Masterpiece...

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Behind the Curtains

• I've been really busy lately i dont know about you but all of this masterpiece anticipation has me really anxious and excited and for that heres a video that makes me really happy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmvQcajq9Eo

Is this real!!!!

• I officially am a student of Sonoma State Seawolves!!!!! Holy Shnikies I just can't believe after 17 years on this Earth I am now a college student. Praise be to God.

The Best Advice

So I sat here on a Thursday and listened to a man talk about life. We sat there and discussed college, careers, and family. After a whole 24 pack of beer ( I wasn't drinking) the discussion got really deep. He told me nothing in life is worth doing if the passion is not there. He stressed to me the importance of loving what you do and being selfish when it comes to yourself. What he said was a reality check he said,"Never be a taker. Borrow the knowlege that you gain in life and give it back to the people whom you meet on the way. Stay loyal to your heart and it will guide you." Sometimes the most motivational people are the people you don't expect it from

Holy Macbeth

So I'm sitting here watching Around the Horn on ESPN when something peculiar happened. Analysts J.A Adande was talking about Indiana Pacer coach Frank Vogel's job security when he quoted Shakespeare. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." Just something that I thought would make Preston smile

Why Passion is important

So for the past weekend and few days Ive been working at a tire shop in Santa Maria. I hate it, not the tire shop but the work. After about an hour I realized that this was something that I didnt want to do after high school. There was one man that has been there for 30+ years so I asked him why. He told me that he loves cars and this is the closest he can get to them. It is slowly coming together, Passion + Drive = A long and HAPPY career. Passion + Laziness = Misery

Passions & Emotions

Found this great article while browing the web

• http://gautamgs.blogspot.com/2008/07/passion-emotion.html

Where am I?

On these crossroads of must and should I am on the road of should. If I really think about it I walk both of the roads and end up in the middle often. I can not find myself doing what I must do, wrestling is what I am passionate about but of course there is n way that I can actually wrestle. Of course I can do other things associated with the sport but it just isn't the same as being on the mat competing.
Must, is like the article stated, "Is a leap of faith" and I need some assurance that I will land safely. I'm the kind of guy that fears failure although I do know that success is found only through failure. Everything in life has some sort of risk but doing something you love as a career? That's a load of crap. I know that we go to school and study "business" or "applied calculus" because we know hat we have to make a living. Ask any teacher on campus I bet you 50% of them would rather be doing something else.
The way that life and work are supposed to blend was really intriguing. I would love to see how my life would be if I didn't have to juggle everything, instead blend them. Wrestling season, for an example, is when my life seems to be a piece of art. I manage to get everything done: homework, practice, chores, everything. If that somehow ended up as a career it would be in my opinion the greatest job on planet Earth. Like it's been said," If you love what you do, you never work a day of your life."

Interview with Mr. Blanco

• So my masterpiece is based on emotional connections to individual passions. Passions give people a sense of purpose or meaning in their life and when taken away can cause a huge void. It can sometimes be an investment of your free time with out any incentives other than your own pleasure. Depending on the severity of the void in your life you might have to reevaluate yourself. People look to find other outlets to get their fix for their passions by channeling their time into something else. For me it would have to be coaching wrestling since I can not compete at a high level anymore. But can being emotionally attached to your passion be selfish? It can be, Mr. Blanco told me that people don't really appreciate what they have until its gone and it is 100% true. He also said that men use the prefrontal lobe of their brain when it comes to their passion, it means that they live more in the now than women do. The way a person responds to a loss whether it's a person or a passion in the same way: shock, anger, questioning, sadness, and then finally closure. The most important thing to do though is to be able to adapt.

