What is Love?

Warning: Before you read this, realize this might be about you, the reader. This may go against your beliefs on relationships. This may make you a tad angry or this could help you out in your future relationships. Whether you'll want to accept this or not, that choice is up to you.

So, what exactly is love? Many people have began to question that word: Haddaway, Brian Fantana, John Lennon, and Nat King Cole. Many young teens seem to be falling in love faster than I can say supercalafragalisticexpialidotious (and that's even harder to spell). Webster defines love as: a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. God defines love as patient, kind, and peaceful. So no matter who says what love is, it all comes down to one thing...patience. Many people feel that they need to rush love. They make it seem so easy. Love is omnipresent. No matter where you are in life, love will always be there, so there is no need to create cinematic love. The word "love" is probably one of the most used words in our vocabulary. We use it to describe a feeling towards a person, place or thing, like a noun. We always say, "Oh, I love that dress" or "I love that place". Since the word "love" is used so much, no one really takes it seriously. It's just being thrown out there as fast as we spend money. People will say they love you for doing them a favor and the common response would be, "I know" (in a humorous manner). But did you know that there are four different types of love?
One type of love is...
Security Love: which is a basic need for one's survival.
Another type of love is...
Friendship Love: This is the type of love that you have with someone who you can open up to about anything and always feel comfortable around.
Next, there's...
Romantic Love: Most people experience this type of love many times in their life. It is when you see that person for the first time and he/she makes your knees go weak or gives you butterflies in your stomach.i.e. "Love at first sight”. Most people don’t even love the person they think they are in love with…they fall in love with the idea if being in love. This is more of a lustful kind of love, it wears off after a while.
Finally, there is...
Unconditional Love: This is the type of love that is sincere and will last forever.

For the longest time, I never understood the word, love. I'm still having a hard time comprehending it, but I know exactly how it feels. ( I am only human afterall) I'm the kind of person who doesn't believe in "high school love". What I mean is, I don't believe people can fall in love with someone at such a young age. This is true especially towards young girls in their mid teen years. (Girls, don't hate me. Read on, it gets better. Trust me.)They have a syndrom that society calls, "Boy Crazy". They will seem to fall in love with the first boy they come in contact with, mainly because that's what they feel at the moment. But later on down the road, another "lover" will come into place and the love cycle will start over. But look at me, I'm "Girl Crazy". I do the exact same thing. I'm no different. But that doesn't mean I fall in love with every girl I come in contact with. People, I know we have our hormones to blame for our actions. But don't think it's ok to make googly eyes at at passing guy or girl. Doing that makes a person even more lustful. (But let's keep moving on)For some reason, people have the need to say I love you in a relationship. I guess it's a way to keep the relationship going without the fear of an approaching break up. But really, the more you strive for a long lasting relationship, the more likely it will fail. Most of the time, early "I love you" relationships break off after a few weeks or months (not all the time though). That happens because the person only feels in love and they realize that they don't know anything about the other person. I can tell anyone right now, from experience, that saying "I love you" in a short term relationship isn't the smartest thing to do. I say that because the word, "I love you" should be for the one you really do love and the one you plan on spending your life with. I can't see how so many people can love another person as much as they did the other. Myspace is the biggest way to express one's love for another. We see the status stating, "In a Relationship" or my favorite, "Married". Young teens are already saying that they are married when in fact they've only been dating for maybe a few months or a year. Did you know that only 5 of 100 people will marry their high school sweethearts? That's not a lot. And for the people who did marry their high school sweet hearts, most of them ended in divorce. That's truly sad and disappointing. If anyone wants to have a healthy, happy, and satisfying relationship, they have to accept the fact that it will NOT LAST. Whether you are 14, 15, 16, or 18 years old, it will not last. I know. I wrong about your relationship. Your relationship is different from your friends. Your bf is so great and you love him very much. You both have everything in common and he makes you the happiest person in the world. Hate to burst your bubble, but that has nothing to do with true love. You may refuse to accept this, but I got to tell you, it is true. You got to accept this fact that it won't last. If you don't accept it, dating will destroy you. You will be crushed, obliberated, heartbroken until God knows when. Once you do accept this fact, you will have a happier relationship. You'llbe ready for whatever comes your way. Like I mentioned before, love is patient. It should never be rushed into.

