Writing Project 3: The Personal Voice: Identity, Diversity, Self-Discovery

Weird Al Yankovic, “The Saga begins”: Although this isn’t the official music video to “The Saga Begins” as I was browsing through I noticed it and how it was made. This video is done using Lego characters. It tells the story of Star Wars by using these Lego characters. It’s done in a very creative and aesthetically pleasing manner. This video demonstrates the versatility of Legos and how they can be used to create just about anything one would want. Looking back to my pre-teen years, I realize that I was infatuated with Legos. Legos did not just play a minor role in my life; they were my life. Legos can be used in so many different forms. I remember getting some of the big 1000 piece Legos sets and building them one day, and tearing them down the next. These big Lego sets were amazing. They contained desert and jungle adventures. There were also cowboy forts and ninja palaces. There was anything that you could imagine. The cool thing about Legos is they give you a feeling of omnipotence. You are able to construct anything that you want, and you’re also the one who decides who the good-guys and bad-guys are. It’s up to you to decide who lives and who dies. This was what made Legos the most fun for me, being able to control what happened. Because as just about every other young boy I didn’t have much that I was in control of. Legos were pretty much the only thing that I could.

Weird Al Yankovic, “Amish Paradise”: This humorous video describes the life of the Amish people in a way that is very appealing to an audience. It makes one laugh while at the same time making them think how fortunate they are to not be Amish. The video focuses a lot on how eccentric the Amish are and how crazy they appear by not using automobiles, telephones, or even electricity. This is a view that is often used upon people who are home-schooled. A lot of the time those who attend public schools think that home-schoolers are insane and do not possess the same capabilities as the “normal kids” who went to a public or private school do. As a home-schooled student myself (up until high school), I know that this is true. Many cold looks and quizzical stares were pointed in my direction my ninth-grade year (the first year I was not home-schooled). Classmates whispered softly to each other while giving subtle glances in my direction. Finally, when one was brave enough they would ask a question such as, “Do you have a television?” or, “Do you use microwaves?” These questions continued all the way up until the end of my tenth-grade year. The questions that were being posed to me were very stupid and immature. Just because a kid is home-schooled doesn’t mean that he’s dumb, or that he doesn’t have a TV or microwave. These are simply juvenile thoughts. However, even though these questions seemed ridiculous, looking back, I know that I would have asked them too.

Linkin Park, “By Myself’”: Although there is not an official music video to this song, there are a few videos of live performances and just random acts being performed to the song. I did find a video of martial arts. Basically what is going on in this video is just a bunch of fighting. There are a lot of martial artists just beating the crap out of each other. Martial arts played a huge role in my life. I was involved in taekwondo from ages 8-13 and it helped me to become who I am today. Some of the goals of taekwondo were to teach students respect, courage, and self-discipline. There were a few more traits that taekwondo really encouraged, but these three were the ones that it focused on most. Taekwondo benefited me a lot. By going to regular taekwondo class and various competitions, taekwondo helped me to form some bonds with people that I still hold. It helped me to develop my ability of making friends, while at the same time teaching me discipline. By winning at the competitions, taekwondo also taught me to be confident. It gave me a sense of “I can do it, no matter how hard it may seem.” In taekwondo there are different ranks. If someone is a higher rank than you, then you are required to call them either “sir” or “maam”. This taught me respect, which is very important to have. All these traits are important, and because of taekwondo, I carry them to this day.

Green Day, “The Time of Your Life”: In between scenes of the singer sitting on a couch strumming away on his guitar and singing the song, we see everyday people doing everyday things such as sitting at a bus stop or at a store. They all appear to be missing something although it’s not quite clear what that something is. However, from the lyrics we can assume that they are missing out on the time of their lives. Everyone at some point has a time of their life. It can be a place you go, or something that you do. It can be anything. A school trip to Mexico is what it is for me. As a junior in high school, I was involved in a trip down to Mexico. It was an amazing experience. As we were on our way to Mexico, we stopped in San Antonio, Texas and visited the Alamo, and saw the Riverwalk. When we finally got to Mexico, we stayed with host families in Tampico and became immersed in the language. While we were there, the group I was in did some missions work with a missionary who visits Mexico quite often. We went to some of the extremely poor villages and brought food and clothes. The people swarmed to us like the fish at the Henry Doorly Zoo swarm to a chunk of food. It was one of the most eye-opening and beneficial trips of my life. That’s what the time of your life should be, enjoyable, but at the same time it should give you something worthwhile.

