Success

What Success is to me
I once believed having everything I ever wanted was the definition of success. I wanted a new car, nice clothes a lot of friends and all that sort of stuff. What I learned from experience is that none of those things last. They don't fill the empty void I felt in my chest at the end of the day. I got a new car and it was amazing the first couple of months but then the feeling went away. The good feeling of having nice clothes only lasted the first time I wore them. After that they became dirty laundry. As for friends, they come and go. Nothing lasts forever. Success has to come from within yourself. It is most definitely not a material thing or a relationship with anyone or thing. Success isn't easy. It has to be the hardest thing you will ever do. But once you do it, it lasts forever...

A Reason to Live
I was once asked a very serious question. I was asked, "what is your purpose?" I responded with attitude, "my purpose for what?!" They told me for everything I do. What was I doing? At the time I was still going through physical therapy, still learning to walk. I was attending Chabot. I was still getting over a broken heart. I felt as if I was just trying to repair my shattered life. I got home and didn't think too much of it until just right before I was about to go to sleep. I laid there and thought, "what will I do after I'm basically normal again?" The first thing I thought of was I want to help people who think their lives are broken and shattered and let them know I've been there and it is possible to retake your life. I basically wanted to help those who are in some way in the same position that I'm in or was in. I then thought there is nothing else I'd rather do with my life than doing that. I want to become either an educational counselor at a college or high school or a marriage and family therapist. What better purpose do I have now of going to school getting good grades and enjoying life then to help others that need help in the same way I needed and received help. I felt as if it all happened for that reason. The accident, the heartbreak, everything. It was as if I went through all of that just so I can find my purpose in life. I now feel as if I have a reason to live. When I accomplish my goals then I believe I will reach success.

The Cliche 
In all honesty I won't feel successful unless I have everything I need and some of the things I want. I'm embarrassed to admit this but success won't be reached unless I make a comfortable living. It's cliche and everything Christopher McCandless is against but I'm just like most of America. I want a house, a car, food in my fridge, and a well off family. Most importantly I think what will define my success is if I'm not only capable of providing myself of the cliche commodities that everyone desires but to do what it is that gives me reason to wake up each morning. I think that would be the ultimate level of success to me.

My Ultimate Success
If I can bring a positive impact upon several people's lives then it'll bring me the greatest feeling of success. To me success won't even matter unless I make a difference in someone's life or make some kind of difference in the world. What would be the icing on the cake for me, if I'm capable of doing this is to actually write a book. If I wrote a book I would be able to touch thousands possibly millions more world-wide. If I'm capable of doing that then I will feel as if I reached success. There are so many ways one can succeed however. You can succeed in school, work, family, love, friends, having fun, etc. I think if I have a good balance between everything then my life goals would be reached. Christopher McCandless isn't so much remembered for what he did. He is remembered for why he did what he did. That's my ultimate success too. I want to be remembered for something. I don't so much wish to be famous, but I wish to make an impact on the world that hopefully lasts forever.

What Helps Me Succeed & What Can Be My Drawbacks

As of right now there are hundreds of things that help me succeed in my community. There can also be hundreds of things that prevent my success if I let it. My key to success is making sure that the good outweigh the bad. I also have to find a way to turn the negatives into positives. I have already flipped a drastic drawback that almost cost me my life. Most would've used a traumatic brain injury as an excuse to not do anything, to give up, and even let it ruin your life. However, if anything I used what had happened to me as an excuse to work harder than anybody else. I felt sub-human so I worked my ass off just to be normal. Once I got to be somewhat normal my work ethic stuck with me and now I'm working on being better than good enough.

Success Because Of Volunteer Work

I heard somewhere, maybe from Sean that you won't be able to truly help yourself until you help someone else first. I have always enjoyed helping people but it wasn't until this past year that I actually initiated doing something. I became a big brother at Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Bay Area, and I also became a Reading Partner tutor at Hillside Elementary in San Leandro. These experiences have not only increased my confidence because I see that these kids look up to me, but the experience has also displayed my strengths. I learned that I can be very patient, I'm actually funny, and I can give good advice. Volunteering has really changed my life and if there is a reason I succeed one of the reasons would be because I give back to my community.

