2012.. Here I come!!!!

     2011 was a pretty decent year for me. It wasn't the best but it sure wasn't the worse.
2011 was a great year to me because I spent a lot of time with my family and built respect back with my brothers and show them a good example of being of age to go drink and party but choose not to because I had important responsibilities in the morning.

     Other than that, I tried NOT to do the same things that I did in 2010. I did so much this year that I never thought I would ever do…BUT I DID IT =)
It is such a great feeling to know that I'm not falling into dealing life as a conformist, but rather wanting to break that and go above and beyond of what I thought I possibly could do. I also reconciled with God this year and that was the best thing I could've done.

     Therefore, in 2012, I will try my best to do way more photoshoots, travel to places I've never been before to capture great shots. Make the most money I can possibly make so I can pay for school in the summer and fall semester and most importantly, grow spiritually and get baptized by the summer.

     Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !!!

-Osvaldo Alvarado

Everything-Lifehouse

This is a really touching and inspirational skit.. kinda brings you to tears.

Fighting Back

I am really getting tired of seeing pictures of Jesus portrayed in pornographic pictures lately on FB. It gets me really mad especially because nothing I say will make these pictures go away, so why not fight back and put up inspirational pics of Jesus =) anybody is more than welcome to join me if you guys want. In a way it's like fighting back ;)

Suicide

Having somebody close to you being killed (homicide) really hurts. Most cases, nobody knows when they are going to die but in some few cases, people plan their own deaths and take action upon them to kill themselves and this is called suicide.

People usually commit suicide when they feel that life is not worth living anymore. 

This feeling of ending the life of your own can be caused by many things including

• any kind of abuse including sexual, drugs, alcohol, etc…
• stress and/or overwhelming depression 
• bullies at school or at work or even on the streets
• no self love

They believe that they can't take it no more therefore they decide to end their suffering but little do they know because their minds are being clouded by evil is that an immense suffering is awaiting them if they do decide to end their lives.

Here comes the TRUTH !!!! 

Suicide is a one way ticket to HELL !!! and the main reason is because Satan is a murderer and a father of lies as it says in John 8:44

Here's what people may think before they commit suicide, "I don't want to live anymore, my life is not worth all this suffering".

Then they commit the act of suicide and because of that are committing the act of not honoring the SIXTH COMMANDMENT "Thou shall not KILL". Once you kill yourself, you cannot ask for God's forgiveness because it is already too late. You are also rejecting the fact that Jesus died for you so you shall be saved.

Imagine how long you have lived up to this point of your life, whether you are a reader that is in your teens, 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's or even 60's.

In comparison, the time we spend here on Earth is nothing but a quick blink of an eye to the infinite lifetime of where we are going to spend out eternal life.

Seriously imagine being engulfed in flames for a few seconds… now minutes…now days, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years, 100,000 years…

When I say eternal life, that means infinite lifetime, there is no limit of how long you are going to burn, that is forever for billions and trillions of years and even after those billions of years, there is no ending after that.

Luckily for you and for the person who is thinking about committing suicide. Jesus died for our sins and through accepting Him as our personal savior we can spend eternity in heaven.

Here's what Jesus said about the devil in John 10:10.."The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" 

If you know anybody that is going through hard times, pray for them and tell them to pray to God because just as God said in Matthew 11:28… "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened , and I will give you rest"

Why give up on yourself when you have God that never gave up on you before even after all your mistakes, so if you know somebody that is going through hard times and is thinking about suicide, talk to them tell them life is worth living and direct them to a pastor so they can pray for him and her.

Special thanks to J.R =)

" & when I count my blessings, I count you twice" =)

" & when I count my blessings, I count you twice" =)
Days weather like todays makes it easier for one to become more gloomy, but then I started counting my blessings and I feel much better. Staying positive is the way to be and listening to great christian music helps as well and praying to God for guidance is a biggie. Stay blessed y'all !!!

My New Way Of Living

As many of my close friends and family know, I am trying to go back to church. It's been an ongoing battle between the flesh and the spirit. The wants of the body are hard, but are they really?
What good does alcohol, sex, and drugs can really offer someone other than a high that lasts for a few hours. What comes from sin? Better yet, ask yourself real quick and think about it for a couple of minutes of what has been the outcome and consequences because of sins that you committed in the past.

While the wants of the spirit is craving for me to pray and and have a communication and close relationship with God and also by reading the Bible.