NSync, “I Want You Back”: This humorous lip-synching take of NSync’s song takes place at the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York. Two cadets at the academy seem to have a little too much time on their hands and have come up with a very entertaining spin on “I Want You Back” by NSync. Not only was this video very creative, but at the same time, it also required a lot of teamwork, which is very important for a cadet at USMA to have. That was one of the very first things told to me when I visited West Point in October 2006. The two Plebes that I stayed with for the weekend were adamant about making sure that I knew if I went to West Point I would have to have the ability to function in a team. They told me that it was probably one of the most important things to have at West Point because otherwise it would be impossible to make it through. This video also shows the humor that the two guys who created it have. I learned that this is also another important trait to carry while at West Point. In order to keep your sanity at West Point it is essential that every once in a while you are able to laugh and have a good time. If it were not for moments like these, then no one would ever be able to get through the four years at USMA.

Vitamin C, “Graduation”: The video itself is not the best. It simply shows various people hanging out with their friends while the singer randomly appears singing her heart out about all the good times that friends have together. However, even though the music video is lacking in quality, it really speaks volumes to me as I graduated high school. Graduation from high school is an important step in anybody’s life. The feeling I got while standing up on the stage as I gave the valedictorian speech was incredible. It was a feeling of being on top of the world. However, that was not the only feeling that I felt as I stood on that stage. So many emotions ran through me. There was excitement. It was exciting to know that I was done with high school forever. There was confusion. I didn’t really know what I was going to do with the rest of my life. And along with that last emotion came fear: fear of the unknown and the fear of losing my friends. Although fear of the unknown may not be in the list of top-ten fears it is still a very common fear that many people face every day. The fear of losing friends is a little less common, but it hit very hard on graduation day. Everyone was going their own separate way and I had no idea if I would be able to stay in touch with all of them. Despite all these fears, however, graduation was an amazing day and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Linkin Park, “In the End”: Although the music video itself has very little to do with reality (people normally don’t stand on top of giant statues and sing) the lyrics to this song are very powerful. There are so many places where someone gets so far, “but in the end, it doesn’t even matter.” USMA played that role for me. Receiving the letter of acceptance from USMA put an infinite amount of pressure on me. People started telling me how I needed to run the rest of my life. People told me I should go, people told me I should stay. Eventually, I decided to go. As a new cadet taking part in Cadet Basic Training (CBT), every day was a struggle. From getting up at 5am to do PT, until TAPS at 10pm, a war was raging viciously inside of me. The war was a battle of emotions. It was between my pride that wanted me to stay even though it was apparent that choosing to come was a bad decision, and my humility that was telling me I needed to leave, this wasn’t the right place to be. Eventually my humility won, and thus began the process of leaving. After two weeks of out-processing, I was finally on a plane headed back to Nebraska. Reflecting on what happened this past summer, it is apparent that the trip to USMA, as a whole, was beneficial in maturing me. However, it is also apparent that it is more important to do what you want to do and not what others tell you. Because in the end, what they say, it doesn’t even matter.

Timbuk 3, “The Future’s so Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”: This is a rather interesting, and slightly confusing, music video, but throughout the video a clear message is delivered. Nothing is impossible to achieve as long as you are willing to work for it. As a freshman at Nebraska Wesleyan University I am finally starting to realize that. Throughout high school, thinking about the future was something that I chose to avoid. High school was just about here and now. Being in college, however, has really opened my eyes to what is actually important in life: building strong relationships with family and friends, a good work ethic, and always putting God first. By doing these things I have begun to realize that there is nothing out there that can keep me from having a successful future. There is no individual, no test, nothing that can hold me back. This is very important for me because there are sometimes when studying for a test that I simply look up at the ceiling and just think, “This is impossible.” That is the wrong attitude to have. Nothing is impossible. There are just some areas in life where we struggle more than in other areas. But that doesn’t mean that it is impossible. It just means that we have to find a way to get through it. We have to persevere. An area where I struggle is in writing. Writing something clear and concise is something that I have a problem doing. However, by realizing that, I have already taken the first step towards finding a way to become better.