"List of Demands", by Saul Williams: "My better is better than your better." This quote is stated by Ladainain Tomlinson at the beginning of the video. Throughout this video by Nike there are scenes of famous athletes and kid athletes that are performing a variety of exercises to demonstrate how their "better" is better than their competitors "better". When I was younger my main goal was always to be better than my opponent, no matter what. Between the ages of about five to ten years old the majority of kids that participate in an activity or a sport are doing so because they either want to have fun or because their parents are forcing them to do it. At a Little League baseball game you can always tell which kids are there to have fun and which kids are there because their parents made them go. If you can not tell just look for the kid picking grass, catching bugs or chasing after a piece of cotton blowing in the wind, those are the kids who were forced to go. One type of kid that is a little more difficult to pick out is the kid who is keeping score in their head and is doing everything they can to help their team win the game. That is the kind of kid I was growing up. At my parents house my bedroom and closet are jammed full of trophies, medals, ribbons and plaques from five different sports. All of those pieces of metal, plastic and polyester-cotton blend represent the type of kid I was, which was, a kid with a strong motivation and desire who's "better" was better than his competitors' "better".
"Made To Love" by TobyMac: This video is of TobyMac at the Qwest Center in Omaha performing as a part of the Luis Palau Festival tour that took place last summer. I went to the festival and one of the songs that TobyMac played was "Made To Love". After hearing that song it was then and there that I realized what I was made for. The chorus of the song specifically explains the exact reason I was made. The lyrics say, "I was made to love you, I was made to find you, I was made just for you, Made to adore you, I was made to love, And be loved by you." My parents new that the lyrics were important to me so they had a wooden cross made with the lyrics carved into it. The cross sits on the wall above my bed as if it were a father looking after their child. It protects me and in tough times I look to it for support and guidance to help me through the any difficult situation. The "you" that is talked about in the song is referring to God. When I talk with God I sort of use the wooden cross to represent him and it makes me feel better when I am talking to an object as opposed to nothing. Everybody was placed on earth for their own unique reason but we were all made for the same reason. The reason that I was made was and will always be to love, find, adore, and be loved by God.
"Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project: It is a Saturday morning in the middle of September. The sky's are clear, it is about 65 degrees and it is time to play some football. Saturday's during the football season is my favorite time of year and the song "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project reminds me of the tunnel walk at the Nebraska Cornhusker football games. Every football team comes out to the field but the way Nebraska does it with the high intensity and excitement makes it like nobody else in the country. Sunday through Friday the tunnel has a cold and dark feel to it as it waits patiently for the arrival of Saturday. As game time approaches and the players, some confidently walking with ease as others are going ballistic, leave their locker room they go through a reenergized and excitement-filled tunnel. I can remember my dad coming into my room on game days and telling me to "get ready!" and "get pumped"! I was just like the tunnel in the fact that I would wake up and be sleepy and tired but as game time would get closer and closer I would be out of my seat jumping up and down and hollering like a mad man. The tunnel is full of sounds, such as, fans screaming and cheering for the players as they go by and the echoing of the players' cleats as they walk through the concrete tunnel. Anytime I hear the song "Sirius" whether it be somebody's ring tone on their cell phone or wherever it is coming from I get goosebumps all over my body.
"Jesus Muzik" by Lecrae: In this video Lecrae is driving around in his car and the music that he is playing is Christian hip hop. The song talks about how other rappers rap about things, such as, their clothes, cars, houses, and money which is all just material items. I enjoy music better when the artist is talking about something more important, and to me something that is more important is my faith. Some of the lyrics in the song are, "Ridin wit my top down listenin to this Jesus music", which is what I do in my car. Windows down and sunroof open with Jesus music coming from a car gives others a sense of the person or people in the car. Some people would be embarrassed to be seen in a car with that type of music playing but if that person is not embarrassed and is proud of the music they are playing then they deserve props. Feeling comfortable enough to drive or ride in a vehicle out in public is a brave thing to do because sometimes when people see that they can be offended by it, they might think somebody is "advertising" their religion. When most people hear rap bumping from a car they most likely would think that the rap has cursing in it or is talking about sex, drugs, violence, etc. If they listened to the words of the rap I play in my car they would hear things talking about Jesus, faith, living clean and being a follower of God.
