Love vs. The Universe, Pt. 1

Love vs. The Universe

            It was a brilliantly sunny late summer afternoon when I first fell in love. With the weather reflecting my mood, I hopped out of my car and walked across the bridge to the Music Resource Center where I would be practicing with a new band for the first time. I went inside, greeted Damani at the front desk, and walked to the Blue Room where my band was setting up. After I opened that door, my entire world changed forever.

            She looked up at me, smiling from behind the drum set, and instantly our eyes locked. I had never felt something like this before. Something so...intense, and so sudden. It was as if my chest had caught fire while electricity coursed through my whole body. I didn’t understand it, and I didn’t really care. All I knew is that I loved this feeling I was having and it was because of this girl, this drummer, who’s band I was now a part of.

            I must have stared at her the entire practice. Not that I wasn’t paying attention to the music. Clearly, if you have a saxophone in your hands and a girl that you’re trying to impress just a few feet away, you’re gonna play that thing the best you can. So that’s just what I did. And it must have worked too, because the way she looked at me when I played made me feel like nothing ever had before. Every time our eyes met, we both knew exactly what the other was thinking. It was as if we had known each other all our lives. I knew in my heart right then and there that I would be with this girl; maybe not now, maybe not even in a few months, but eventually, if this feeling was as real as it seemed, it would happen. And, just as if the universe knew what had happened that day, it began testing us in every way imaginable. 

To Be Continued....

Best speech

Sadly, the word "speech" does not bring to mind anything unique from my own experience. I am not huge on speeches, and the ones I have heard have obviously not left enough of an impact on me to remember them well. Therefore, I have decided to do things a bit differently and choose a speech that I found to be both influential and controversial.

Hitler.

In his address to the Reichstag on January 30th, 1939, Hitler spoke to the German people about the "Jewish question," and uttered the following words:

"If the international finance-Jewry inside and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations into a world war yet again, then the outcome will not be the victory of Jewry, but rather the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!"

 Clearly, this was not only an influential speech, but it laid the groundwork for the annihilation of over 5 million Jewish people in Europe. Hitler constructed his speeches in such a way that cut deep within the German people, tugging on their pathos and targeting the precise emotions that would get them to follow his will. While Germany was down, in a terrible economic depression, Hitler gave the people a scapegoat to blame for their hardship, and managed to bend an entire nation to his sadistic will. I am not agreeing with him by saying his speech was good, I am merely recognizing the fact that Hitler was an excellent, persuasive speech maker. It is amazing what one can do with the right words said to the right audience.

Maroon Bells

My friend and I are going backpacking for a few days this May. Above is a picture of our final location (Maroon Bells, Aspen, Colorado) after looking at many choices. To me, this is God. Nature is my church. Let me know what you guys think about our choice! Should be one hell of an experience.