E110: a look back

I remember when I first decided to take E110, I was pretty skeptical about how the course would really go. I was alway wondering what the passing grade would be because that's all you really needed in order to get the college credits. I figured that if I could work hard and pass with a C that that would be good enough. Looking back at the start of E110, I really wasn't looking forward to it. Our summer reading book was called This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel Levitin. As the date for the first day of school was getting closer, I could recall forcing myself to read that boring book (since it's the end of the year I can honestly say that I read some of the book but not the ENTIRE book). Because it's basically a writing course, I had to go past the boundaries of my thoughts and writing skills in order to keep up with what was expected of. I never really considered myself a good writer in the first place. Writing and reading are basically the banes of my existence. At the beginning of the year, I found myself aiming to just get a passing grade or else my parents would kill me for wasting $600. But as the year progressed, I found myself maintaining grades in the mid 90's. It's either I was becoming a better writer or Mr. Jadick was just a nice teacher. 

One aspect of the course that I found really interesting at first was the utilization of blogs. When our teacher first introduced blogs as a homework assignment I would say that everyone was confused because really it was only graded for creativity and completion. Although most people saw it solely as a grade when I first started my E110 blog I actually started getting into it. Although we were only required to write one blog per week, I found myself writing one every day when we started. It was a place where I could share my experiences and opinions openly. It was a place where I could type out whatever was going through my mind. It was a place where a specific word count wasn't needed and a place where I could talk about whatever I wanted without worrying about a topic or certain way of thinking. Whether it was past experiences or just songs that I was listening to at the moment, blogs helped me express what I was feeling at the moment. Sadly, senioritis has kicked in and I haven't been doing blogs consistently but I still may get back into doing weekly blogs. 

Overall, E110 wasn't only a way to get a college class out of the way, but it also helped me prep for the work ethic needed in college. Our schedule for our assignments was pretty spread out since we were taking a semester course over the span of a whole school year. But at the same time, I learned how to think about what I'm thinking in a writing process along with useful tools/skills that I'll need once I move on to the real challenge in a few months. I'd definitely recommend taking E110 at Newark Charter for any underclassmen because it isn't as hard it appears to be. Though E110 appeared to be an intimidating course, I've learned a lot about myself and my own writing over the course of this year.

summer 2017

After finishing up high school, I figure that this summer will be the busiest one for me yet. After a long school year, I have the opportunity to rest up and relax before the reality of college, stress, and all-nighters hit me. Once the school year ends I'm likely going to get a job at Kumon as a tutor. Since I'm gonna have my busiest summer yet, I figure that working at Kumon will not only give me flexibility, but also some sort of income for spending/saving. At the end of June, I'll be going with my youth group to a camp at Liberty University. We actually went last summer too so the environment should be pretty comfortable, similar, and familiar. The hot summer heat is bound to get me super dark but good thing I don't really get sunburned. In the beginning of July, I was supposed to attend a Mission Trip with my church to Atlanta but I then realized that I'd be going to California with my family the day before the date for the mission trip. As for the California Trip, I'll be there for around two weeks. I'm pretty excited because the last time I went to Cali was around 12 years ago so of course, I don't really remember much. As excited as I am for the beaches and big city life in Cali, I'm more excited for the food trips and people on the west coast. Two weeks is a pretty long time so hopefully, the trip is a pretty eventful one. We're likely traveling to the different big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles of course. We're also going to Las Vegas to visit some family friends which should be pretty exciting also. Other than the main places we're going, I don't know much about the specifics but I'm looking forward to getting out of the East Coast for a bit. After leaving the west coast, I'm coming back to my reality for the next couple of years. Though I am sure it will be pretty bittersweet leaving California life and weather, I'm definitely looking forward to the end of the summer. At the beginning of August, my church is holding a Vacation Bible School and I can easily say that it's one of my favorite times of the year. Setting up is a pretty big task and that's honestly where I get most of my volunteer hours in the summer. I think over the years I've accumulated around 400 hours just for volunteering for VBS in the summer each year. Though the kids are pretty hard headed and hyper sometimes, it's a lot of fun to see their growth over the course of the week. After all the hecticness of VBS, that's pretty much the end of my summer. While other college freshmen are worrying about their E110 classes in the next few weeks prior to the start of school, I'll be chilling at home knowing that I'm already set for the semester. 