For all you people who are reading this and are saying, "What does this guy know about love? He doesn't know me? Everything he is saying is a lie! He's probably never even been in love before". You're probably right. I don't know you. Everyone has there own definition of love. I'll give it a shot at what I think love is. Here's my definition of what love is:

Love is Hopeful. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is when your hands shake and begin to sweat when the one you love is present. Love is when the words slip right from your mind when you want to speak. Love is when you have this overwhelming joy bursting inside of you and you hope it never leaves. Love is when everything seems to remind you of that person. Love is when you lay in bed at night and wonder if he/she is dreaming about you just as you dream about that person. Love is when you'll wait forever for him/her. Love is when that person begins to make you figure out your own life. Love is when you respect each other. Love is when you'll always be there for each other. Love is when you'd never close your eyes and miss one moment with each other. Love is when you think about his/her feelings before yours. Love is when you'd die for that person. Love is absolutely knowing you'll spend the rest of your life with each other. Love is never giving up on each other, no matter how bad things may seem. Love is following the words and wisdom of Gods will. And of course, love is making each other feel loved.

Now, here's my definition of what love is not:
Love is not about sex. Love is not about a sexy, curvy body with nice breasts. Love is not about a hot, muscular body with a pretty face. Love is not critical. Love is not always telling the girl she is beautiful no matter what. Love is not buying gifts for each other. Love is not instant. Love is not around every corner. Love is not shameful. Love is not abusive. Love is not controlling. Love is not manipulative. Love is not demeaning. Love is not about having things in common with each other. Love is not a romantic Hollywood movie. Love is not what you think it is. Love is not as easy as anyone makes it out to be. Love is not saying "I love you" 24/7.

I still have years before I can fully understand this thing, called love. Who knows when that love will come? It can come tomorrow, the next day, the next week, the next month, or even the next year.

If you have doubts about your relationship, don't worry. God has designed someone just for you. You will find the one who will bring you the happiness you deserve. As we get older, the dating rules seem to change. So what you believe in right now, will no longer apply to you as you grow up from the teen years.

In the words of John Lennon: "Love is wanting to be loved".

The Greatest Memories

For most people, their best memories are either experiencing their first kiss, graduating high school, getting married, or witnessing the birth of their children. We all have our own definition of "the greatest memory". So far, during my lifetime I have experienced three of the greatest moments that I'll never forget. These are the moments that just make a person feel nostalgic, but also filled with an incomprehensible amount of happiness.

Hawaii Band Trip 2006: In the Spring of 2006, the Sierra High Symphonic and Jazz Band, along with the Choir, had the privilege of flying down to Hawaii for a week. For me, the trip was absolutely unforgettable. The trip was filled with excitement and also exhaustion. We got to eat anywhere we wanted and go anywhere we desired. During our free time, we all gathered at the Waikiki beach for some ocean swimming. But when we were busy, we performed for the Hawaiian audience. We performed at the Polynesian cultural center and even at Pearl Harbor, aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. Each day, I would hang out with my friend David and Miriam. Miriam and I would text day and night, especially when we were riding in separate buses to our performance place. I felt like we were on tour. My greatest memories of the Hawaii trip were: The night we explored Honolulu and ate at Tony Roma's, the Luau at the cultural center, dinner at Planet Hollywood, and especially hanging out at the Dole pineapple plantation. The Dole pineapple plantation was absolutely my favorite day out of the entire week. Overall, this was the best trip I had ever been on. Once in a while, I'll have a flashback of the trip or I'll see something that reminds me of it.



4th of July, 2006: When ever I think about fourth of July, I always think about the movie, "The Sandlot". If you haven't seen the movie, there's a scene where the kids are playing baseball at night while the fireworks are going off in the distance. Then the characters begin to move in slow motion while Ray Charles is softly singing, "America, the Beautiful". Watching that scene always makes me go back to my 4th of July.
I woke up early that day, around 7 or so to go see the 4th of July parade with my friend, Miriam. We began the day with a waffle breakfast. We then sat and watched the parade march down Main Street. After the parade was over, I went back to Miriam's house and hung out with her and her friend, Boomer. We went for a swim in her pool to get cooled off from the scorching heat. Eventually, Boomer left and it was just me and Miriam again. We both decided to call some of our friends up and hang out with them. Me and my friends walked around the block a few times just acting like teens. After spending the entire day goofing off, we went to the high school to watch the fireworks shoot off. We all went home thinking that the night was over, but my friend Matt called. We decided to have a late night snack at Denny's diner. My friend Reggie ate someone elses food that they did not finish. It was the most hilarious thing to have witnessed.
So to make a long story short, I spent the entire day with Miriam, then hung out with my other friends, watched the fireworks, and ate at Denny's...sounds like a very fun day to me.