The spend we time here is a mere speck in the long timeline of where we are going to spend eternity. My new sister in Christ sent me the following video for which I thank for putting a lot into perspective for me…

I'm not perfect and nobody is. There will be times where I will mess up, no doubt about that.
I just ask kindly if you can keep me in your prayers for strength and guidance.

Pics That Tell A Story

If it's one thing I love, it is for me to capture a moment that literally tells a story.
For example:

The picture above was taken in one of the last few warm days of September of this year (2011)

it is pretty obvious what the guy in the picture I took was trying to do, because I was doing the same thing he was doing earlier was to capture the reflection of the buildings on Michigan Avenue on the bean. After a few shots I moved my camera to the right and I thought to myself, why am I capturing a refection of beauty when the real beauty is in front of me, and no, I was not talking about myself because guys are handsome, not beautiful ;) I was talking about the beauty of the skyline that was in pure awesomeness in front of me instead of being reflected and its true beauty by a reflective mirror that is covered in handprints and is not as clean as it should be. 

In other words, when I captured this moment I called it, "Guy that is too busy concentrated on a refection of beauty while I see the real beauty in front of me" =)

The pic above was taken by me in the same night. I really love how there is so much going on in one moment. I was lucky enough to capture this moment when the flash went off on another persons camera. Not only that but there is a couple in the background sharing the nice weather and being in each others arms..and other people taking pics. But as I see it, I saw the bigger picture =)

This last picture above is a love/hate kind of pic. Obviously I love it more than I hate it but the only part I dislike is the motion blur displayed because the individual wouldn't stay still…

butin a way, that is why I love it because they were not posing for me, they were just photographers as I trying to explore new ways to shoot at night.

In order to best view these pics, please click on each one.

When You Point At Someone, You Have 3 Fingers Pointing Back

Its true, point with your hand and look at it =D

Regardless of the irony that is being shown in front of your eyes, apply it to your life.

I've been judged so many times that I could care less what anybody says about me. I'm not perfect and I know the person judging me isn't either, so that is why I don't let it bother me.

I know I may say really really stupid stuff sometimes, but that is because I usually don't think before I say something,lol ( but I'm trying to get into the habit of thinking before I say something)

Regardless of what I put out there online or what comes out of my mouth.. does not mean that is who I am. Most people don't know anything of how I am at home and how I am a big component to my family's well being.

As long as I know that I do my best to take care of my family, I can care less about what people think of me.

People are quick to judge and enjoy talking about negativity.

People don't see that I could be selling drugs but I don't, but I do be on my grind with these photography shoots.

Most people are not gonna say.." Oh, I'm proud of you Obie for doing something productive".

But they will talk behind your back if you do something destructive.

So to those people, all the judging they do is never going to change who I am, only God will.

Haters

We all have them one point in our life's or another. Best thing to do is to learn to embrace their negative and turn it into positive. For example, if you are a girl and you know you are looking fresh to an event and you feel and look sexy but as how girls are real catty to begin with, they will stare at you up and down and side to side trying to look for a flaw in you to talk about. They know the dress looks marvelous and that is a fact but haters will always talk and say stuff like, "who does she think she is to wear that?", "she is too skinny/fat for that outfit" and so on.

The way to turn that negative feedback into a positive is to remember that you are wearing that outfit because you like it, and it makes u look sexy, therefore making you feel sexy. The fact that you caught someone's attention whether it was negative or positive is letting you know that you stood out from the rest.  All females are not nice, but if you do receive a compliment, embrace it ... if you receive the opposite or worse of all, a girl whispering to another girl while looking at you then you should realize they have nothing better to do than to be criticizing you just to make themselves try to feel better about themselves. We are all the same under God's eyes, her feces smell as bad as yours so why let yourself think for them to think they are better than you.

One thing that gets the most criticism which includes bad criticism is "ART". I'm not talking about just painting but artistically involving things such as Music, Painting, Poetry and in my case Photography.
When it comes to art, you put your work out there. If you are a singer, you are gonna project your beautiful voice out loud for everyone to hear. If you are a painter, you are going to paint a heartfelt painting and post it in a gallery for people to be mesmerized by your creation. My job as taking photographs, is to capture moments and that is what photography is  all about . Some bring back memories, some make you think, some make you smile but what photography mostly does is make you "FEEL". If you see a baby picture of your grown up child, it is going to make you feel joy and remember how it felt to carry him or her in your arms and when you look at him or her all grown up, it will remind you that they will always be that baby that once always relied on you for everything.

It is important to know the difference between criticism and constructive criticism. A person that is critiquing your work constructively is analyzing on how you can improve or become a better artist. They will say negative but also say positive feedback. Haters just focus on the negative.

