would you?

In November of 2018, my cross country team went on a trip to California. When we were getting on the plane, I went to my seat, which happened to be a window seat. Some random dude sat in the aisle seat on the same row as me, and my friend from my team sat next to me. Here is where it gets weird. My friend’s name is Spencer, which is also my name. We thought that it was funny, two out of three people on the row were named Spencer. That was until the random dude on the aisle turned to us and told us that his name was Spencer too! So now we have three dudes, on the same plane, sitting right next to each other, all with the same name. We marveled over this strange coincidence. The odds of this happening are probably next to zero, but it happened, and we were aware that it was happening.

It got me thinking about fate. At that moment it felt like the universe had perfectly lined up. What if the person who organized our event planned it on another week? Or had gotten tickets from another airline? What if instead of my teammate Spencer sitting next to me, it was my teammate Tyler? What if the random Spencer never decided he wanted to visit his family in California? There were so many things that made this situation so perfect.

This is obviously a very minuscule and unimportant event that, had it not happened, my life would basically be the same as it is right now. That being said, what are the things that happen to me every single that have a huge impact on my life? How different would my life be if I did something different 10 years ago? There is literally no way to know, and it makes me feel like I am missing out. I want to live my life as if I had chosen every single possible choice for every single possible decision I have ever encountered. But alas, I can’t. I am stuck living in a linear string of one decision leading to another, but who says that can’t be as cool?

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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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Kobe Bryant, and the “GOAT” argument

As almost everyone knows, former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash this past Sunday. Kobe Bryant had such a wide circle of influence that his death not only shocked the world of basketball, but just about everyone else. I am a big basketball fan, but I was never too fond of Kobe. That being said, when I heard the news, my stomach dropped. I saw something on Twitter just minutes after TMZ broke the news, and I thought it was some sort of sick joke. Then the additional reports and confirmation started rolling in and I was heartbroken. I hated on Kobe for as long as I watched him play, but for some reason it hit me so hard. Someone who seemed so big and invincible, just gone in an instant.

The day before Bryant’s passing, LeBron James (who is in the conversation about who is the greatest basketball player of all time, along with Kobe and Micheal Jordan) passed Kobe in the all time scoring list, making him the 3rd all time scorer in NBA history. After the game, Kobe Tweeted out: “Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect for my brother”. For me, this makes it hard to continue the argument of the “GOAT”, in basketball. These guys are just doing what they love, the way that they love to do it. It’s hard to say that one is better than the other when they each have their own style of playing. Besides, what is the criteria to be the “greatest of all time”? Most points? Most championships? Best individual player? Team player? No one is to say what makes the best, the best. So I think what we need to do is enjoy the players while they are here, and acknowledge the legacy that they leave, because someday when they leave, that’s all that really matters.

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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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La La Land: Summary and Review

La La Land is a movie about a girl named Mia (Emma Stone) and a guy named Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). Mia is an aspiring actress, and Sebastian is a Jazz music fanatic who wants to start his own Jazz club. They meet in Los Angeles, hence the name of the movie, ‘La La Land’. They first “meet” in LA traffic, then start seeing each other at work and at different parties. As all typical Hollywood movies go, they get to know each other and eventually fall in love. They start a relationship with each other, motivating one another to achieve their respective dreams. Little do they know, their dreams will eventually bring the downfall of their romance. The movie goes on to show Mia’s numerous auditions for acting roles that she never gets, and Sebastian compromising his dream of preserving old-age Jazz by joining a new-age Jazz performing band with his seeming frenemy, Keith (John Legend). As Sebastian spends more and more time performing with the band, Mia realizes that Sebastian is, in fact, compromising his dream. They eventually have a fight about it over a dinner that Sebastian surprised Mia with. Sebastian wants Mia to come to his band’s concert in Boise, and Mia thinks it is some sort of joke, and tells him that she needs to stay in LA to rehearse for her one-woman show that she wrote. They come to the realization that they can either attempt to achieve their dreams, or stay together, but not both. They don’t break up yet though, but things just aren’t the same. Sebastian continues to tour, and Mia keeps on rehearsing for her show. On the day of Mia’s one woman show, not a lot of people show up, and the ones who do show up laugh at her when she goes backstage. Sebastian shows up right when it ends, and that is Mia’s breaking point. She doesn’t think that anybody cares, and she feels like she will never make it as an actress. She tells Sebastian that she is going home for a while, all the way in Nevada. A little while later, Sebastian gets a call for Mia, a casting call from someone who was at her show, and they want her to come in and audition for a role. Sebastian drives all the way to Nevada to tell her about it. She thinks it’s a bad idea, and says that she isn’t going to go, that it will end up like all of her other auditions. Sebastian tells her that he will pick her up in the morning, not sure if she will actually come with him. She does and they go to the audition, and she absolutely kills it. They want her for the role. After that Sebastian and Mia define the relationship. They know that they will always love each other, but being together will not be possible, so they go their own separate ways. Years down the road, Mia is a well known actress, and has a family of her own. She has a date night with her husband one night, and they end up at a cool little club, so they decide to go in. They turn the corner and there is a big neon sign that reads: SEB’S. They go in and sure enough, it is Sebastian's Jazz club that he always dreamed of. He notices Mia and her husband, and he starts playing the song that is titled ‘Mia & Sebastian’s Theme’. Throughout the song, a montage of “what could have been” between the two of them is shown. The song ends and Mia and her husband leave but not before Mia and Sebastian give each other one last, very long look. And then a smile. And then the movie ends.

