Azkaban

I absolutely believe in punishment, consequences, and equality of these punishments.  A world without justice is unfathomable, the need for punishment keeps are world from spiraling into chaos.  The cause and effect check and balance must be present.  Every crime must have its own parameters regarding punishment and time spent being punished, as well as the severity of the punishment taken into consideration.  Even small crimes must be have punishments in my eyes, from the littlest of things such as littering, should someone be found guilty of such an offence, I believe a fine should be given, no if, ands, or buts.  If the law says do not litter in a set area, it means do not litter, and if this is broken, in my eyes there should be no exceptions. Continuing on with another little violation such a J-Walking, there is a law prohibiting J-Walking, and if there is a law, consequences for breaking the law must be made and enforced without bias.  Crimes such a theft or robberies, start to become more complex as the severity of each theft or robbery differs each instance.  This is where I believe categories must be made to punish fairly and still obtain justice, as in these crimes there is almost always a victim.  I believe the small end thefts should be punished with a higher fine then the first two crimes I stated early as well as the stolen property full refunded back to the victim or victims in some cases.  As the severity of the crime increases the punishment goes from fines to jail time or community service, this is decided by the judge, yet the complete refund of stolen property should still be in effect.  Continuing on with murder, this is the hardest to punish fairly as it has the most components.  Accidently murders must be looked over carefully and in some cases if it was reckless endangerment jail time is given.  If someone is murdered out of cold blood it is my opinion that they should be locked up permanently, as anyone who has the ability to murder without grief or remorse will do it again, and is a permanent danger to society.  If a person commits more than two murders a death sentence should be given.  At that point they have lost the right to live, and death by fatal injection should be used.  As you can see I strongly believe that our justice system is effective as I basically described what is currently in use besides a few small changes based on my opinions.  I also believe that prisons are a necessary thing to have, as people who are a danger society belong isolated from the public.  If a person commits multiple crimes a life sentence should be given.  In some rare occasions, a prisoner that has shown that he is no longer a danger to society can be given the chance to leave jail early, but is kept on close watch.  If a person who has been let out early commits any other crime, they are re-jailed and any chance of being released early is gone.  This is how I believe prisons should be run.

soccer and my love for it

Soccer is more than a sport to me it encompasses everything I do in life.  From my free time to the clothes I wear, it is a part of me and will stay that will for the rest of my life.  You can most likely see me in the halls wearing some sort of Adidas pants or shorts, sometimes including my favorite, the European three-quarter shorts, which of course people patronize me for, saying they are Capri’s but as you know now, they are not.  My first exposure to soccer was with a Berkeley recreation team named the Tigers. At that age, playing soccer has been humorously compared to a swarm of bees following the ball all around the field. The Tigers were no different – little strategy, not much passing of the ball, and no positions assigned. The moment the whistle blew, every game turned into kick ball, paying little attention to where the ball would end up. Even so, soccer seemed much more exciting to me, and I liked it.  As I grew older, the game transitioned into a more organized sport, where positions began to matter and playing switched to passing the ball and scoring goals. As my skills improved and the game’s competitiveness increased, so did my enthusiasm. I played for several other teams over the next seven or so years, each better and more competitive than the last. I recall the excitement every year of playing for the NJYS State Cup, to see just how close we could get to the final round. Sadly, my teams never made it to the finals. When I turned 13, I yearned to play at an even higher level in order to participate in more competitive leagues and tournaments. I found a fairly new team from Manchester called BOCA Jr. which seemed to fit the bill. Little did I know it at the time, but this would be the team that would cement my love for the game, and that I play for still today.  My team went on playing in college showcases and championships, and these moments contained the best feeling I have ever had, and I could not think of a better way to spend my time, and focus my effort. It was my great honor to serve as the captain of my high school soccer team and I enjoyed every second of the season and all the experiences I had both good and bad.  I know in some way, shape or form soccer will forever be existent in my life.  Whether it be me playing college soccer, and moving on to coaching my own teams, to only playing club ball and being a diehard soccer fan as an adult, someway soccer will find its way to stay in my life.