State Youth Conference 2006: This was the memory to top the entire year. During the end of December, 2006, me and the rest of the church youth group attended a State Youth Conference in Long Beach, CA. Before we actually reached Long Beach, we made a pit stop at a little place I'd like to call, "the happiest place on Earth". I hung out with my friends Matt, Reggie, David, Miriam, Alyssa, Aaron, and literally my oldest buddy, Dale. Although we didn't go on many rides, we still had a blast. At first me, Matt, Reggie, and Dale, got food poisoning from the Disney fried Chicken. So during the entire time at the park we all felt weird. But after that horrible experience was over everything was good again.
The next day, we headed off to Long Beach for the conference. Everyday, my friends and I would eat at this really good Mexican grill, called Sharky's. The food was cheap and very tasty. After we were done eating, we would go back to the hotel and play some Guitar Hero 2. Of course, we weren't allowed to bring any electronics such as video games, but we were very sneaky. Eventually, we would have a gathering in our room waiting to play the game. We ordered pizza and made a mess of the room. While others had "cabin leaders" me and my friend had the hotel room to ourselves. That's why we had the party's.



So that wraps up my greatest memories. All of them happened during the same year and what a great year that was. I know I'll have even more great memories down the road of life.

Is it the End of the World as We Know it?

Since September 11, 2001, many philosophers and researchers have claimed that day to be the beginning of the end. I've been pretty curious about all of this as well. Of course, no one knows when the end will occur, but doesn't it seem like the world is falling apart each year since 2000? Here, let me give you some examples of events that have occurred since the new millennium: 2001; September 11 terrorist attacks, 2002; U.S. invaded Afghanistan, 2003; SARS outbreak, 2004; Tsunami in Thailand, 2005; Hurricane Katrina, 2006; Avian Bird Flu, 2007; Solomon Islands hit by 8.1 earthquake ending in a tsunami, and 2008; in one week there were seven Tornadoes, fires, cyclones, 7.1 Earthquake in China, and to top it all off the stock market is dropping. But those are just some of the terrible events that have occurred so far. What could happen next is something no one can predict.
For millions of years, civilization has been obsessed with time. The ancient Mayans revolved their entire life to time. In fact, everything the Mayans constructed dealt with days of the year. For example, the pyramids would have 365 steps on each side. But what's more amazing is the fact that they constructed a calendar that told when "Doomsday" will occur. The calendar was set to December 21, 2012. It's the most talked about year in recorded history. Is it true? Who knows? But the worlds clock is ticking even faster each and every day. Sir Isaac Newton once calculated the earth's life and declared that the Earth will not last passed the year 2060. With all of these numbers flying around, the Earth could just end tomorrow.
So far, in 2008, gas prices have soared, food has become expensive, natural disasters are happening around every corner, the war in Iraq doesn't see a light at the end of the tunnel, and now we are about to choose the next president of the United Sates of America. Scholars are making accusations about Barack Obama being the Anti-Christ. Of course, no one really knows who the anti-Christ is, but just the fact that the word "Anti-Christ" is back gives some people a little concern. Everywhere you look now in days, you see billboards, bumper stickers, and hear more people sending the message of salvation to the world.
And let's not forget the biggest disaster of them all, Global Warming. For years, we the people of the Earth have been concerned with our environment. But lately, things have become a little out of control. The ice caps are melting faster than we have ever expected, which is why we have warmer winters and hotter summers. Also, we have been seeing more tornadoes down in the South West. Since 2008, there have been about 702 tornadoes striking down. We are doing everything we can to prevent Global Warming, but how can we prevent something that has already occurred. It's like cancer; once the virus has spread, all you can do is wait and see what happens. Of course, the ending is mostly never a good one.
God talks about how there will be diseases, many natural disasters, rumors of war, poverty, and claiming of being God. So far, I think every one of those omens have been fulfilled already.
But what about the rest of the years. Astronomers predict a major asteroid impact within the next three years, scientists have predicted the next earthquake to be the biggest of them all, gas prices are told to be twenty-five dollars a gallon by 2019, and the prediction of another stock market crash. I'm no Nostradamus, I'm not here to predict or make assumptions, but if God decided to come back now then I think that would be just fine. So, is it the end of the world as we know it? God only knows.