lax 2017

As I'm sitting here writing my blog I'm getting ready for yet another lacrosse game, it's pretty surreal that it's my last season playing my only high school sport. It's pretty surreal that I've been playing this game ever since freshmen year. I went from being a scrub to an eventual captain of the varsity lacrosse team. It's gonna be bittersweet leaving a team that I've been with for four years but it's too early to be thinking about that. Today we play Hodgson and we're looking to stay undefeated. Though my play isn't always top notch and though I'm unworthy of a captain spot at times, I'm grateful for the opportunity to play a sport knowing many others would do anything to play. 

eagles talk

This past week, the Philadelphia Eagles made a few notable moves as they look to improve from last year's season. The most notable move was the signing of Alshon Jeffery to a one-year, 14 million dollar contract. This deal is likely one where Jeffery has to prove his skills before the Eagles consider signing him to a longer contract. Despite his freak athleticism, Jeffery has had an injury-plagued career. If Jeffery can play a healthy season this year, the Eagles offense will be tough to beat. In addition to the signing of Alshon Jeffery, the Eagles also signed former 49ers wideout Torrey Smith. With the struggles of the Eagles receiving corps, signing Jeffery and Smith will not only bring more explosiveness to the offense but also more veteran leadership. In a young Eagles offense, both wideouts will look to bring an immediate impact to a team that struggled to breakout last season

prom (and graduation)

We're in the home stretch of senior year and it's crazy to think that the four years of high school that I dreaded as a middle schooler would now be over in a matter of 3 months. But I guess the main thing that I wanted to discuss was prom in general. It's the biggest dance you could attend as a high schooler and also the most expensive. It's where girls spend hundreds of dollars just for a dress that they'll wear for a night. It's where guys spend hundreds of dollars for their tux rentals and even paying for prom tickets. It's crazy to think that people can spend up to a thousand dollars just on one night. It's even crazier that all that money could be going into the college debt students are gonna be in within 4 months of prom. So why does prom have to be so expensive? I do understand that it's a tradition and people have been doing it for years but that's a lot of money going towards one night. But at the same time, I'll have to do it soon so oh whale.

late night thoughts

At 12 in the morning, there are a lot of thoughts going through my head. Lacrosse starts up in two weeks and high school is almost over. It's the last chance to live life as a high school student would because the adult life and the adult reality check is gonna start before we know it. I truly believe that our deepest and most profound thoughts can come from staying up late at night. In the silence and loneliness, it's easy to have an abundance of thoughts. For me, the thoughts range from school to lacrosse, and even to what I'm going to speak about at our next Unashamed meeting. I actually don't know what I'm gonna speak about for Tuesday's meeting but I have to worry about my Physics project due Tuesday too. Late night thoughts bring me open-mindedness and a sense of peace. It's easy to get caught up in all the motions of life, but sometimes we just need to take a step back and reflect on how our lives are going. Life isn't all about just going through the motions and moving on. Late night thoughts are profound and a necessity to maintaining my sanity.

nothing.

There's honestly really nothing to this post. It's kinda just a placeholder because I've run out of ideas/inspiration this past week. Sometimes it's good to have nothing to write about but it's mostly bad. So with this bland post, you'll just have to use your imagination to interpret nothingness in your own creative way.

the struggle (is real): an unashamed devo

This past week, it was my turn to speak at our weekly Unashamed club meeting. Below is just an excerpt of what I went over:

Sometimes in life we face all these struggles and it feels like there’s no getting out. If it isn’t sports, school, work or volunteering it could be things like struggles with trust, self worth, truth, and patience too. For some people the struggle may be an addiction or infatuation. For other people it might be a struggle to live out their faith outside of church building walls. Often times it becomes so overwhelming because we try to do it all on our own. But we were never created to carry our struggles on our own. Galatians 6:2 says “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the laws of Christ.”