travel

If I was given a plane ticket to anywhere there are a few places in mind that I have always longed to visit and experience. For starters I would want to visit Hawaii, and all its islands.  It has been a dream of mine to experience Hawaii and all it has to offer, and to just relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  I would want to spend at least two weeks in Hawaii, visiting all the small shops and possibly learning how to surf.  Regarding the hotel, with unlimited money I would stay in both a run in the mill hotel as well as a very expensive and classy hotel to get the true feel of Hawaii. This would be the last place I would want to visit in America, the rest of my dream destinations are all out of country.  I would first love to visit Ireland.  It has been a dream of mine since I was a small child to visit Ireland, and to visit the place where part of my heritage is.  Too visit the ancient castles and to explore the incredible landscape.  I want to relive my ancestry and to see everything Ireland has to offer. I would stay at least am in Ireland as I am sure I would never get the chance to go again, making it worthwhile as much as I could.  I would try to find a hotel made out of a castle, ever since I was a little boy I always was fascinated with Ireland castles and old and incredible architecture and structures. I would want to experience everything from the country sides to the towns and cities trying new foods and things I have never done before.  Next on the list is Europe and I say Europe because I want to visit many places here.  I would like to visit Great Britain and Big Ben, and try new foods, and possibly even hit up a pub as the drinking age is much lower just for fun.  I have always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower so this is next on my list, as it is a famous structure seen everywhere I would love to have the chance to see it, trying new foods everywhere except for France for the most part as I do not really enjoy French food that much.  Lastly I would like to visit Italy and Greece, as they are not only famous places but they are over flowing with history and lure.  I would love to visit the coliseum and the leaning Tower of Pisa, and all the incredible art work and sculptures throughout.  Staying in fancy luxurious hotels and trying all the foods I possibly can. Lastly I want to visit Alaska to see the aurora lights, as this happens once in a blue moon, it would be a life changing experience.

comfort foods

Of course I have a comfort food, I believe everyone has some sort of food that makes them feel warm and comfortable or makes them feel at home, or even possibly invokes strong feelings or memories of the past.  Stress is another big reason why people develop or have comfort foods.  Comfort foods I believe are a necessity and something everyone has.  I of course have many, many, these comfort foods vary from special occasions to everyday foods that I like to enjoy all the time.  I believe there is a difference between a favorite food and a comfort.  Favorite foods are something you like and enjoy the taste of but have no emotional connection to.  On the other hand comfort foods invoke a type of emotion and make a person feel comfortable or warm inside.  In some occasion a favorite food may also be a comfort food.  Since Thanksgiving just passed, a special occasion comfort I like to enjoy is turkey, which I am sure millions of others like turkey as their comfort food.  I like turkey because it invokes the feelings of family and togetherness, besides it being delicious and all.  It also gives a sense of comfort and relaxation.  Continuing along with Thanksgiving foods is mash potatoes.  I love mash potatoes, I love them with butter, gravy, salt, and plain.  They are not just a comfort food I enjoy on special occasions such as thanksgiving but they are a comfort food I like to enjoy all year round.  They make me feel warm and satisfied.  Another comfort food is nachos and cheese with a side of salsa or guacamole.  I eat this whenever I am feeling stressed or I had a long day I like to whip up a quick plate of nachos.  I throw it in the microwave and after about a minute or so they are done and ready to eat.  I have always loved nachos and cheese and they are a nice way to end the day for me.  In the dessert section I love sugar cookies.  They remind me of Christmas and family and I mostly eat them near holidays.  Besides sugar cookies I love cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes with vanilla are my favorite and it is always a good day when I come home and there are cupcakes sitting there.  Nothing is more satisfying and stress relieving than sitting down and enjoying a vanilla cupcake.  It is my number one comfort food, and I enjoy it more than any other dessert food.  Comfort foods invoke emotions and warmth or possibly even a way to relieve stress from a hard day.  The foods are different for everyone and it all depends on their personal preference, but everyone has some sort of comfort food.

question mark?