Goob-Bye Zoe

On one fine afternoon in March, a kind little kitty came upon me. I had peaked out the back door because my eye had caught a glance of small movement. And that's when I saw it. I figured it was a timid cat who would run away if you came too close. But I still went to the back to see the cat. I grabbed a scoop of cat food and laid some on the ground in front of me. It appeared that the little kitten wandered about in the backyard of our house. The little kitten walked toward me as I kneeled to the ground. It rubbed its head on my leg and without notice it fell sideways onto my foot. I then noticed a collar around its neck. It had a pink name tag in the shape of a heart. Her name was Zoe, Zoe without a "Y". I then saw a phone number on the tag. Obviously, the young kitten belonged to someone. But who? I later showed my parents to the newest member of the family. Zoe was the friendliest cat in the whole world. But it wasn't long until we discovered that Zoe was pregnant. Well, I discovered it. No one really believed me when I told them she was. We later let Zoe come into the garage whenever she felt like it. She meowed so much and always caused some kind of mischief. If anyone had left the door open she would run into the house. But little did Zoe know that we had another cat living in the house already. They would always get into fights, but of course Zoe would win because my cat doesn't have front claws. Weeks had passed and Zoe was getting a little bigger from her pregnancy. It wasn't until Sunday, April 13 that no one could ever say she wasn't pregnant. I woke up that morning to go to church. Like always, I would check Zoe to see if she was okay. My parents always made Zoe go outside at night, but for some reason I felt the need to let her in the garage that evening. So when I went into the garage to check on Zoe, I couldn't find her. I searched and searched. I knew she couldn't have gone anywhere. I then looked at these shelves on the right side of the garage and there she was. I called her once. She didn't come. I called her once again. Still, she did not come to me. That's when I started to think something. I walked over to where she was laying and yes I was right. She had had kittens during the night. She had four little kittens. There was this black cat that always came around, so I always assumed he was the father. We didn't like that cat coming around. We had called the owner of Zoe, but there was no answer. A week had gone by and I was taking care of Zoe and her kittens. On a Sunday afternoon, there's a knock on the door. My mom answers it and it's the owner of Zoe. We let her in the garage to see Zoe and her kittens. The woman had two younger boys, both 7 years of age. They had come to take Zoe and her kittens home. I wasn't too bummed, but then I saw the way the two boys were handling the kittens. They were picking them up as if they were action figures. They were forcing the kittens to drink Zoe's milk. I was ready to yell at those kids. But soon, they had taken Zoe to their van. Immediately, when they put Zoe in their car, she ran back to our house and into our backyard as if she didn't want to go. And that was probably the reason why. But they got her back and now she's gone forever. It's different around house now. I use to go in the garage ready for a greeting from a cat. The spot where she laid is now just a spot. Zoe was the best cat in the whole world.

Perfection is an Oxymoron

Have you ever known someone that you just love and care about so much only to be disappointed by them? If you have, then I know how you feel. It's really hard to deal with. You just want to picture everyone with little halos above their heads. But when you discover that the golden halo has been cut into two red thorns, all of your views suddenly crumble to the ground. Especially when you have so much respect and confidence in that person. Sometimes I wish God did make us all perfect. By that, there would be no wars, no anger, no sadness, no imperfection of the human mind. What are you suppose to do when you find out the one you love isn't all he/she is cut out to be? Again, it's not an easy thing to deal with, I know. But it doesn't matter because of the fact that we humans are not created perfect. And that's the beauty of it. In order to achieve happiness, we must all encounter disappointment by our fellow friends. From that point on, we can help one another and maybe encourage them to become a better person. When someone really disappoints you, it's hard to see them as you did before. But you still love them just as you did before. It's kinda like a "love/hate" situation. You think to yourself, "Why did they have to go and do that?" and it saddens you to have to think that way. I know everyone makes mistakes. I should know, I'm a huge problem. I'm nothing close to perfection, and I don't intend to be be perfect, but everyday I strive to become a better person. Not just for myself, but for my family, friends, and especially for God. We are a fine example of what Jesus Christ went through when He walked the Earth. He was disappointed by his own disciples, by his followers, and by the entire human race. But he still loved us so much to give His life for us so that when we disappoint God we may be forgiven and given a second chance. There's just no way of escaping man's imperfection. So the moral of this blog is, "If you love someone and they disappoint you, don't give up on them. Love them just as God will always love you".