So that being said, let the haters hate ;)

Life Is Like A Garden

This past weekend I had a great time at the Botanic Gardens of Chicago with a good friend. Not many people know this but I really really love gardens. I'm not the type of person that knows every single name of species of flowers and stuff but I love gardens for other reasons, the things they represent to me.

For me, a garden represent your life. You may start off with a naked field or just grass, but then you decide you want to do something with this patch of field. You start clawing into the grass with a special gardening tool to bring up the soil ,and with time this patch of field is ready to be planted.
A person can relate to this when they want to make a fresh start or make something out of their life. The preparation it takes to start into what you want to do with the rest of your life.

Next a gardener starts planting the flowers or vegetables or whatever they decide to do with this garden. They water their garden everyday because it is a necessary step and crucial component into having a garden. Even if the field remains naked for a couple of days, it is important to feed the garden with water and with the nutrients the soil needs.
That reminds me of a student that goes to class everyday. It is important that they do their homework because that is how they develop their brain to grow and sponge up the knowledge that is being given to them, just like how a garden needs water.
The fact that you may not see visually that the flower is growing from on top of the surface, under the ground, the roots are growing and the flower is getting ready to pop out of the soil and into this world we live in.

Finally, you see a tiny little green stem growing all around your garden and you feel so proud because you worked so hard to see this little miracle grow into existence.
This, for me represents when a student graduates. To some people they may see it as the full grown set of garden but for me, it just represent the meaning of the growing up and maturing a person has to grow through, just like a plant.

As you life starts to grow, so does you garden. it is you job to take care of you job to maintain the garden to be in tip top shape. A very important thing is to take out the weeds that can mess up your garden and make it kind of ugly. I see the weeds as negative people in your life, you have to remove them out of your life because it is your life and your garden. The more you let the weeds roam free in your garden, the less attractive your garden and life will seem.

Maintaining a garden can take up the rest of your life, just like maintaining your own life. In a garden and your life, if you care about it, you have to protect it. There's a lot of danger out there and people may tell you to put this into your garden/life but do your research first and know what you decide to put in or take out because people can tell you one thing, but you don't know their intentions…

And remember….."you reap what you sow"

Be A Leader, Not A Follower

I've had a lot of great teachers in my life, but as many have taught us about academics, one taught me about LIFE as well.

The best thing this teacher taught me was "NOT TO BE A FOLLOWER".
He taught us the values of being a leader, and I applied that to my life as an older brother because siblings tend to look up to the oldest. Therefore I stayed away from gangs as much as I could, because my little brothers and sisters are my responsibilities as well, so I would not be able to live my life knowing that if something would've happened to them as a result of me being in a gang.

I've never have been the type to be clubbing or going to bars every weekend. I'm not trying to bash anybody that does that but I would be considered a follower if I did that, knowing deep in my heart that I don't like those type of things, but yet I would go just because a lot of people my age are into those type of things…

I don't follow, but I do think of the people I follow as mentor's.
I went to an online dictionary website and it said the following..

men·tor

  [men-tawr, -ter] 

noun

1.

a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.

2.

an influential senior sponsor or supporter.

How are those not good qualities of a leader right??? So if you think you are a follower, make sure the person is leading you into the right path.

In the end, I want to thank my former teacher Mr.Stone for teaching me not to be a follower and whom I dedicate this blog entry to.

Real Music

Please watch Video First 

Years of listening to so called "music", I kind of feeling that artists sing about the same thing..money,cars and clothes and sometimes even hoes,lol
There are a few artists I actually listen to because now a days its all mostly about having a good beat and a good hook…
The days all we mostly hear is punch lines so I think of them artists as jokes for exmaple LiL Wayne and Drake.
Rarely do we see lyrical geniuses like Nas, Vico C, Common and so on…but I ran across this artist that is up in coming in which I fully support because his music delivers messages and that's what I'm all about.

The music industry know we like listening to garbage music so that is what they give us, but some of us do actually LOVE music and are not content with the artists, so I think if we stop supporting dumb artists like LiL Wayne they will actually give real music artists a chance to be heard because in the end, all the music industry wants to do is make money.

If you guys know of any other good artists like "Childish Gambino" feel free to comment so more individuals know of these individuals that are in love with music rather than artists that are in love with the money and use music to get it.

                                                           Childish Gambino

Giving Credit To Those Who Deserve It

If there is one thing I really hate, is when a girl is going out with a dude that gangbangs and/or is not doing anything with his life to try to make it better but yet are giving credit for trying.

