Week of 11/13/2016

"I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly off of his 1998 album, "R."

If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it...

Retrospective Note 2023: It had been nearly half a year since I graduated from high school. Many of my friends and colleagues had graduated college by this point, had the jobs they wanted, and were pretty much thriving, at least in terms of "success" as I saw it. Me? I was working for a church that didn't care about me to begin with. I felt like I was wasting my time, and my life. I knew what I loved doing, which was the idea of being an entertainer, but I had no idea how to get the ball rolling, and every time I tried, things didn't work out the way I wanted them to. Little did I know, that those trials would be the seed that finally got planted. It's interesting how it all funneled to where I am now, for I'm pretty much where I wanted to be: in the world of entertainment. I'm in college for music production, I'm working on my own music, and I've gotten into the world of Twitch streaming, where I now have a small dedicated audience that supports what I do. I never would have thought I'd be here where I am today, but once I took my dreams and decided to get started, a seed was planted, and it all began in 2016 when I finally said enough is enough. Even as I remember the times I tried to give up, I always found myself back on the road towards being an entertainer, and I gotta say, it feels like I'm finally flying.

Week of 11/20/2016

"Kill the Turkey" by John Roberts & H. Jon Benjamin off of the 2017 compilation album, "The Bob's Burgers Music Album"

Everyone's thankin'
The whole world's thankin' you~ 💙

I can sing this classic Thanksgiving carol for days :D

Retrospective Note 2023: Me and Jess started watching this show for the first time back in 2016, and funny, though I loved it, Jess didn’t like it as much... at first. She thought it was gross xD Now here we are. Completely caught up with all the seasons, LOVED the movie, and are now dedicated fans of the show. I haven't been this hyped about a show in YEARS, and it's nice to have something that's special to me and my wife. This is our special show that we both look forward to watching, and can develop traditions around as well! We sing this song every Thanksgiving for example. See? Tradition established.

Week of 11/27/2016

"I Wanna Go Back" by Eddie Money off of his 1986 album, "Can't Hold Back"

I wanna go back
And do it all over
But I can't go back, I know...

Retrospective Note 2023: I spent the whole of the 2010s just wishing I could go back in time, and fix all the mistakes I ever made. On top of just trying to get my life started, I kept holding myself back by things I DIDN'T say or do when I was in high school. It certainly didn't help given that all the things I WAS doing, I threw away after I graduated thinking it would make my Dad proud (he didn't approve of the friends I had made, my passion for anime and voice acting, and overall, made me feel like I wasn't going to amount to anything). I threw it all away to please him, which obviously, was the biggest mistake I'd ever make since yeah, it didn't make him think of me any better, leaving me feeling left behind while everyone else moved on. It was my choice after all, but even still, I like to think that if I wasn't stuck under his thumb, maybe I wouldn't have given up on so much. Verbal abuse does a lot of things to a person's mind, especially when that mind is still developing. I did however overcome this with time, and although I do still wish things didn't turn out the way they did, I still managed to find a way by choosing to take the time I needed to heal myself, and rediscover what it was I truly wanted to be. It took 10 years to get there, but hey, it's better late than never. Do I still want to go back? Sometimes, but I'm not aching over it like I used to. I'm in my second wind as I approach 30, and really do feel like this time I'm in is a second chance at the life I wanted so badly to live.