1. KSHMR – Dharma
I listened to a lot of electronic music since when I was in 6th grade. When I listen to this song in my freshman year, I got hooked to the rhythm of the song! Then I listened to songs that are similar in rhythm to this song and realized that this song introduced to a subgenre of House electronic music.
2. Dyro – Against All Odds (Instrumental Mix)
At this point, I enjoyed House music so much that I started to learn how to make House music. When searching the right Digital Audio Workstation and digital synthesizers, I have stumbled on a website listing all the different plugins and synthesizers called Splice. When I was looking at the best synthesizers, I then scrolled down and realized that professional artists with his work also used these top synthesizers. I listened and analyzed critically one of these songs chose this song as my favorite.
3. Alan Walker – Different World)
There are some good audible lyrics in this song but are irrelevant to why I put this song on my list. This song shows the careful beautiful balance (mixing and mastering) between the singer and the synths. I used to hate pop music since it is not my favorite genre, but this music made me like pop and want to listen more to this genre.
4. The Chainsmokers – Sick Boys
“Make no mistake, I live in a prison
That I built myself, it is my religion”
This song also shows the careful between the singer but with real instruments. But what the reason why I chose this song on the list ts the lyrics of this song. The lyrics indirectly tells us that:
a. People wanted to be rich and famous on social media. However, instead of being happy being famous, some are living miserable lives and suffering trying to please his or her fans.
b. Some of the rich and/or famous cannot physically go outside alone feeling that they are going to be targeted.
This song shows the consequences of being rich and/or famous.
5. Martin Garrix & Brooks – Byte (VIP Edit)
Martin Garrix is my favorite House artist. This song got me dancing. I decided to look at Martin Garrix’s work and most of the songs that he created also got me dancing.
Steak
I have paid a pristine piece of steak,
and I demand to fry it rightly.
Medium rare or it’s worthless,
because it is going to be the best steak.
The steak demands respect
to give its juicy savory flavor.
Season liberally
and it must rest for 30 minutes.
Preheat clean oil in an iron skillet
in medium-high heat,
and when the oil is heated just right,
put that whole steak in!
Fry each side for 3 minutes
and sear the juicy fat too!
And when you are searing for a minute,
Bask the steak in herbs and butter!
Take the steak instantly out of the heat,
and it must rest for 5 minutes.
Now dig into that perfect steak
and have a great meal!
The Hidden Value of Homework
Homework. For some like me, it is the most tedious thing I have to do in school. Being the typical sophomore student a year ago, I take some of my time at home and work and school and grind out some of my assigned homework to complete. When the year went on, I was getting frustrated by the amount of homework I need to complete because of the time it took away from me. I slowly started to do less homework as my sophomore year went on. One day I stopped doing homework altogether, and this gave me some sought after freedom of time but a short-lived one.
There are so many opportunities in the one life I have. I want to be a culinary chef, mastering the vivid visuals that meet with delicious taste. I want to be a music producer, bending sound waves to be candy to the ear. I want to be an entrepreneur, making wealth from a thriving business that sells a quality product(s). There is so much to do in life, but I know I can’t do it because of the time spent grueling on homework.
I decided to become an entrepreneur because it is the riskiest job to do, but it is the most rewarding. Successful entrepreneurs habitually make lots of wealth from the businesses they create; if the entrepreneur continues to grow his business and succeeds, they will make millions or even billions of dollars. However, as impressive it might be to earn such fortune, the risks are also great. Yes, the well-known fact that 9 out of 10 business startups fail is not a risk, unless the founder invests lots of capital in their own company, then they face the chance of losing all of their invested capital.
To become a thriving entrepreneur myself in the future, and also being very passionate that I am, I swiftly searched up ways to become a future millionaire. I signed up to be in Business INCubator in school, and I got accepted into the class in junior year. I also ended up getting the most valuable advice in my life on the internet: form good habits and break bad ones, read a book once every week, learn to manage your money well, build discipline, etc. The first task I did to build my good habits and discipline is to make my bed in the morning. I did this for a small sense of pride, a tidy bed under the quilt, and reminding me that little things matter in life. The next task I did is to read a single book related to business and self-improvement every month because my reading speed is like a turtle.
As I finished reading some books, I started to realize is that becoming an entrepreneur is not about the money generated from a successful business. It is rather creating a new innovative product or service that benefits the lives of many for money. Also, the entrepreneur must be a leader in the business, keeping in check with their members and their funds. To fulfill all the essential responsibilities as an entrepreneur requires excellent social skills and a lot of discipline, and to get things done efficiently requires a strong work ethic.
I realized that what I am mainly lacking as a future entrepreneur is having a solid work ethic. Homework for me used to be a waste of time and effort, but I have realized that I am just very hesitant at getting things done. I then reflected on my past decisions of not doing my homework, slowly acknowledging that to become a great entrepreneur, one needs a good work ethic. My work ethic will develop if I started doing every single homework received. Omitting every assignment my teacher gave me in class will not improve.
At the start of my junior year, I have to make sure that my discipline and work ethic is improving. In Business INCubator, we are creating a business from scratch with the help of our teachers and mentors. The success or the failure of our business depends on my solid work ethic since now it has become more crucial.