A dog  does not receive a treat for trying to complete a task..only to when the dog actually completes the trick…
So why give credit for a guy who is THINKING about to gangbanging or selling drugs and who's trying to go back to school.

There's a difference between actually saying you're going to do something and actually doing it.

These kind of individuals chose (action) to join a gang, they chose (action) to sell drugs.
I know times are hard but I know people who have 2 jobs, they may hate their jobs but they still manage to have 2 and you're telling me you can't find one???

If you have a man/woman whose going to school or  works and takes care of his/her family..appreciate them to the fullest because as girls, you guys love a challenge and try to make a bad boy into a goodboy. People have to remember, not all challenges are rewarding..but they do make you learn things.
You may be looking for a challenge but you have a blessing of a good person in front of you, and yes, blessings do sometimes comes your way easy and unexpected.

Marriage

So I've been talking to my friend a lot lately about marriage.
What makes people want to get married was a huge question for me.
I thought about it very deeply and I thought why not take it to the next level and get married.
I started seeing no point in being in a relationship for a long time and treating each other like if you guys were married.

Then again, marriage is a huge commitment that is taken between 2 individuals who are deeply in love and know what they want and I guess that is what I long for in the future.
Somebody I can trust with all my heart and they could do so as well. Somebody I can grown old with and cherish her every day. Of course there are going to be ups and downs, nothing is perfect..but that is the reason of getting married, almost getting rid of the option leaving each other and working it out together.

I am highly against domestic violence and if I were to get married I know I would invest in a punching bag rather than hitting my wife,lol
But it also applies to females as well, just because it is not right for a man to hit  a woman, women should not provoke and and dare the man to hit her.

Other than that, in order to get married I have to remember that I have to be able to support my family. I want to get my education first and get a great job. If God wants to bless me with the trustworthy beautiful wife then I'm up to it but I can see why he hasn't done it yet, because as much as I would want to, I don't think I'm ready yet.

In the meantime I'm going to enjoy this single life and get myself educated one way or another and prepare for my future.

Components Of Being In A Relationship

I believe that being in a relationship consists of these things:

• Love
• Trust
• Communication

I'm going to start off with Love.. as I grew older, I learned the true definition of Love.

Love is not loosing that passion for one another regardless of the time years you both have been together. Love is showing and giving respect to each other as much as you guys can. Love is setting boundaries and limits where the relationship is respected and if one lets another disrespect the relationship, then they are not really showing respect to their loved. Love is word that you give meaning behind it so why not still show it even when the person you love already knows you love them.

Trust!!! You can't really love somebody without trusting them. If you have no trust on them,  you better believe there is going to be a lot of unnecessary arguments.

It takes years to build trust and a second to loose that trust, so therefore, for me, if a person I'm with tells me they trust me with all their heart, then it means more to me for them to tell me that they trust me rather than telling me that they love me.. i say this because trust is more valuable to me because you can have it today and be gone tomorrow.

Last but not least is communication. Communication is really important because in a argument, you need to speak as well as to listen. One person cannot be doing all the times, one person cannot be doing the calls all the time, and one person cannot make be the one making the effort to see one another..if that's the case then why not call or text or see a brick wall?? That is basically what one person is doing if they are going all the effort to communicate. You need 2 individuals to communicate.

If you are not married, and somebody is not willing to meet these components with you..then why be in a relationship with them…you would be better be off alone.

Boy And His Blind Father

I once was helping my friend with her college h.w and I ran across this story and I wanted to share it with you guys, it titled, "Boy And His Blind Father"

This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a
very special relationship.

The son was crazy about football and was always involved in every game
but even though
he was always on the bench, his
father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This
young man was still
the smallest of the class when he
entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him but also
made it very clear
that he did not have to play football
if he didn't want to. However, the young man loved football and decided
to hang in there.
He was determined to try his best at
every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior.
All through high
school he never missed a practice nor
a game, but remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful
father was always in the
stands, always with words of encouragement for him.

When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the
football team as a
"walk-on." Everyone was sure he could
never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on
the roster because
he always puts his heart and soul to
every practice and at the same time, provided the other members with the
spirit and hustle
they badly needed.
The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he
rushed to the nearest
phone and called his father. His father
shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college
games. This persistent
young athlete never missed practice
during his four years at college, but he never got to play in the game.

It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto
the practice field shortly
before the big play off game, the
coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he
became deathly
silent..............

Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning.
Is it all right if I
miss practice today?" The coach put
his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the week
off, son. And don't
even plan to come back to the
game on Saturday.