Success Because of Family

My family has been extremely supportive and helpful with my academic goals. My mom being a former teacher and a current high school counselor knows exactly what to tell me when I need help. My sisters have all graduated from universitities so they know how to help me because they have been there. Especially after my accident my family has been there to take care of me when I was completely dependent of them. They carried me when I couldn't walk, they encouraged me when I didn't think college would ever be possible again. If there is a reason why I succeed it will be because of my family.

Success Because of Failure

Nothing in life teaches you better than failure. It takes several falls before you get to where you want to be. The key is how you respond to failure. You either get up and try again or, stay down. One of my football coaches once told me, "life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond." My coach was absolutely right. It matters more how you respond to what happens then what actually happens. I suffered a severe traumatic brain injury but, how I responded after that happened is what got me to where I am now. I know what it feels like to be kicked down so, therefore I know what it takes to get back up. I will succeed because I know whatever is to come in life, I will overcome it.

Education Revolution?

Revolution Starters
It's people like Jeff that cause a lot of attention and get people to notice problems. I can relate this guy to civil rights movement leaders but, more relevant to our class I'll relate him to Christopher McCandless. Jeff like McCandless actually was brave enough to act out on what he truly felt passionate about and stood up and acted on what he believes in. I did some research on google and Jeff is now actually talking to school boards on ways to improve things. It's simply remarkable how one out burst can lead to further things. If he never stood up for what he believed in then no change would have ever been initiated. Everything would have remained stagnant and we'd be living with our problems content. Christopher McCandless didn't live his life content with the way things were. McCandless says in his letter to Ron,"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future."(57) It's this attitude that caused Jeff and other activists to stand up and actually initiate change. In order to initiate change you have to take risks and break from the rest of the conformist flock and you have to do something different that will get noticed. Those in charge will not like it when you get noticed because they know their time of power is coming to an end.

Jeff & McCandless 
Jeff and Christopher McCandless can relate on many different ways. First off they were both seen as arrogant rebels that disobeyed the rules and society. I'm sure Jeff's teacher just thought Jeff was a disruptive student that deserved to be kicked out and punished. She didn't know that he'd would cause so much attention around the world about our educational system. She didn't like him standing up in front of the class and challenging the way she does her job. In all honesty she was probably scared of Jeff hiding behind her desk. She knew her ways of teaching were half ass and not genuine so she kicked Jeff out of the classroom as self defense. Christopher acted like Jeff by destroying everything that provided him with a secure future. He gave away all his money, he abandoned his car, he left his family, and he went off on his own into the wild. Their protests against what they thought needed change were different but they were protests nonetheless.
They both also took a leap of faith. They made a bold decision that made them face consequences. McCandless faced the ultimate consequence, it costing his life. Jeff could have faced suspension, expulsion but he was just kicked out of class. Either way both Chris and Jeff acted bravely to make a change in their life. Jeff and Chris were both very bold and brave.

How Can We Cause Change?
Jeff and Chris both caused dramatic change in their lives. Chris's change ultimately cost him his life but, it brought him his life's greatest bliss. Jeff's outburst potentially changed his life forever. He may now want to major in Education, work for the school board and, hopefully makes some good drastic changes to our educational system. They were both able to bring change into their lives. How can we cause the change we want to see in our world?
The first thing we have to do in order to cause change is break free from the conformist flock. We have to be brave and break free from our comfort zone. We can't stay sheltered forever if we want to see change. In order to see change we have to make change. This is the first step and the hardest step for us to take in order to cause change. After we take this step then we have to persevere and stick with our goal no matter how rough it may get. If we are able to do this then it is very likely that we'll experience change.