What is life? Why is the sky blue? Why am I tall? Why does chicken taste like chicken? Is Santa real? Why is the Easter Bunny real? Why is chocolate brown? Why is fire hot? Why do I have two dogs? Why is the grass green? Why is the ocean blue? Why do light bulbs burn out? Where does electricity come from? What is lighting? Why are there tornados? Why are there hurricanes? Why do sharks eat people? Why can’t sharks walk? What is a shark? Where are the dinosaurs? Why did dinosaurs die? Why are there so many trees? Why do rivers flow? How many animals are there? How many bugs are there? Why do I like praying mantises? Why can you eat chips? Why is it getting hard to think of questions? Why am I running out of questions? Why is black Friday called black Friday? Why can people run? Why do we die? Why do we live? Why do elephants like peanuts? Why are there colors? Why do I like soccer? Where did soccer come from? How many people play soccer? Why is snow white? Why does water freeze? Why are marshmellows so good? Why is nutella so good? Why do I like running? Why do I like track? Why do people hate other people?  Why is popcorn so good? Why does popcorn pop? How is cotton candy made? Why is a tomato a fruit? Why do people work? Why do people cry? Why do people get angry? Why can’t we have everything we want? Why do we dream? Why do we sleep? Why do we get tired? Why do we get hungry? What is being hungry? What are cars? Why do cars move? Why can we not fly? Why can we swim? Why can we love? Why can we hate? Why do people look different? Why are all snowflakes different? Why are there dogs? Why are there cats? Why do people like cats? Why do people like dogs? Why can’t anything ever be simple? What is a human being? Why do people speed? Why are there laws? Why do people break laws? Why do people obey laws? Why do we have a government? Why do people kill other people? Why do people commit crimes? Why do people go to jail? What is jail? Why do people in jail wear orange? What is an orange? Why are there a lot of types of oranges? How many fruits are there? Why do fruits taste good? Why are bananas yellow? Why are apples red? Why are apples green? Where do apples come from? What is a potato? Why do watermelons have seeds? Why are those seeds black? Why do rainbows occur? Why does it rain? Why does it snow? Why does it hail? Why do cows eat grass? Why do people not listen to advice? Why do people go hungry? Why is the world round? Why does the earth have so much water? Why do people win? Why do people lose? Why am I out of questions?

elected official

For starters, I am not really sure who I would pick out of my family to run for a political position or a position of authority.  When I first read this, what came to mind was nobody in my family would make an exceptional politician or any elected official in that manner.  No one in my family as far as I know is a great public speaker and no one in my family really fits the mold of what a politician needs to be not only effective in the office but possess the skills needed to get elected either.  But that is not the point, and if I had to choose one person I would have to say my dad is the most likely to succeed as a politician, or as an elected official.  I would say he would be best as an elected member of Congress.  You may ask why I think he would fit well into the duties of a congressman and I can say this position is about contributing ideas and than debating them until a polished and agreed upon plan or decision.  I believe out of my family members, he holds the most amount of qualities needed for an elected official.  He is extremely intelligent, well polished and I would not say he is a people person per say but he can make conversation with strangers.  I believe if he was in office such as a mayor he would put the people first, seek to resolve the immediate problems at hand and then move on to the problems that seem to be coming down the road in the future.  Unlike most politicians I believe that he has a good heart and that money would not be an issue as in many cases money becomes a poison that corrupts many people.  I also believe that power is a big problem when dealing with elected officials.  It is easily abused and power has been a major corruption and downfall of many people.  That being said I do not believe that power would corrupt my father, as he holds a high position at work and he has handled his position of authority fairly and has not once abused his authority.  He has never been involved in any type of political event or position besides being a regular voter, and I am not sure how he would effect or change the world in general as a mayor of a town, but I do believe he would make the right decisions regarding putting the people first and addressing everything the right way.

Wild.