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter,
when the team was
ten points behind, a silent young
man quietly slipped into the empty locker-room and put on his football
gear. As he ran onto
the sidelines, the coach and his
players were astounded to see
their faithful teammate back so soon. "Coach, please let me play. I've
just got to play
today," said the young man. The coach
pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst
player in this close
playoff game. But the young man
persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.
"All right," he said.

"You can go in." Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the
stands could not
believe their eyes. This little
un-known, who had never played before was doing everything right. The
opposing team
could not stop him. He ran, he
passed, blocked and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph. The
score was soon
tied. In the closing seconds of the
game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning
touchdown. The fans
broke loose. His teammates hoisted
him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you've never heard! Finally,
after the stands had
emptied and the team had showered
and left the locker room, the coach noticed that the young man was
sitting quietly in the
corner all alone.

The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can't believe it. You were
fantastic! Tell me what
got into you? How did you do
it?" He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Well,
you knew my dad
died, but did you know that my dad
was blind?" The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came
to all my
games, but today was the first time he
could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!"

Confusing Niceness with Likeness/ Flirting

We all know people that are flirts.. they flirt with any girl at any time, and same goes for women.
But why are these men and women considered flirts.
And there are people that re nice and get attacked by being called a flirt  o_O ...

I think that it is all in our heads.
For example: There is a person you really find attractive, you just dropped a whole bunch of things on the floor and this attractive person comes over to help you out and smiles at you…more times than likely you are going to confuse his/hers  niceness and that smile with likeness just because you find this person really attractive.
 Another example: Let's suppose you find a person not attractive at all, and I'm not talking about looks, a person could be unattractive to you because of their attitude so lets suppose you hate this persons attitude and you merely dislike this person. The same thing occurred where this person helps you pick up the items and smiles at you. You are just going to think that it was really nice of them to help you out.

In the second example you didn't confuse the persons niceness just because of the fact you don't find that person attractive..but if it was the person you found attractive then more times than likely you would've been cheesy all day,lol

A lot of attractive people are considered flirty just because in one case they are flirty, but also the fact that they are attractive, their niceness if confused for that.

If your dream guy or girl is flirting with you, you are gonna feel like you are being swept off your feet with their kind words. But if an old perverted Mexican guy is calling you "Mamacita" you would feel disgusted.

In conclusion,  I believe flirting is giving somebody your undivided attention and saying little sweet words that they will put in your ear regardless if they are attractive or not, if this person tells little sweet words to more than one person, then yea, they are a flirt… but just don't confuse niceness with likeness because you might end up hurt ;)

To Forgive and Forget

Forgive and forget is what most of us find really hard to do. A lot of the times we say we forgive somebody to end up bringing up the past over and over again to realize you haven't forgot about what happened.
We believe there are some things that are not easy to forgive and forget because we feel that if we forgive them, they will abuse your kindness and keep doing it over and over and over again. We do have a limit to tolerate everything, as well as we should, who wants to be a pushover?


I would ask my friends about forgiveness and I noticed that girls in general "Forgive but do not FORGET!!!"


The best thing I did was search the good book and read about what God felt about forgiveness.. and  I came across this…


Heb 8:12
12 "For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And I will remember their sins no more." 
(NASB)


Which practically means God does forgive and Forget.. that is very great and all and good to know because that is a good example of forgiveness…but then again, I thought about the times I would ask for forgiveness and kept on doing the same thing over and over again…and that is where there is nobody to judge me but God because we've all done the same one way or another. 
So I'm going to finish this by saying.. Truly forgive if you are going to forgive somebody, and if you are going to ask for forgiveness, DON'T DO IT AGAIN!!!

Jealousy =O

We have all been jealous once in a while…some of us do not like to show how we feel, but some of us have no problem showing our jealousy side.

What is jealousy? Jealousy is not to be confused with Envy..they are similar in some ways but both are very different from each other.

Jealousy is felt by humans, animals and even God himself..it is proven in the Bible that my God is a jealous God but I wouldn't have it any other way because I kind of believe that jealousy is a confirmation that you are loved so I'm glad God loves me,lol

There can be jealousy between friends…for example, you may chill with a person everyday and all of a sudden they become best friends with a different person and you may start getting a little jealous that you feel like they took your friend away from you.