Connections with "Into the Wild" and what we discuss in class

By reading what I've read so far of "Into the Wild" and based off what I remember reading 3 years ago, and having just seen the movie "Into the Wild" I can see that Christopher McCandless had the type of mindset that we should all have according to our discussions. He virtually leaves all material possessions and cuts himself off from all of societies contact. He is basically relying on nothing but himself and the land. He cuts ties with government, corporations, family, and even modern day conveniences. He takes a leap of faith that ultimately cost him his life, but I can see where he was heading. What he was attempting to grasp was ultimate freedom. Freedom from government, peer pressure, corporate propaganda, and family expectations, etc.

The first thing I truly admire about Christopher McCandless was how he broke free from the materialistic culture we live in and found happiness from nature. We talked about being enslaved to materialism and big corporations in paper two and ways on how we could possibly break free from that enslavement. McCandless tore the shackles right off of himself by giving away all his money, burning all identification he had and by taking off into the wild. He did  what everyone is too scared of doing. He broke free from all the pressures of society, all the customs and, expectations and found his true meaning of life. I believe his true meaning of life was everyones meaning of life back in the day. He erased everything he learned and did in the new culture and created a new life based on old culture principles.

McCandless had a rich education. He read a lot and knew what he was talking about. He wasn't your typical vagabond. Everything he did, he did with a purpose or for a reason. The type of mindset he had was very rebellious and counter-culture. He saw the harm that our ways was doing to us and our planet and refused to be another conformist that conformed to societies expectations. I think the cause of his rebellion came from education and knowledge. If he didn't read or care to study he'd be completely oblivious to our destructive ways and he would just conform with the rest of us.

In the wild McCandless created equity between himself and nature. Today man has completely destroyed any equity we once had with nature. If we want food we buy it. If we want to go some where we drive there. Everything we can possibly want is within our grasp. When he lived off the grid he was one with nature again. He was as equal as every other animal in the wilderness. He had to find food, shelter, water and warmth. Today people don't really realize everything we do that tears down any equity we had with animals and nature. We take everything for granted and I believe we need to see things through the eyes of McCandless in order to truly understand and appreciate everything we take for granted.

Andrade Video Response

First I'd like to start off by expressing how beautiful I think it is is when a flower grows from the concrete. The kids who go to school in conflicted areas of Oakland were able to accomplish so much with assistance that most of us already receive and take for granted. Andrade displays the homicide map of Oakland with the title of it being "The Plague." It really has become a sort of epidemic. Like a plague it spreads and kills off the weak. Violence, drug usage, and school drop out rates are quite remarkable and, I find Andrade's work very needed and endearing. But hopefully with the few roses Andrade has created those roses will help Andrade with his work, because like he said, "A rose that grew in the concrete creates rose gardens." I find that quote very powerful and, it makes me wonder if all people are willing to help like that. What I'm really asking is does it really take someone to go through the same struggle to feel empathy for someone going through that struggle? Or can we feel empathy without having to go through the same experiences?

A rose that grew from the concrete feels a great desire to help people that were just like him. They can definitely relate to those currently going through that struggle because they themselves have experienced that same struggle. Because they've experienced that same struggle they are able to help them more than any one else would be able to. That's why a rose that grows from the concrete will create a rose garden.

Another thing my girlfriend and I talked about after watching this video several times was the role of government in education. High school educators are not completely at fault for providing a lousy or irrelevant education. The different educational standards that our government gives our schools make it very difficult for teachers to teach anything else that isn't related to what's on the standardized tests. Also because the results of the test scores determines how much a school gets funded it makes educators make the tests their top priority. That makes our education dry and emotionless. Instead of teaching things we could apply in life they teach us what will be on the test.