Homework. It is still the most tedious thing in school. I still need the time and effort to grind out all of my assigned homework. Now being the wiser junior, I understood the value of completing each assignment on time. However, I struggled to achieve the work ethic I desired because I am turning some of my missing assignments late. But I will strive to complete all future assignments on time.
“Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” Curiosity and Change
Every day, people are trying to change themselves to become a better self, or for worse. Sometimes, changes happen because of curiosity. In one of the chapters of “The Things, They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong”, tells us about a female character named Mary Anne Bell, who is curious about Vietnamese culture. She later joined the Green Berets and disappeared into the jungle, reappearing ready to kill. The reason she became a predatory killer is that she became curious and learned about Vietnamese culture quickly. She changed her cultural identity in her new, warlike environment.
Mary Anne Bell shows curiosity around her situation. When she arrived by helicopter, she is a very fast learner; she learned how to cook, studied Vietnamese, utilize military weapons, and tended to the wounded. However, she started to become curious about the surrounding area, the people and the culture that comprises Vietnam, willfully becoming different than her American allies. One morning, Rat Kiley and two other medics went down to the village with Mark and Mary as bodyguards. Mary seemed comfortable and loved the lifestyle and culture of the Vietnamese villagers. She also stated that she could not get enough of it. One of the medics, Eddie Diamond, responded solemnly to someone in his group: “There’s the scary part. I promise you, this girl (Mary) will learn.” Rat and the other medics thought her comfort in the village was troubling because she was naive. They thought that Mary did not know what the nature of war was truly like. However, Mary knows what the nature of war is, she is just curious by trying to understand, enjoy, embrace and eventually become the culture that makes up Vietnam.
Mary refused the idea of going back to Ohio with Mark to start a family and stated she could not get enough of Vietnamese culture. The best thing she could experience was more of Vietnamese culture is to join the group of elite soldiers called the Green Berets (also called the Greenies). When mary is out in the jungle, she started coming back late or not coming back at all for weeks. Mark once saw that she is out the entire night in the jungle refusing to carry a gun. When she returned to base three weeks later, Mark waited for her in the special forces hut until midnight. Rat and Eddie checked up on Mark and the three men heard Mary Anne’s singing and her tribal music. They barged into the hut and saw Mary with a tongue necklace, and the smell of incense and “something indescribably powerful- like a kill”. This shows that Mary Changed from a cute young American girl into a Vietnamese style predatory killer. It was described in detail that she is refusing to carry a gun, it shows abandonment with American culture, and with the tongue necklace, it shows that she is a killer and became part of the Vietnamese culture.
Mary Anne Bell shows that she changed from an innocent girl to a predatory killer. She shows curiosity about Vietnamese culture and wanted to become part of it. She may be changed for the better or the worse, but certainly, she changed out of her Curiosity.
“On the Rainy River”-Entering War is Not an act of Cowardice
War is a horrifying thing for anyone to be connected with or involved in. In war, lots of people die in dreadful ways, but what matters is that some people are willing to risk their lives for others in times of war. Entering a war is not an act of cowardice because it physically and mentally shows that you’re prepared to fight and die for your country. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien shows the protagonist, Tim, getting drafted into the Vietnam war and facing a Catch-22 situation: escaping to Canada or joining the war. The war does not necessarily mean that what the soldiers are fighting for is right, but to not fight for what is necessary is itself cowardice.
How I define courage is the ability to face the fear of danger, pain, and agony. The brave soldiers in war usually face the fear of death, the agony of someone they know being murdered, and the pain of the soldier himself getting injured. This is the reason why I disagree that entering the war is not an act of cowardice because war itself involves courageous soldiers to fight in a war.
On the contrary, the protagonist, Tim, feels that he joined the war out of cowardice. He stated: “I was a coward. I went to the war” (58). He believes that the Vietnam war is unjust. By not joining the war and going into Canada, he does what he believes to be the right thing: to not join an unjust war and unnecessarily kill people. However, he cannot avoid the same from the people in his life because he didn’t join the war. He decided to join the war because he was unable to have the courage of doing what he thinks it’s right.
Tim is getting drafted into the Vietnam war and faces a Catch-22 situation. If he joins the war would make him guilty for being involved in the war, but if he did not join the war, he will get scolded by his community, which will also make him feel guilty. “It was as if there were an audience to my life, that swirl of faces along the river, and in my head. I could hear people screaming at me. Traitor! they yelled. Turncoat! Pussy! I felt myself blush.” (57) Tim chose to join the war out of cowardice, not out of courage.
To sum up, my opinion differs from the protagonist’s opinion. In my opinion, it takes courage to fight in a war, to face fear, danger, pain, and agony. However, Tim believes that he joined the war out of cowardice because he can’t stand being scolded by his community and unnecessarily killing people. Entering war is not an act of cowardice. I strongly hold this belief. However, I understand the protagonist’s opinion and how some people define cowardice is different than my opinion. However, most of us can agree that war is a horrifying thing for anyone to be connected with or involved in.