Delta:911

Today, at approximately 2:30pm, Delta College had a school emergency. It all happened during my last class of the day, astronomy. Our teacher was giving a lecture on comets when out of nowhere I hear this loud, obnoxious buzz. I first turned to my neighbor, Adam, to check if he was hearing the same noise. It wasn't long until our teacher took notice and checked to see what all the noise was about. It turned out that it was the school alarm. People were running to go in the nearest class for safety. Of course with all the school shootings occurring, it wasn't a surprise to see people freaked out. It was really weird because no one knew what to do. It wasn't like high school where the alarm goes off and everyone stands in front of their classroom. Plus, our class was on the fourth floor. We all walked down the stairs together unaware of what was going on. As we were walking down stairs, we could see firetrucks and police cars surrounding the campus. We all figured that there was a fire somewhere, since we were in the science building. Maybe there was a chemical fire in the labs. I walked around a little to see if anyone knew anything. I could hear people whispering to one another, "I think they're looking for someone". Firemen were coming out of their trucks with stretchers and oxygen tanks. I don't know if anyone got hurt. I figured since this was happening I'd head on home. But my car was across the campus. Police officers had blocked off all access to the department buildings. So I had to go around, through the scene of all the action. I finally reached my car. I drove away, but only to see more firetrucks on every corner of the school. When I drove off campus, I took a right onto Pershing Avenue. There's a detour I always take to avoid traffic lights. All of a sudden, I see a line up of police cars. They were all parked along the sidewalk. The police had arrested a Caucasian male. The man looked about 40 years of age. Dirty blond hair, partially bald. He looked somewhat rugged, wearing a white shirt and jeans.

Several days later, I discovered that the man I saw getting arrested was involved in a bank robbery that same day. Him and a couple other guys were on the lose from the police. I'm guessing the cops arrested the other men.

So that was a pretty cool experience. School was let out and justice was served during the same day. Actually, we were supposed to go back to class afterwards, but I didn't know, sooooo....yeah.

My hero, Tom Delonge

Mostly everyone knows who Tom Delonge is. But for those who don't, he was the founder and lead guitarist/vocals for the former punk band, Blink-182. He then formed a side band called Box Car Racer. Soon after, Blink-182 was abandoned. Both Tom Delonge and bassist Mark Hoppus went their seperate ways, never to talk to each other again. Mark formed a band called, +44 with Blink-182 drummer, Travis Barker. Tom went out to make something better of himself. He formed a band called, Angels & Airwaves (AVA), with Box Car Racer's guitarist David Kennedy. So that's who Tom is and where he's at now. But many people ask me, "Why is Tom your hero?" Well, to to answer that question, it is simply because of who he is now. Blink-182 was a very talented band, but immaturity was always occuring throughout their career. Tom and Mark would run around naked, write songs about having sex with a dog, and tell all the penis jokes possible. There was nothing mature about that band. But in 2003, all of that had changed. Their last album contained no immaturity whatsoever. The reason was because Tom felt the need to grow up. He wanted to make a change and start something beautiful. If you're a Blink fan then you know what happened next. At the time, Tom was married and was about to have his daughter, Ava. He also has a boy named, Jonas. Tom needed to go home and spend time with his wife and child. So Tom decided to make a difference. His new band, Angels & Airwaves, is more of a serious band with a spiritual message. Believe it or not, Tom is a Christian. He was raised by religious parents. I was reading the thank you's in the back of the album cover and Tom thanks God for every opportunity he was given. Also, whenever I see a picture of Tom or a music video, he is always wearing his wedding band. That shows true devotion to his wife. The point is is that he went from a skater punk to a well respected, father, husband, and musician. That proves no matter how famous you may be you can still be happy and live your life for the ones you love. There is always a time to make a difference. Most musicians are doing drugs, having sex with various women, going through divorces, and going through rehab. Tom still has that potty mouth, but he says it is a terrible habit that can't seem to go away. But besides that, he is a musician that deserves a lot of respect. His music has impacted and inspired many teens to get off their feet and make a difference in their own life. That is my hero, Tom Delonge.