Jealousy is very common in relationships…REAL COMMON!!!! lol
You have a significant other and out of no where, you feel intimidated by another person talking or being tooo friendly to your boyfriend/girlfriend.
Yes I use the word intimidated because this kind of jealousy usually involves ENVY. Envy is something you see in somebody else that you don't see in yourself.
That's why I believe that if you want to be in a relationship, you have to feel comfortable and confident in yourself because confidence is really sexy to any gender of sex….UNLESS that person gave you a reason to be jealous be cause of  they are not trustworthy, in that case , good luck to you =)

Animals can be jealous because my dog shows me that he wants affection all the time. Pitbulls are known to really show their emotions and they will sit in between you and somebody if you and a stranger to your dog were to see you two sit together. My dog  receives a lot of attention in my house so my dog is not that type of dog so you'll rarely see him doing that.

I see nothing wrong with being a little jealous but when it comes to going over board..that's when some lines get crossed. It's one thing being jealous but one thing being jealous if a person doesn't give you a reason to be jealous..

Just like one of my favorite quote says...

"Jealousy in romance is like salt in food. A little can enhance the savor, but too much can spoil the pleasure and, under certain circumstances, can be life-threatening."

My Inspiration

A couple of weeks ago, a good friend of mine recommended me a movie called "Voces Inocentes" an English translation to that title would be "Innocent Voices"…

I had never seen the first half of the movie so I didn't recognize it at first, but as I kept on watching it, my mom came into my room and started watching parts of the movie with me and started telling me that that movie is very similar to her childhood .

See this movie is about the Civil War my country of El Salvador had for 12 years and like many of my family members, they lived through those hard times.

There was a group of people that were trying to overthrow the government and those people were the "guerilla".

The nations military would come to the schools and recruit any boys at force that were older than 12 years old to be trained to combat the guerilla soldiers.

Not only were the males in danger but also females would sometimes be raped by soldiers from the military. For that reason, my mom ended her school career early due to the fact that she knew that she would end up dead if she stayed in school. 

I really don't ask my  dad but I know he had to do something with the military.

My parents would tell me about their childhood and how my mom's brother was killed by the guerilla. 

My mom tells me that those were sad times that she lived in, so my parents decided to come to the United States.

Here, they gave me a chance to have a better life and I'm proud of the day they both became U.S citizens.

Thanks to that movie, I have an idea of what my parents went through. Living in a war-zone  in a way takes away your childhood. 

I basically owe my life to my parents so for that I'm thankful…that's why I hate it when I see people complaining about their life over here because if that's the case, more than likely your parents had it way worse but as a parent, it is their duty to give you a better life than they had and it will be your duty to do the same thing when you have your children..

If you complain and complain about how hard life is..go ahead and do us a favor and send yourself to a third-world country and see how hard it is over there… it's so hard to even get to drink fresh water, something most of us take for granted over here.

I thank my parents for being my inspiration….

May 21st 2011 "Armageddon"???

So, I'm researching about this May 21st 2011 "Armageddon", its about a dude that has used mathematical clues to determine that this is going to be the day the world ends..it is a fact he had picked a day but he was incorrect  "because he didn't read into another book in the bible"…

that being said, NOT even JESUS CHRIST himself or the angels know God decides to come back, it can be today, tomorrow, or even next year, truth is a find it as a slap in the face of Jesus Christ for people to think they know when the second coming is… but just in case, ima spend my day reading the bible today,lol

Truth is, it is kind of scary about where you are going to spend the rest of your eternity. Think about the time frame that you have lived, does it feel like a long time? Compare that to 100 years, or 500 years, or 1,000 years…how about forever =( forever is a really long time and there's no going back. I hate people who say they know the day when the world is going to end but it does makes u put into perspective about if that were to happen, where would you spend eternity. 

Why I chose C.I.S as a major in college

As a kid, I would see my dad day in and day out spend almost his whole day opening up computers or just being in the computer. I would ask him the what's this and what's that questions and even though he would give me the answers, I wanted to learn and ask  more.

Fast forward many years into the future, I graduated from H.S and was ready to start college…then again, I didn't think I was going to graduate at all because I never pictured myself going that far. I started looking at my car and saw that it needed some fixing. I was leaning toward becoming a mechanic so I could fix my car and charge others to fix their cars, I thought it was a win-win kind of deal. I started doing my research and it came to be that I worked with a person that went to Lincoln Tech( a mechanic school ) and asked him why was he working in the same company for me when he went to Lincoln Tech. He told me that at the moment a job was hard to find so he would do side jobs. I met some other mechanics who told me that the pay is decent but in order to get more money, they would over-charge and fix something simple and make it sound complicated. This got me real mad, I'm not saying all mechanics are like that but I don't have the heart to do that to people.