This movie is very controversial for a lot of people, just because of the way it ends, but I absolutely love it. Every other movie about love and relationships almost always has the lovers end up together, but that is not the case in this movie. In the end they got what they truly wanted. Mia became a famous actress, and Sebastian started his very own Jazz Club. Their relationship could not have continued if they wanted to achieve their dreams. It came to the point where they had to make an extremely hard decision, either they could live ordinary lives together, or live their own extraordinary lives separately. This movie is about compromise and is a good representation of real life. Real life doesn’t have fairy-tail endings every time, people don’t end up together despite all odds every time. Things fall apart more times than they don’t in real life. In reality, you can’t get everything you want and more, and that is completely okay. La La Land is one of the most realistic movies when it comes to relationships, not despite what happens to them, but because of what happens to them. A lot of people don’t realize that although this movie is painful, it is relatable to almost everyone who has had a failed relationship. People want different things in life, but that doesn’t mean them meeting was a mistake. I am a firm believer that every person in your life, every heartbreak, all the good times and the bad, all happen for a reason. It might be debated that Mia and Sebastian never should have been together because they eventually broke up, but I disagree. Mia needed Sebastian to keep pushing her when she didn’t want to be pushed any further, and Sebastian needed Mia to realize that he wasn’t doing what he truly wanted. This movie is an absolute masterpiece, and has made me think more about the human condition than any other movie has.

My question for you is, what are you willing to give up to live the life you truly desire?

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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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Question Everything

I have been thinking a lot about having an open mind lately. We talked about what exercises our soul or something along those lines in my English class, and that is what I said exercised my soul, questioning things and having an open mind. When you think about it, it is pretty dang hard to question everything you think you know. It makes it hard to find an identity, to know who you actually are. If you question everything and have an open mind, your life is constantly changing. But I believe that after learning about other people’s opinions and ways of life, it is wrong to not change your opinions about things that you previously thought were right, but now you know are not. For example, when I was younger, you could say that I was a little bit homophobic. I didn’t think that it was normal for boys to like boys or girls to like girls. As you might guess, I have since opened my mind about that opinion that I used to have. I am now a lot more tolerant about people who are different than me, because I realized that we are all just people trying to make it for themselves in this world. Gay people aren’t doing anything wrong, so why must I shame them? As a follower of Jesus Christ, I don’t think that anybody is lesser than me, because Christ set the ultimate example of radical acceptance.

So if you are reading this, I challenge you to open your mind about your current opinions, you might find something out about yourself.

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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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Music

Lately I have been getting really into music. Now don’t get me wrong, I have always loved listening to and playing music, but now I am actually getting into it. The theory. The notes. The chords and keys and majors and minors and everything in between. It has been a dream of mine for a while to make music. I have written one song on the ukulele, but I’m pretty sure everybody and their dog knows how to do that. The ukulele is probably one of the most simple instruments out there. There aren’t a whole lot of cool things to do with only 4 strings. But now as I learn the theory of music, I can expand my horizons and start writing music on the piano or guitar. I was registered for a music class for my fine arts credit, thinking that I would be learning about music theory and that I could learn to be a better musician, but it was about a bunch of classical music and all that, so I dropped it after the first class.

I know that in these days, a lot of people want to be the new up and coming SoundCloud rapper or whatever, but I think it would just be fun as a hobby to make music, and maybe release it. Music has always been an escape for me. I makes me feel ways that nothing else can. I want to be able to do that for other people. Making someone else feel something through my lyrics and melodies? That sounds absolutely crazy, but I think it would be very cool.

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beanburrito1015 · 5 years ago

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On August 26th, 2016 Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49er’s made history. He decided not to stand while the National Anthem was performed before his game, in peaceful protest of the mistreatment of Black people, people of color, and all who are oppressed in America. This sparked a great deal of controversy around the country, leading people to claim that he was disrespecting the flag and military, and saying that he should be fired. Kaepernick was eventually out of his quarterback career, but it was the movement that he started and the impact that he left that was significantly more important than any amount of money a team could offer him.

Some people might say that not standing for the anthem is disrespectful towards the flag and military because thousands of people have lost their lives defending what it stands for. Although it is true that there have been great losses in the pursuit of freedom for this country, that is what freedom is for, to do what you believe in.

A US soldier said, “I took an oath to protect the constitution and all of its rights. I can possibly die if I get deployed somewhere with conflict, (...) I feel no disrespect when someone kneels or sits, (...) I will protect those that do. They have that right. And if I die, I know that I didn’t die in vain because they still have those freedoms,” (@dyluhhhn on twitter). We simply cannot pick and choose what freedoms we want others to have, that right there is un-American.

An army veteran named Nate Boyer convinced Kaepernick to kneel instead of sit because, “Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother’s grave,” as a sign of respect. If anything, Colin’s peaceful protest was anything but disrespect towards any branch of the military or for Old Glory.

Donald Trump, the supposed “Leader of the Free World”, had some of his own remarks about the whole tossup. “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that [explicit] off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’” For someone who loves to talk about the great freedoms of this country, it seems as though he doesn’t appreciate the First Amendment as much as he should.

So in the end, it seems like Colin Kaepernick never disrespected the flag at all, instead, he gratefully used his rights as a citizen of the United States, inspiring others to stand (or sit for that matter) for what they believe in. He is an influential person of this generation that will go down as a hero.

Next time you hear the National Anthem, show your respect towards it in the way you truly want to, not just the way that is deemed “socially acceptable”. We live in a country of opportunity, and as a result, we have plenty of rights to protect our freedom of speech, so never be afraid to express yourself the way that you please.

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