I’ve grown to learn that without the struggles in life, we’d be stuck in the same place forever. If we’re always sitting back in our comfort zones, there wouldn’t be any change. If you didn’t push yourself to run another mile or take another rep, there wouldn’t be much change. Sometimes walking with Christ in itself is a daily struggle. I know for a fact that it’s tough to live out your life as a Christian in school. But despite our shame and fear to live out our faith as christians in school and in the community, God hasn’t given up on us and he hasn’t forsaken us.

I’m not that naive to think that everyone in this room is a christian or that everyone in this room believes in God. I’m not gonna be the one to assume that we’re all just good christians in this room either. To the people who don’t believe in God, we love you and we’re praying for you. To the people who are starting to doubt their faith, don’t give up on a God who’s brought you this far. Despite your questions and disbelief, God is for you and he’s working for your good. I challenge you to return to the roots that you were first grounded in. He’s a patient God and he’ll never leave you. It’s easy to blame God and question God through our struggles and through all the turmoil happening in the world. Colossian 2:1-3 says “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”So whenever you’re facing struggles and it feels like you’re all alone, there are always people around you willing to help. And if nobody wants to help, there’s always gonna be a God that you can rely on to bring you through it all.

I truly believe that God doesn’t place obstacles in place if he didn’t think you could overcome them. Often times, the struggle you may be facing is the struggle to believe that there is a God to help you through your struggles (that’s struggle-ception). I believe that it’s the toughest thing to believe in something that you can’t even see, but at the same time, that’s faith. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we don’t see (that’s Hebrews 11:1). Whether you accept it or not, family and friends are gonna fail you and there’s really only one person that you can rely on. I challenge you to rely on the only one who can bring you through your struggles. I believe that once you stop the pity party for your struggles, God can not only bring you through whatever situation you’re going through, but you’ll grow too because of it. I challenge you to embrace your struggles instead of letting it overwhelm you. I know for a fact that through embracing the struggle, you’ll come out stronger. When doubt and fear become overwhelming, leave it at the feet of the maker. The struggle is real, but the scandalous grace of God is greater.

u n a s h a m e d

This past week, a new club was created and it's called Unashamed. The club was a joint effort by myself and a Junior at my school. It all started off with a passion and a vision. The purpose of Unashamed is to have an environment where Christians can meet up and grow within the school setting. But the even greater purpose above that is to encourage the communities of NCS and also Newark.

clear the stage

A song by Jimmy Needham says "Clear the stage and set the sounds and lights ablaze, if that's the measure you must take to crush the idols." It can be taken in a religious/spiritual way but it's something I tend to struggle with overall in everyday life. Every single day I'm occupied with responsibilities and obligations. Whether it's my role as a student, a son, an athlete, or even a worship leader, sometimes I just lose a sense of the things that matter. Sometimes my priorities get out of order and I find myself lost and confused.

I guess "clearing the stage" could be interpreted as taking out all the unnecessary and extra things. It could be a call to return to simplicity or a call to return to the basics. It's easy to begin to prioritize things that don't really matter in life when you lose sight of the things that have gotten you this far. Whether it's popularity or social media or even material things, it'll never be enough to satisfy the things that have brought us this far. I guess in my own life I struggle with putting social media over more important things. I've created this idea that if I was popular online, it would translate into the real world. But the reality is that I'm continuously losing sight of the things that once mattered to me most.

Life is too short to live for the unimportant things. The things that matter are the things that you'll be remembered for. You won't be remembered for how many followers you had or the number of likes you got on a picture, but instead, for the impact you had on others and society. Maybe clearing the stage and returning to simplicity is a way of accomplishing that. I truly believe that once we return to the basics, everything else will follow through.