When I was three years old I first met my friend Bobby.  Our parents met at a daycare function and we supposedly played all day together.  We ended up going to the same school and had Pre-K together.  After school we would go over each other’s houses and we were always together.  We then played baseball, basketball, and soccer together.  Both Bobby and I had similar families, backgrounds, and interests.  I’ve been best friends with Bobby ever since, but he moved to Florida when we were only 8.

I never would have thought a friendship could last so long and still be so strong when you only see the person about twice a year.  He usually visits during Christmas and then spends a month in the summer living with me.  He is the only person I am able to live with for a period of time without getting sick of.  I introduce him to people as my best friend but he’s more like a brother.  He always talks about how much he loves New York and how he wishes his family never moved.  He even talks about how the New York girls are better than the Florida girls.  I know he would be there for me if I needed him and he knows I would be there for him too.  We always talk about if we get good jobs out of college we’d both get an apartment together in Manhattan.  Hopefully one day this can become a reality.

We decided to plan a vacation this summer.  He always visits New York and I never visit him in Clearwater, Florida because it’s too boring.  I will be 21 in April and he will be 21 in July, so we decided we’re going to go to Miami.  Going to some of the most amazing beaches and clubs will be so much fun.  We won’t have to worry about fake ids or any nonsense.  I know this week will be a time I will never forget.  I’d get to be with my best friend living it up.  For now I will keep saving my money and when the summer comes along it should be sick!

One of the things that made me happy in my life has been traveling. Travel through different countries and meet new people with new cultures is something simply beautiful, specially Latin American countries, that in my opinion are different in many ways but they have the same heartbeat. A lot of people in most developed countries with better economy as United Sates the Latin American culture and customs may be strange and hard to understand, but the truth is that for someone like me who was lucky enough to see people from different South American countries and note that all grow, live and feel the same, the South American culture is unique and impressive. Zapping a few days ago I saw on TV the Latin Grammy awards where a singer was awarded by a song about exactly what I could see and live with the people of the Andes and the coast of South America, its culture . The singer was Calle 13, a Puerto Rican that besides making great music has been able to identify very well with the Latino people and culture, the song is called “Latinoamerica” (“Latin America” in English) and I really like the lyrics. After hearing the song, I found the video clip on Youtube and I was much more pleased with the work they did, the majority of the images and people in the video were from the Peruvian ethnicity and nearby countries, I really enjoy it. A big country as the United States and a city like New York make people who come from other countries living different and forget what it felt in our countries of origin, to forget our culture and forget our origin. The truth is that this video seemed to me very good not only for the lyrics of the song, but also because it shows pictures of the heart of Latin America and uses very own instruments and symbols of my culture. I posted one video clip of this song with english subtitles so all of you can enjoy it.

 Lationamerica

Wow, i still can’t believe its already November. Looking at the calender right now, it seems almost unreal. It’s already November 15. Wow.

Where has the time gone? Has it really gone, or have I just lived through it too fast, to notice it? Is it possible to live through it too fast? Or have I just been so caught up doing so many other things, that I indeed have forgotten to actually “live” through it. I wrote a whole manifesto on the importance of taking it slow and easy and living each moment. I told others they should do it. Then why have I not done it? Time has just sped by. I can’t believe that I walked into this unknown atmosphere in August, with so many hopes and dreams, ready to live my college life. Now, in November, I look back at the past few months, and find that I really miss high school. College is different. College is hard. College life is hectic. College is not as much fun. Not yet at least. I think I might have just kept too many expectations. I should have come in terms with the fact that I am attending a commuter college. Is it so different from other colleges? I really don’t know.

December is approaching fast, and so is the New Year. 2012. Yes, 2012. The very 2012 which many people are afraid of. The very 2012 which some people claim will bring with it the end of this world. Yes, the very 2012. Should this scare us?

Of course, most people think its a load of nonsense. I don’t believe it either, but find it funny that “living your life” is being stressed more now that “death” is coming. Well why do we need something like “the end of the world” to make us think about life, all that we have not lived, and to make us start wanting to live and enjoy ourselves. Or even, why do we need it, if we believe in God, to make us start being ‘good’ before we die. Accidents happen all the time, and our lives can really end at any moment. So shouldn’t we be ‘living’ all the time?

If nothing else, the idea of the world ending in 2012 at least gives us a chance to look at our lives and acknowledge the fact that most of us do want to be happier and ‘live’ before actually dying. I know I do.

This song tells you to live your life (party) and uses 2012 as an excuse to do it. It uses 2012 as an excuse to start over, from scratch, and live the way we want to live, enjoying our lives.I think this verse really explains it:

No I’m not gonna follow
Anything that say anymore
It’s never to late to start living
So let’s start it with here right now

It’s odd, I’m reading through the readings again and still the only one that really captures my attention is The Art of Response. Maybe because I like to listen to people and what they say are interesting, or at least they way they word the answer or question. It’s like you don’t want to really lie but you also don’t want to tell them the whole truth, so you say it in a way that is ambiguous and let them interpret it the way they want. Here’s a poem I wrote in the middle of class while reading it.

The First answer is Quick

The Second was hesitant

The Third Looked

The Fourth Laughed

The Fifth walked Away

The Sixth wrote

The Seventh Argued

The Eighth answered the Question with a Question

The Ninth and Tenth held hands and kissed

The Eleventh sighed and Dug

The twelfth joined a charity

The Thirteenth said No

The fourteenth wondered the streets looking

The Fifteenth Smiled and Changed the Question.

Well everything is just difficult at the moment. I find myself lacking passion for things I used to have so much passion about. I don’t know. Life is just all about change, and for some reason it is difficult for me to adjust to that change. Well, I kind of had an epiphany Sunday morning at around 4am. I just realized that I need to grow, and find myself and accept change as a positive thing. Very obvious answer that I could not fully understand until 11.13.11 at 4am. Hopefully things get better. Heres a poem I wrote last thursday in class, no title.

refused
why does she refuse
why does he refuse her?
Confused she is, or is HE not
No.
She,
They? Maybe not
life is one big knot of pointless nots
Living for what reason, what purpose?
To laugh, to love, to drink and get high
off of life.
To worry, to hurt, to regret then forget
Refusing everything
Or
Taking a chance