After that, I was thinking about going to the armed forces but I saw that many of the people that were signing up were signing up for the wrong reasons. Some were just going for the women in other countries. My mom cried when the recruiter when to my house because she feared I would get killed over seas, but what really made me stay was my little brothers and sisters, I'm the oldest and I'm a big influence on them I felt that if I would've left, they would have gone in wrong paths. I don't regret staying.

It was a couple of weeks before I signed up for college, even though i took off a year and a half to actually register, i still didn't know what I wanted to major on. I googled different fields but I didn't picture myself doing some of those things for the rest of my life. I just wondered and wondered for days until I saw my dad opening and fixing a computer. I asked him what kind of processor did it have and how much ram was installed. I started to think,  if the processor can handle 64-bit and if I were to buy a 64-bit version of Windows then you can basically put as much ram as the motherboard supports and it would make the computer run very much smoother. These kind of things excited me, fixing computers and learning about them. Then i started setting up a home network at home. I was felt good connecting 4 computers in the house to be connected to the internet whether it was wired or wireless and having all of them being able to have a printer in the network that all the computers could print from different rooms in the house.

When it came to the day for me to register at school, I was happy to say that I wanted to major in Computer Information Systems (C.I.S)
In this field, I have learned code to make websites and I enjoy doing so. I have much to learn in this field and I'm more than glad I chose it.

Basically my point is that you don't know what you want to do for the rest of your life unless you try things out. How are you supposed to know if you want to be a mechanic if you never touched or messed with what's under the hood of a car.
If you want to become a nurse or doctor, talk to nurses and doctors and ask questions. Volunteer at a hospital if permitted.
You want to become a lawyer? Talk to lawyers and see why they enjoy being one?
You're not going to know unless you try, and don't beat yourself up just because you keep finding things you don't want to do, think about it as a process of elimination, that your cutting down your options and you are one step closer to finding out what you want to major and enjoy doing for the rest of your life.

Happy Mothers Day

Mother's Day is coming up and I just wanted to give thanks to my mom for never giving up on me. I may have not been the most perfect son but I could've grown up to be worse if it wasn't for her teaching me good moral and values.

When she tells me stories about her childhood, she makes me realize how much better I have it. She went through a lot of pain so I can have a better life and thanks to her I do.

I just hope to one day become a successful person so I can buy her a new home, even if I did that, it still wouldn't be enough for what she has done for me.

So if you are one of the lucky few to say that your mom is alive and well, please do let her know how much you love her..but not only for Mother's Day, but instead  do it everyday.

Here's a song to listen to that you can dedicate to your mom =)

Passion

Passion for me is a strong word. Passion divides doing something half ass and doing something with all your heart in it. Passion is like a candle burning bright among darkness. Passion is motivating and it's  like an extra push to keep you going.

Passion in a relationship: What happens when you first start going out with somebody? It's new, it's fun. You guys are going to places you guys have never been to before, doing things you have never done, seeing things you have never seen…feeling feelings that you have not ever felt. But what happens over time with a burning oil candle, the oil slowly but surely burns out. You find yourselves not doing the same exciting stuff you used to do. You guys would want to see all the new exciting movies that came out in theaters but now it seems that now you guys wait until it comes out on dvd or blue-ray. You would rush to pick up the phone when you heard it ring because you were expecting a call from him/her…but now you pay no attention to the phone and could care less if you should call them right back or at all.

Passion in life: Passion in life is really important because if you don't have a passion, then it feels like you are kind of wasting your time. You have to find a passion by trying things. I tried photography and computers and I love them both so I have 2 passions and basically my life is mostly about them and its my duty to keep them burning as long as I can. My first passion is God, I can admit it keeps burning away but that is because I was letting it but I pray for him to keep filled with passion because I want to give it my all, and not treat him like a part time job and expect full time benefits as the saying goes,lol

So in general, passion IS like a burning oil candle…if things are getting dark and you know that in order keep on seeing things that you appreciate with light, why would you want everything to go dark and not be able to cherish those things you used to see when there was light…so keep your passion burning because once its out, it may be very hard to turn back on.

You only live once

Most of us are blessed to wake up another day not realizing yesterday could've been our last day here on Earth. I'm not saying that there's a chance you are going to die everyday, it's just that you don't know what could've happened until it happens. For example, I sometimes walk about half a mile to my home at night, there's been plenty of times where gangbangers pass by and throw gang signs at me...