I think our government should reform how they distribute educational funding. It's really unfair how they divide up the money. I volunteer for reading partners which is a non-profit organization that works with title 1 schools to bridge the learning gap for kids who have literacy problems. What a title 1 school is, is basically a school in a low-income community that isn't funded enough because it is in a low-income community. The reason why these schools aren't being funded enough is because since the schools are in a low-income community the residents of that community don't pay the same amount of taxes as a community like Piedmont for example. I find that disgustingly unfair and unjust. Education in America should be an equal opportunity for everyone regardless of income.

The three questions I came up with about the video are the following:

1. Why is the situation the way it is in Oakland? Why is there drug usage, violence, poverty, high drop out rates, etc.?

2. What are the reasons/causes that make roses that grew from concrete create rose gardens?

3. What are possible solutions for Oakland? Andrade has mentioned several, but can we do better? Should we do better? Why?

4. How can and how should government change in order to level the playing field in educational funding?

Video imbed relating to what we're talking about

This video, as true and funny as it may seem I believe it can relate to our human behavior that led us to be where we are right now. Social networks like Instagram are giving us a false sense of reality and also brain washing us to believe things that are not real.
Instagram is truly giving us a false sense of reality. Girls post pictures of themselves that they can add filters to and photo shop. They can make themselves look a lot more beautiful than they really are. Friends see these pictures and believe they are that beautiful but, when they see them in person they become disappointed. This false sense of reality is affecting everybody in the world. We come to believe that our planet is ok, and in good condition. Truth is our planet is in critical condition. We are on the verge of losing our planet but, large corporations brain wash us to believe otherwise. They brain wash us to believe we need to buy more and more stuff and distract us of what should be our real concerns.
Instagram is another false sense of reality that large corporations give us.

Why I'm Still in College

After going through a traumatic brain injury March 19th 2010 going back to college wasn't easy. Then again nothing was easy. Having to relearn how to walk, talk, and everything associated with normalcy was a long and stressful journey but, here I am today virtually normal. Truth is that attending college took me less time to do then learning to walk again. Yes my first semester at Chabot, fall 2010 I was in a wheelchair. I was accepted into the DSRC center with open arms and they helped me significantly. My DSRC counselor Kathleen registered me for two introductory classes. PSCN 20 and the disabled/stretch P.E. class. Going through all of this made me feel very alone. I thought about taking a semester off, but then what would I do?
So for me the thing that almost made me drop out was that I felt disconnected with the school. I didn't have friends or a reason to show up every day. My biggest reason for going to school each day was because it was a lot better than staying at home looking out my window from a wheelchair. I literally lost all hope and saw no future for myself. I had only my family for support, and you can't take your mom to class. Feeling lost and without a purpose almost broke me so I sought out for help and guidance.

 I meet with a counselor not from the DSRC after my first year at Chabot and she gave me excellent information. She told me to join some clubs and passed on their meeting location and time. I chose to become part of the Puente Club and the MECHA club. After that I met some good people and I now had a reason to go to school. I actually looked forward to going to school. I made friends and we hung out and consoled each other with our problems and it just felt great being a part of something.

 My passion for school then blossomed after receiving a year's worth of 4.0's. My confidence shot up and my dreams got bigger. I think that was another deal breaker for me. After the accident I had zero confidence in my abilities and I felt sub-human. But after I passed some intro classes with flying colors I then felt like I belonged in school. My confidence grew and grew as I challenged myself just a bit more each semester. I went from taking 1 academic class and 1 PE class, then 2 academic and last spring I was able to take 3 academic classes 10 units and I managed to get a 4.0. So as you gain confidence you should push yourself more and more until you reach what ever it is that you want.

My advice for anyone struggling academically and or socially is to not give up. Try and persevere because the rewards are outstanding! In the book "Wonders" by Brian Cox he talks about Hindu religion by talking about their belief that, “In order for new things to be created, the old order must first be destroyed.” (80) I guess that's what had happened to me. I was completely destroyed. It was as if I were reborn. I started from a clean slate. I had to learn how walk, talk and do everything over again. In that process I also developed an incredible work ethic and a passion to over come what was thought to be impossible for me to over come. 