Lit Analysis The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseini

     The novel "The Kite Runner" is about a boy who grows up and find out that if you bury your problems then one day they will resurface with bigger consequences. Amir starts off as a boy living in Afghanistan with Baba (his father), the servants Ali and Hassan. Amir and Hassan are best friends but a series of unfortunate events lands the on different paths; Amir and Baba flee to America while Ali and Hassan flee out of town. Amir struggles to adapt but eventually ends up marrying the princess of the flea market, Soraya. Soon after Baba dies due to lung cancer. Amir gets a call one day and hears that Hassan was killed by the Taliban along with his wife and their son was sent to an orphanage. Amir is also told that he and Hassan were brothers and so he goes back to Afghanistan to find his nephew Sohrab. When he arrives he finds that Sohrab was taken by the Taliban headed by Amir and Hassan's childhood enemy. Amir and Assef fight and Sohrab intervenes and helps Amir escape. Amir and Sohrab recover but are told that Sohrab would have to stay behind and lead him to attempt suicide. Once back in the States Sohrab does not talk but one day at the park Amir buys a kite and does Hassan's signature move. As the kite flies away Sohrab smiles and Amir takes off after it.
     The theme of the novel is to face your demons when they first occur. Amir could have stopped Assef but didn't and he regretted it for the rest of his life. All three of their lives would have been extremely different if something would have done at that moment.
      The tone ranges so much during the novel. It is very positive and happy-go-lucky when Amir and Hassan win the kite tournament but drops down to grim and somber when Hassan is raped or when Baba dies.
       When I finished the novel I was in tears. I had been on an emotional train wreck and it finally was over. I sympathized with Amir but was understanding of Hassan. Both of them seemed like people that I had met and I will never forget these two dynamic characters. I felt as if I was in the same room when Assef  tried to kill Amir. This was the most realistic novel I had ever read and it is now my favorite.

Believe the Hype!

• So everybody Dr. Preston wasn't kidding when he said that we were usually only a few degrees of seperation from somebody important. This weekend at a family party I brought up the masterpiece somehow and my Aunt's boyfriend mentioned his sister. Nancy Perez, she was a physical therapist in Okinowa and was offered to do physical therapy for the military (Black Ops) but she turned it down. I messaged her and her brother assured me that he would get in touch with her!

My Super Group

• I've already tried to contact these people but it is nearly impossible!
• Jordan Burroughs- Olympic Gold Medalist
• Jake Varner- Olympic Gold Medalist
• Jay Robinson- Minnesota Wrestling Coach for last 30+ years
• James Collins- San Diego Charger's Athletic Trainer
• Kyle Dake- 4x NCAA champion at 4 different weights

Resource of Monday...

DON OLSON
- I've known Coach Olson since I was a kid. He has always tried to guide to the correct path and offer me assistance with what I've needed. He is a distinguished wresting coach up in Lemoore and has a wrestling tournament named for him. He approached me at Cal Poly about a month ago offering me a spot on his wrestling team and I have been considering it lately. He runs a tight shift up at West Hills so he would be a perfect fit for an interview.

Decisions Decisions....

• So congrats to everybody admitted to a UC campus! I wasn't, but I still have options, I'm torn between Sonoma State, Northern Arizona, and West Hills Jr college. The two universities are really nice and I would have no problem attending either it's just the fact that West Hills offered me a spot on their wrestling team and would pay for most of my stay up in Lemoore. They're all good schools I just can't decide.

Change of Plans

• Instead of that speech for Macbeth I wanted to know if I could recite one by Rocky but I'm not sure if it should be longer.
• Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!

Welcome to the Jungle

• Hey yall! If your checking out my blog sorry for mess, I just recently started posting after a long hiatus. Im working to get all my stuff together so please excuse the lack of work available. Also if anybody knows how to add the follow widget to the blog that would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

Benchmark Update Blah Blah Blah

•  So over the past couple of weeks I've been trying to contact any wrestler or athletic trainer that has ever accomplished anything. Then it hit me, when I was in the midst of post season I completely shut everybody off and this is what I figure everybody is busy doing their own thing. So I have yet to hear back from anybody yet but I am pretty set on people to interview. I have two friends, Luke Wilson and Andrew Ibarra, who have placed in our state tournament so they are shoo ins. Our athletic trainer has agreed to an interview as long as she isn't on camera. I want to actually have somebody who is an athletic trainer for a college team or professional team so if you know one please let me know.

Lit Terms Mash ( very over due)