What does the word wild mean to me?  The world wild means a multitude of things to me, depending on the situation or context it is taken out of.  Wild sometimes means not following or obeying laws or restrictions, especially ones that apply to me.   Sometimes wild is just letting loose and not caring about anything, having a good time regardless of what people think or say.  And sometimes wild may mean the outdoors or wildlife, either way wild in some shape or form is in our everyday lives, if we realize it or not.  In my life wild takes on all these meanings and changes depending on the situation or from day to day.  Sometimes wild means letting loose, and doing whatever makes me happy at the time, forgetting the world around me, and just not caring what people think, say, or do. Other times wild means going against a restriction given or put on me, or possibly not obeying a law set forth.  Being wild in my opinion is always a lot more exhilarating than being mundane and boring, although sometimes the consequences that follow being wild and reckless are not really worth the happiness or fun that was gained during the experience.  Sometimes wild intertwines with different definitions such as the first two stated.  Letting loose and doing whatever makes you happy at the time, or living in the moment so to speak, can easily involve the second definition of wild, which includes breaking laws and not obeying restrictions.  There is a time and a place to be wild, although those standards or rules of acceptability are usually ignored when it comes to being wild.  When I heard the word wild, I think of young people going crazy, having fun, and in some cases getting into trouble.  Spring break comes to mind when I hear the world wild as the way spring break is portrayed by media definitely fits the definition of wild.  Wild has no boundaries or borders, it can encompass any area from the desert the suburbs.   The old western stories always talk about the “Wild Wild West” and they usually consist of action, bandits, bank robberies, and lots of guns, which is how I believe wild has slowly gotten its reputation as being very crazy.  The last definition of wild that I think comes to mind is the outdoors in general.  There are many words that correspond with the word wild such as; wildlife, wilderness, wild in general.  These three words all have the world wild in them and all relate to the outdoors.  The wilderness is the great outdoors where all of nature is.  And wildlife is the huge amounts of wild animals that are free of boundaries and live in the wilderness.  The way the world wild can be interpreted is endless and differs from person to person, and regardless of what you may think it means is a part of everyday life and is here to stay.

homework

I am not much of a complainer, and I tend not to dwell on the things set forth but I do have to agree with the complainers that the homework issued out by for the most part, all my teachers is a bit much and a serious need to assign more during class and less at home is definitely worth some time thinking about.  I spend on average 3 hour or so, on just the small homework things, such as math problems, reading assigned pieces of literature, and busy work, things of that nature.  Those three hours do not include the massive amounts of writing and blogging assigned throughout the week.  I would have to say I write at least 3 to 5 pages a week minimum from the blogs to the current events assigned in other classes and it is very hard handle.  Sure, it is not a lot of work for the student that is not involved in outside activities, clubs, sports or a combination of the three, but to the student that is involved in numerous clubs and honor societies on top of playing a varsity sport, which in itself is very demanding, means the homework given for the most part has them working into the late hours of the night.  Homework on the weekends is a given,  not one weekend has past where I have had no homework at all since the beginning of the year, and no the first week of school does not count.  I always have 2 to 3 blogs due and those are usually saved for the weekends due to the huge amounts of work given throughout the week prior.  But besides that, work is usually given by almost every other teacher on the weekends on top of the blogs put off due to the huge load of homework already being taken care of.  There is a tremendous change from last year to this year in the amount of homework given, and not only in just a few classes, it is in every class.  In addition the huge bump up of writing assignments given from English to electives which I find absolutely ridiculous, that writing assignments must be given in electives, but that is a whole other story.  Last year hardly any homework was given and homework on the weekends was a rare occasion, but instead more work was done in the classroom which I find much more beneficial.  Lastly is what, is the purpose of homework?  Yes homework reinforces the things taught but what I seem to find is happening this year is the homework given is not taught in the classroom at all especially in subjects like math and the next day the entire class period is spent going over the homework, defeating the purpose of why homework is assigned.  I tend to wait to the last minute to do larger projects, but not to the point where it affects the quality of the finished product, and they are usually always on time.

“Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your won presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement.” Said by Alice Koller defines and describes the need for solitude and the need to be alone.  I agree with this quote or statement by Alice Koller, I enjoy solitude and this does not mean I do not like to be around or involved with other people whatsoever.  I would have to say I am in the middle of spectrum on the balance of personal solitude and involvement and interactions with other people, but leaning more to solitude than involvement with other people.  I do not find being alone frightening or scary at all, in fact I find it the complete opposite.  Solitude is peaceful and relaxing, it for me helps calm down my mind and slow down for a brief moment of time, as the world around flies by at an extremely fast pace.  Being alone gives a person time to think, and I believe the thinking that occurs while alone is very different from that of the thinking that occurs when surrounded by others or while being over stimulated by the things happening around you.  When I am alone I usually like to just relax, taking in the freedom of not being bothered by anything or anyone, this usually is accompanied by music.  Usually easy going relaxing kind of music is what I prefer.  While alone I also enjoy just laying in bed and just watching some television without being interrupted or disturbed.  I believe solitude is a must to remain sane, although  I am sure many people disagree.  I know of tons of people that cannot stand to be alone, whether it is because they are frightened of the thought of it, or they just enjoy being around others much, much more. As is the same in the work environment.  The type of job a person chooses is directly related to their preference on being alone.  Some jobs are completely involved in human interaction and rarely incorporates alone time.  While other jobs are based almost solely upon solitude and being alone, take for example a person who works and computers or possibly a person such as an architect or engineer designing something.  These jobs are done alone for the most part and rarely involve group collaboration.  These kinds of jobs are my dream jobs, I would much rather work by myself than with a group of people or be involved in pleasing or taking care of a people.  Not saying I do not care about people I would just much rather it not be involved in my job.  I try to balance solitude and group activities, but in the end I do tend to prefer to be alone.

music

I think music is an important part of pretty much every person’s life.  Whether music consumes them or just is something used to pass the time music has affected everyone’s life in some shape and form.  I my life I wouldn’t say it consumes me or changes who am I entirely but I would say it helps relieve stress, makes a situation different, or just simply cheers me up.  I think for the most part music is a great distraction for me, but some songs hold a deeper meaning, or pull on certain emotions or memories in my life.  Most of the music I listen is for the most part up pretty upbeat and tends to put me in a good mood.  I of course have music that is deeper than the rap and hip hop music I normally listen to you but I do not believe it has a really deep meaning besides being a little more easy going, and friendlier to the ears and mind.  I guess music is pretty important in my life, I most likely could not live without it but I don’t believe it changes who I am as a person.  I do believe music does portray the type of person you are and the kind of character you have in some ways. Some kinds of music that “stir” me so to speak are songs with powerful and meaning lyrics.  They sometimes do not even relate to my life at all but you can tell the emotion and power behind and in the words they are saying or singing.  This kind music really opens your eyes.  Music that leaves me “cold” would be songs that invoke old memories and in some cases not so good memories. These kinds of songs that take me back in time or make a vivid memory return to me are the songs that make me “cold” so to speak.  I believe I am a pretty open person especially towards music.  I have an open mind and will listen to pretty much anything.  I tend not to enjoy country or any kind of hardcore metal or things of that nature.  But every other genre I will gladly give a chance.   I enjoy rap and hip hop the most, it is primarily what I choose to listen to but if a I hear a good song that is out of the ordinary that is not something I normally would listen to I give it chance.  

cellphones

I believe phones are both the greatest worst inventions every made.  The invention of the portable cellular telephone was revolutionary, it made it possibly to communicate from almost anywhere at any time.  The way they have transformed has changed the purpose of what a cell phone was made for.  They have since become a way to stay connected to a person almost permanently, and this is where the problem lies.  It is too easy to stay connected and is very addicting.  I will admit that I am a pretty big cell phone “junkie” so to speak.  I am not as bad as some people I know but I love to my cell phone, and I love using it.  For the most part my phone is always within grabbing distance, or easily accessible.  I am a fairly frequent “texter” as well, for the most part I cannot go an hour without sending or a receiving a text, but I do not ignore the people or things around me, unlike some people I know.  I find that very rude and I would never do it.  I do find myself spending a bit too much time on my cell phone.  I am sure if I counted how long I spend on it a day, it would be measured in hours, but I do not think it is to the point where it is negatively affecting how I function. If there were no cell phones, my life would be different because I would not know any better.  If the cell phone grid network went down for six months I would probably be pretty angry.  Most of my plans are made and communicated over cell phones and it would be pretty hard to effectively make plans.  I would be one pretty bored kid.  Besides the fact I could not effectively make plans, I would definitely miss not being connected to certain people throughout the day.  I find texting fun, and a great way to pass the time while doing things that I might not actually enjoy doing. Sure cell phones have negative effects if they are abused, and they are definitely abused by many people but most things are bad if over used.  Everything in moderation and I believe that applies to cell phones as well.  Without cell phones are world would definitely be a completely different place, and in my opinion it would be a lot less media driven and a lot less technologically advanced.

