1101-14 Our Passions (Part 1)

While Hurricane Hermine was raging outside this weekend, I was on the couch, dry and cozy, reading your first journal entries. I enjoyed getting to know you all better and learning about the variety of things that you are passionate about. I thought I would share a few snippets from some of the entries for your reading pleasure this week. 

The one thing that always captivates my attention and throws me into this world of complete bliss is (and I know it’s cliché) the beach. It doesn’t matter if it’s a stormy day, I still find something beautiful about it. I love when I’m walking on the shore and I find washed up jelly fish laying in the wet, but dry, sand, or when I find the dead, and sometimes alive, crabs on the shore. Seeing all the life at the beach and how the ocean works has always fascinated me. There are so many things that are unknown to us hiding in the depths of the sea. 

It doesn’t matter what beach it is, whether it’s the crowded, flat shores of Daytona with the darker water, or the rocky, inland waters of Fort Island Gulf. …  In Daytona there is the bustling beach town, the rough waves that can be too much at times, it’s one of the may go to places for spring breakers. At night is my favorite, though, watching the sunset disappear behind the ocean waves, the tide getting closer, seeing the transition as the families leave for the night and the wild teenagers and young adults come out, and lastly walking along the boardwalk riding the roller coaster, the tilt-a-whirl, the arcade games, and visiting all the shops. 

Then there is the environment of Fort Island, it is miles away from a town, it has no stores nearby, just a single van parked by the sand selling slushies in a pineapple, … surrounded by nothing but trees, rocks, and open land. The waves are calmer, not as harsh as Daytona’s.  I love climbing the rocks and the trees, accidentally getting bit, or pinched by something, and mostly never knowing when I’m going to slip of something that’s just a little bit too slippery. Two very different environments, but yet they both come from the same body of water. I’ll never have my mind fully wrapped around that fact, I think it’s safe to say that the one thing that fascinates me the most, from the point I knew what the beach was and probably long after I’m too old to walk, will always be the beach, no matter what kind it is.  Diana C.

My life as far as I can remember has always been centered around music. Music has always accompanied me in many different ways. Whether it be listening to certain songs to help me get through depression or creating a playlist with all my friends for our trip to the beach. In any point in my life, music has been there. 

Now as I have matured, I've begun to develop a deeper, more critical interest in music. I've began to ask questions about why certain kinds of music make you feel a certain way. Questions like “Why does this chord progression make me feel excited while this one makes me feel anxious?” It’s only been recently that this level of thought has piqued my interest, but so far, it has kept me looking and researching for possible explanations. 

Regardless of how deeply you think about music, I think music can benefit anyone in numerous ways. Music has the ability to toy with your emotions and make you feel different ways that other mediums cannot. …  It is extremely interesting how we can use music to change our moods or to portray how we are feeling. Even though to many music may seem simply as “noises that sound appealing”, to me, music is a lot more than this. It acts as a gateway, introducing new aspects that we can critically think about. – Hector A.

Ever since I was a kid I’ve always loved turtles. Whether they are sea turtles or tortoises I’ve always wanted to know everything I can about them. I’ve watched movies about them and read so many books trying to learn their everything I can about them. I want to know what they eat, why the go where they go, how their ancestors helped influence them now, and just about anything else. 

I’m actually going to school now so I can study them personally and try to save their species. On top of all that I have a few things in my mind to help clean the oceans. Out of all the sea turtles my favorite would have to be the leatherback. All I could think of is this giant 7ft 1,000-pound sea turtle swimming up next to me or even watch it on the beach as it lays eggs. They are such gentle creatures and watching their home be destroyed makes my heart ache. Even knowing that there are poachers out there stealing green sea turtles from their nesting place to sell them on black markets makes me sick. They eat them and use their shells as decorations which is wrong. One day I just hope to change how things are in the other for these creatures and many more. -- Taylor L.

Weren't these fun to read? I hope they will inspire you to write and to share!  Please check back later in the week for Part 2!

1101-10 Our Passions (Part 1)

While Hurricane Hermine was raging outside this weekend, I was on the couch, dry and cozy, reading your first journal entries. I enjoyed getting to know you all better, and it was also fun to learn the variety of things that you are passionate about. I thought I would share a few snippets from some of the entries for your reading pleasure this week.

My passion is musical theater. I am completed captivated with the family atmosphere in any type of performing arts group. They are so involved in each other’s lives. I think it has something to do with the fact that anyone who performs bares their soul to their audience. I love the rush that performing is able to give me. There is a sort of power that comes with performing a show. You hold the audiences emotions in your hands. Theater is truly magical, I have seen it change people’s lives, both actors and patrons. To have the chance to change people’s lives is the best feeling you could have. Music has ingrained itself into my life and become a daily habit. Whether I am rehearsing for a new show or just enjoying the songs. For the past six years I have been singing, dancing, and acting. Working behind the scenes is just as satisfying, if not more. Seeing the set pieces and costumes that you built with your own two hands fills your chest with pride. It also works the other way. As an actor, when I look out in the audience and I see someone I know, I feel accomplished. I have never been able to feel that way anywhere else. – Isabella C.

 

Hunting is a very precious thing to me. When I’m up in a tree or sitting on the ground in a blind I put up, it blocks me out from the world completely and brings me closer to nature. There are no telephones, vehicles, or sureness when you’re in the woods. The feeling of just sitting there looking out and around you just so eager and impatient for something to walk out is insane. You always have a feeling every time you turn your head something is about to walk into your view. My favorite part about hunting has to be without a doubt harvesting the animal. Just being blessed enough to bring food hoe to your family gives me all the joy. --  Tony M.

 

During my final year of high school, I wanted to take a fun and easy elective class. … After a few moments in the guidance office, I decided to take Acting I. … I didn’t think much of it at first, though, not until the teacher convinced me to audition for the fall production of Almost, Maine. I was quite skeptical at first, I’ll admit. I didn’t think I would be cut out for the rigors of thespianism and all that comes with it. Once I got up on that stage to audition though, I was captivated by the size of the auditorium before me. I began to read for a few different characters, and was eventually cast in the production. The director somehow thought it would be a good idea to give me, the guy who had never set foot on a stage before, half of the male parts in the play, which, of course, freaked me the hell out. After all the rehearsals, line-memorization, blood, sweat, and tears, I fell in love.

Then came opening night.

... In a nervous sweat, after having been through costumes and makeup, I made my way behind the curtain. I peeked under to see how many people were in the audience and was shocked to see a full house. Hundreds of people just waiting to be entertained. It was then that I realized just how much was riding on my shoulders. I was the lead male actor, and these people came to see a show they would never forget. …  The very moment I stepped into the light and uttered my first lines, I knew I had discovered a passion of mine that would hold my heart for a very long time. After all was said and done, and the performance was over, my fellow actors and I walked onstage for the curtain call. Everyone was clapping, and slowly, they began to stand up. Soon enough, not a single seat was filled. Everyone stood on their feet. We each stood forward and bowed with our main scene partners, and the very moment I stood forward with mine, the crowd let out the greatest roar of praise of the night.

I went to sleep that night with the greatest sense of accomplishment I had ever felt in my life. Nothing could ever come close to the 21st of November, 2015. It was on this night that I became a thespian. – Jose R.

 

Weren't these great? I hope they will inspire you to write and to share!  Please check back later in the week for Part 2!