• Allegory- a tale/ story written to make a point about an idea or event
• Alliteration- repetition of similar sounds in a group of words
• Allusion- reference to a person, place, event... etc
• Ambiguity- something uncertain as to interpretation
• Anachronism- something that shows up in the wrong place or time 
• Analogy- comparison between things for emphasis
• Analysis- dividing and scrutinizing a work or idea
• Aphorism- a pointed statement expressing a wise observation on life
• Apologia- justification or defense for a piece of writing; apology
• Apostrophe- when a dead person or inanimate object is addressed directly
• Argument(ation)- convincing a reader by proving the truth or falsifying another
• Assumption- taken for granted; act of assuming
• Audience- intended readers, viewers, etc...
• Characterization- the way an author reveals a character's personality 
• Circumlocution- using many words when few could have been used
• Cliché-  over used phrase or situation
• Climax- decisive point of a novel; usually most intense/ interesting part
• Colloquialism- informal language 
• Comedy- descriptive word used to portray amusing/funny events
• Conflict- problem within the novel that creates stress
• Connotation- wordy definition
• Contrast- opposing elements used together for emphasis
• Denotation- simple definition; book definition
• Denouement- conclusion of a novel
• Dialect- the language specific to a group of people or region
• Dichotomy- break between two opposing things
• Diction- choice and use of words
• Epic- narrative poem; hero usually on a quest 
• Epigram- witty aphorism
• Epitaph- brief inscription on a tombstone
• Euphemism- placing a mild word in place of an offensive one
• Evocative- calling forth sensations or memories usually through descriptive language
• Exposition- introduction of a story
• Fable- short story with fictional characters used to teach life lessons
• Fallacy- a  false, misleading notion/argument
• Falling Action- everything after the climax in a novel
• Farce- ridiculous comedy
• Figurative language- colorful language using many similes and metaphors
• Flashback- when author "flashes" back to past events
• Foil- a person/thing that when compared makes another seem better
• Folk tale- story passed on by mouth
• Foreshadow- hinting at what is to come but not giving it away completely
• Free Verse- poem with an irregular pattern and no rhyming scheme
• Genre- a category or class of literature with a specific form, technique or language
• Hyperbole- exaggerated statement used to make a point
• Imagery- vivid description; usually coveys images through different senses
• Inference- conclusion made with out complete evidence
• Irony- contrast between what is said and what is actually meant
• Juxtaposition- intentionally placing a word or phase near another to contrast one another
• Lyric- poem with musical qualities
• Metaphor- comparing two different things imaginatively
• Mode of Discourse- argument, persuasion, narration, description
• Motif- reoccurring feature in a novel
• Myth- fictional story told to explain mysterious that could not be explained
• Narrative- story/ description of events
• Narrator- one who tells a story
• Novella- short story
• Omniscient POV- all knowing narrator
• Oxymoron- two contradicting words/phrases put together to create an effective paradox
• Pacing- tempo
• Parody- imitation or mockery of something well known
• Pathos- appeal to emotion (sadness, pity, etc...)
• Personification- giving non human things human like qualities
• Plot- the structure to the story; the "story" of the story
• Point Of View- the view that the audience has on a piece of literature
• Pun- a play on words
• Purpose- the end result that the author wanted
• Refrain- chorus
• Requiem- a song, chant.... etc. meant for the dead
• Resolution- see denouement
• Repetition- an idea restated 
• Rhetoric- use of language in order to persuade
• Rhetorical Question- question asked to get the reader thinking, never actually requires an answer
• Satire- similar to a parody but deals with wrongdoings 
• Setting- time and/or place of the story, novel, etc
• Simile- comparison between two different things using a specific word of comparison
• Soliloquy- an extended speech given by a character alone with his thoughts
• Spiritual- a religious folk song
• Speaker- narrator
• Stereotype- a cliche; an over generalization
• Suspension of Disbelief- not believing in something in order to enjoy it completely
• Symbol- something that stands for something else, usually an object
• Synesthesia- using one sense to convey another
• Synecdoche- name changing
• Syntax- word usage and arrangement in a sentence
• Theme- a story's message; its main idea
• Thesis- the main idea that is presented by an author and is argued for or against
• Tone- the atmosphere and mood of the work
• Tongue in Cheek- "dry" humor
• Tragedy- a theme that is taken to the end of the novel and had some fatal/lasting conclusion
• Understatement- saying less than you mean for emphasis
• Vernacular- everyday speech
• Zeitgeist- feeling of a particular part of history
• 
  

Blast off into my Launch

• To me the sport I chose has engulfed my life since I started it. Constant nights lying in bed thinking about what's next or just simply being up late due to extreme hunger have had me begging the question; why would any sane human being put themselves through this much torture. From wrestling through injuries to cutting massive amounts of weight, wrestling is one sport that isn't for the weak. On my quest in the direction of athletic training I want finally answer my own question; what does it truly take to become a standout wrestler?

Hack my Education

• This semester I want to know what it takes to make it at the next step in my journey, college. High school as I have learned is nothing  compared to college or real life so I just need to be prepared. 
• I have learned to juggle multiple things but have also learned that when you juggle too much something's got to give. The online factor has also been helpful because I know plenty students that have to create blogs and are lost but with this knowledge I'm ahead of the game. 
• I want to demonstrate the ability to write like I have never done before. I believe I write pretty good but there is so much room for improvement.

Re-Jumping This Thing

• So this past grading period has been a complete mess for me. Between being gone for wrestling and being sick often I have neglected my responsibilities but now it is time for me to step up my game. The next few posts are going to be make up and then we'll go from there