drivers

There are tons of different kinds of drivers in the world, ranging from superb to less than satisfactory.  I believe the way a person drives is a good indicator of their personality, and they way they are actually as a person.  There are definitely differences between one driver to the next, anything from the little things like adjusting mirrors and the way they position their hands on the wheel to the big things like obeying the speed limits and following laws.  Some differences could be whether a person decides to wear their seatbelt or whether they drive with their seat leaned all the way back or instead drive sitting straight up and pay close attention to the road.  As well if a driver decides to blast music at an obscenely loud level or if they instead keep the radio down to a minimum.

            I believe every person who has driven or has been in the car with a person driving has witnessed people doing incredibly stupid things behind the wheel.  I personally have witnessed anything from blowing a red light to cutting off another person to even the little things like not using a blinker which seems minor but is a very dangerous thing.  Sometimes the dangerous things people do although is still their fault has been due to a very hard or difficult situation they have been put in.  I have found myself in some difficult situation behind the wheel but generally I have done okay in reacting and resolving them.  Kind things people do behind the wheel unfortunately are few and far between.  The most common is the wave on, which means letting a person go before you on a turn or such.  I think one of the kindest things you can do is let a person merge into a lane from a turn on a busy road.  It saves the person waiting a tremendous amount of time and it only wastes about of five seconds of your life.  I know when someone does it for me, it really brightens my day, so I try my best to reciprocate the favor.

I have found myself in one bad situation that lead to me unfortunately getting a ticket.  I drive a 2000 Celica which if you do not know is a sports car.  It has extremely small windows in the shape of teardrops almost and they are very hard to see out of.  Well long story short I pulled out and slightly and I mean slightly cut off a cop.  He was not too thrilled, and although I tried to plead my case he had nothing to do with it and issued me a ticket.  But besides that little mishap I have had a fairly good driving record and I still fancy myself as a decent driver.

           

anger

Everyone gets angry, an as stated before some more than others, and in some cases some much more than others.   Anger is an everyday occurrence in many people’s lives and that’s including my own.   I don’t handle stressful or annoying situation very well.  I get angry very quickly but I also cool down equally as fast.  One thing that always gets be angry is lying, or putting “words” in my mouth so to speak.  I absolutely cannot stand when some says I did or said something, when in actuality I never said or did any of it.  Following behind as close second is disrespect.  I try to be a very respectful person to pretty much everyone, and when someone decides not to respect me or something I care about I get pretty angry, pretty fast.

                I believe I handle stress and anger pretty poorly.  I am not proud of it but I tend to think I get angry a little bit too quickly.  I forgive and forget very quickly as well but I do not believe it can fully make up for flying off the handlebars so to speak.  I find clenching my teeth and walking away saves me from saying things I don’t really mean.  I have tried the deep breath technique, I think it is more of an urban myth than anything else, I did not find it soothing whatsoever.

Everyone has struck out and someone or just completely lost it and said things they should of never said.  It is human nature for these interactions to occur at some point in everyone’s life.  I believe in a teenage boy’s life these times occur a little more frequently than most other people.  I flip out on someone in my life at least once or twice a month, although I do not strive to do so, some people just say and do the wrong things and there is no stopping it.  I believe the feelings that accompany flipping out on someone all depends on the circumstances and the factors that lead to me flipping out.  Sometimes if it is absolutely not my fault, which is a rare occasion, I feel relieved and almost happy, like I set things straight.  But if stress has gotten the better half of me, and I fly off the handle bars over something silly I feel guilty and sometimes almost ashamed.

I am not sure I am the best person on giving advice on how to control your anger.   But I believe a good thing to keep in mind is an open mind.  Try not to be so inflexible, do not take things so personally and try and let things go to the best of your abilities.  That is all that is asked for, getting angry is unavoidable but I believe if you try hard attacking a person verbally or physically can be avoided, it just takes discipline and self control.