Anyone who doesn't have confidence in their abilities my advice to them is simple. You have to start somewhere. Rome wasn't built in a day, so take all the introductory classes before taking an advanced class. Your confidence will raise significantly because you'll most likely ace those introductory classes and you'll be ready to challenge yourself with the next class. It's ok to take it slow. Take things one step at a time.
 

Response to the Passion Project Video

1.) How does the movie speak to you?
I think the movie can speak to everyone going to Chabot and anyone out there because it's about people like us. Everyone can relate to the issues addressed in the video because everyone has those issues.  They definitely talked about things that affect us so when they talked I listened and cared. I felt empathy towards those students speaking because I understand them because I'm like them.  I particularly liked listening to everyones story.  It made me want to share my story. This video can speak and relate to everyone because everyone has a passion that is not yet reached or found.

Also this movie spoke to me because I have a passion that I want to share with the world. Aside with my career goals of being a counselor I want to share my story to the world by writing a book. I want to share my story of how they showed my parents different funeral packages while I was in a coma. I want to share how I ran after they told me I would never walk. I want to share my story of how I succeeded against all odds. A one in a million chance they gave me of recovering from a severe traumatic brain injury. Not only did I recover to live, but I recovered and became better than I was before. That's my true passion, to be able to share my story of triumph after tragedy with the world.

In my group we also discussed about the pressure society instills in us to be a certain way.  Someone said he never felt like anyone told him to be a certain way but we discussed the cliche of doing things that our parents and society favors.  We also compared ourselves from high school to now.  We realized we have grown and matured significantly.  We used to be disruptive in class, telling jokes and getting in trouble.  But now we're eager to learn.  We take our education seriously now. I believe age is just a number. Maturity doesn't derive from the number of years you have lived. Maturity derives from the experiences you have lived. Maturity comes from the falls and the failures that you have over come. With maturity we have a better understanding of our passions and the importance of our education. That's why we have grown so much after high school. In high school we were sheltered and protected. There was less chance of falling in high school. Now that we are in college we have had more chances of falling and learning from our failures.

2.) What is the connection between passion and poverty?
The first thing I'd like to say about this is how we have directed our passion today.  Today we direct our passion towards material goods instead of with each other and our planet.  Inherently that is causing poverty.  We graduate high school and want to earn money right away so we get a job to buy the new phone, a better car, nice clothes, etc.  We do this instead of getting an education to build a career and a mindset that will change our lives forever. We get stuck working minimum wage jobs and living paycheck to paycheck instead of earning salaries.

I believe that in order to be successful in what you do you have to be passionate about what you do. I don't think people living in poverty that have jobs work in something that they are passionate about. Most people living in poverty work in stores, restaurants, or as some type of janitor or cleaner. So I guess what I'm saying is that without passion in what you're actually doing you'll find yourself living in poverty. Passion and poverty are directly linked in that way.

People choose to work minimum wage jobs for various reasons.  The first reason they do this is because we have instant gratification bias. We'd rather have nice stuff sooner than later. So that's why we get a job and ignore school. It takes years to get an education that will prepare you for a job. Not only will it cost you time but money as well. Thousands of dollars go into colleges, and people would rather spend money on material items than an education because of this instant gratification bias that we have inherited.

Another connection between passion and poverty is that poverty sort of drains the passion out of you. Instead of doing what your passionate about you're working 40+hours a week to survive. If you don't have passion for what you do you will inevitably live in poverty. Also, since you're working so much to survive you won't find time to do what your passionate about. It's a vicious trap that I believe people with power want us to get trapped in. Think about it. If we work nine to five to buy the latest gadgets and toys who benefits from it? Large corporations obviously benefit from us being trapped in that situation. So I will do everything in my power to not get trapped. I will do what I'm passionate about and I will help others find their passions.