"Happy Birthday" by Flipsyde: When it comes to the topic of abortion I am pro-life. One of the reasons I am pro-life is because that is what my religion believes in, but even if my religion did not believe in pro-life I still would be pro-life because I do not think people have the right to decide whether a child should be born or not. In this song by Flipsyde he talks about how he wishes he would have not agreed with the mother of the child to have an abortion. The lyrics are, "I payed for the murder before they determined the sex, Choosing our life over your life meant your death, And you never got'a chance to even open your eyes." The baby sits in the mother's womb helpless and has done nothing wrong to anyone, so why kill it? If you asked the baby if it would be O.K. with dying would it say yes? Of course not, if it could respond it would say the same things as any normal grown up person. The reason God made it so that women could become pregnant was to reproduce and give birth to the child. It was not to kill the child before it even had a chance to be born. In the song Flipsyde realizes the mistake he made and wishes he could take it all back so that he would be able to celebrate his child's birthday if it were still alive.
"Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince: "Summer summer summertime, time to sit back and unwind." Of the four seasons my favorite one by far is summer. This video by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince switches back and forth between clips of people of all ages enjoying activities that people do during the summertime and DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince sitting in lawn chairs with drinks on a table between them. The chairs and table clips appear that DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince are gliding along on something and are chilling and enjoying the nice weather. The summertime events provide everybody with a feeling of relaxation and usually puts everybody into a more friendly mood. The video shows clips of kids jumping rope, playing basketball, people grilling out, dancing at a get together, and cruising the streets with the top off of their cars. Summertime also can cause people to try and look better than they usually would. Some people go get new clothes, or new shoes, or a new haircut because it seems like the summertime is when everyone wants to impress everyone else. I can not wait for school to be over and summer to be here so I can on vacations and go out to my lake house and every once in awhile just do nothing and be lazy. There is something about warm weather and the sun shinning down makes people forget about the stresses of life and the craziness of everyday life.
"Half Light" by Athlete: This video shows the band Athlete playing in what I think is the middle of the desert and from time to time goes to clips of animals who are always running or flying. The song is about a guy who can not wait to see the girl that he loves again. This song pertains to my life because there is a girl who lives far away so I do not get to see her very often but when I am away from her I can not wait to see her again. One of the animals in the video is a hawk or falcon or something and I feel like out of all the animals in the video it is the one that I can relate to most. I have to fly in order to go see the girl that I like because she lives across the country. When birds fly it seems so effortless as they glide through the sky and I hope that someday it becomes effortless for me to go see her but for that to ever happen that would mean that either her, myself, or both of us would have to move closer to the other person. "So when I see you next we'll make the most of it, Tell the sun to start moving again." These lyrics are important to me because every time I see her I want to do exactly what the lyrics say, "when I see you next we'll make the most of it." I also want to "tell the sun to start moving again." because that means that days are going by which means I am closer to seeing her again.
"I'm Moving On" by Rascal Flatts: "I'm movin' on, At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me, And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone." Leaving for college impacted my life more than anything else so far. I am really close to my parents so it was really difficult for me when it came time to say goodbye to them. I did not want to move on and for things to change but I knew I had to and it was going to be the best thing for me to do. The last thing my parents gave me before I left was a piece of paper that had a prayer typed out for me. That piece of paper has been posted up on my bulletin board since the first day of college and will not come down until I leave. Every time I look at it it reminds me of how much my parents love and care about me and how much they have done for me so far throughout my life. The prayer signifies a new chapter in my life, one that I owe to all of the help and encouragement from my parents otherwise I would have never been able to make it on my own. The first couple of nights at college I would be laying in bed and start thinking about how much I missed my family so I would then go read the prayer and that would always make everything feel so much better.