One day, they did more than that, it was  November 9, 2009 a bright cloudy day, when i decided to walk my dog before I headed to class, I had enough time before my spanish class started and the day was pretty nice so  I decided to walk my dog because he looked kind of bored.

I usually walk him for about a mile or so but that day I did not want to be late so I decided to walk him around the block, once I turned into my block this white van pulled up and told me to throw the fork down, I looked at them and payed no mind and kept on walking, they told me the same thing. I was having a good day and I wasn't going to let some low life's mess it up for me..so I kept on walking.

I heard the guy say to the guy behind him.."Pass me the strap" (which means gun)

I stood frozen and didn't know what to do for some reason. A lot of thoughts came across my mind and family and friends as well... I guess that's where I realized that it wasn't my time yet so once I was about to run, the guy screamed again at his friend and said "pass me the strap"...

I saw the front right passenger reach for something from the back and once he turned to me, my legs began to run the opposite direction from they were going.

I have never ran so fast in my life before, I was actually running faster than my dog at a point.

I didn't want to look back but instead just run so fast where if they did shoot, they would not have an accurate shot because I was too far so that's what I did, now that i think about it, i should've ran in a zig zag kind of motion but that was not on my mind at the moment. 

At the end, I hid on a block away from my block for about 10 minutes and tried to call the police but I had left my cell phone at home..

I waited til the coast was clear and ran like crazy to my house and once I was in there, i just laid in my couch trying to catch my breath...

All and all, I could've been killed, at the same time, I could've not. But I wasn't going to stand there and be on the news declaring that gangs claimed yet another life in the south-side of Chicago. 

Now I live my life to the fullest and try to make my friends realize that you don't have to be in a near life and death experience to appreciate what you have.

I let them know that you only live once to stay with a jerk that is making your life miserable, you only live life once and should hug your parents everyday, you only live once so make the most out of your life and become someone successful. I am doing things I only dreamed about doing and own stuff that I thought would never be possible for me. I appreciate life more and try my best to make sure that my loved ones being close family and friends are doing so as well. In a way I'm glad that happened because I had God and my dog with me by my side. So don't just waste your life and let each day pass you by. You can be doing something great with your life but sometimes we take life and God for granted as well and that is what everyday I'm trying not to do.

Things I'm proud about my friends

Life is hard, nobody said it was going to be easy..some have it good and complain they have it hard...but then again some have it hard and don't complain about how life is dealing their cards because they are dealing their cards wisely..therefore I'm gonna post qualities or actions that I'm proud about some of my friends...

Im proud of you, if you:

•  have 2 jobs
• single parent with a job and you go to school
• go to college
• have it rough at home but yet keep your head up
•  do not look for the love in the streets when your parents should be given you that in the first place
• are undocumented but yet you are going to school to better your life not only for you but also for your family
• know the difference between right and wrong, because sadly a lot of people don't
• you study for hours for a big test or stay up all night doing h.w
• are in h.s and about to graduate 
• are in 8th grade and you are about to graduate ( dedicated to my lil sister,lol)
• treat your pet as like one of the family
• say no to drugs
• say no to sex
• left out of a abusive relationship wether it was verbal or physical
• are a Bulls fan =)
• have a kid and you stay home taking care of your child instead of going out every weekend partying with your friends
• do not give easily into peer pressure
• are doing something with your life

Investing -Vs- Being In Debt

I have bought many things in my life... clearly as so many of us have.
I buy groceries for my family from time to time, or sometimes take out my friends for dinner, it comes out of my heart and I love to see them smile and I don't mind when I have the money to do so.

But when it comes to buying stuff for myself, I tend to feel weird or constantly question myself if my purchase was something I really needed instead of what I wanted. I don't know, I guess I don't like to think of buying myself luxurious things as getting myself into debt, but instead investing which means that in time, i will gain back and even profit from what I originally invested my money on.

Being in debt sucks and it could create a burden, but knowing that you purchased an item that you know will help you make money out of it, for me is a great feeling =)

Recently I bought myself a customized "27 iMac in which many people tell me that I basically could've bought another car with that money, yes I could've, but I know that within time this machine will be able to make me money if I use it wisely and acquire more knowledge about photography and also if I learn more code so I can build more websites and maybe sell some of them.

I consider myself a geek...well honestly a sexy geek because I can be kinna cocky sometimes ;-) but any-who, I'm proud of who I am, and I am proud that I rather be doing something productive with my time.
It's just a matter of time that  I will be very successful and be a better influence on my brothers and sisters as an older brother.

Now going back to my point... I believe that going to college is the best debt that you can have. Not only are you more educated but with a degree, it enables you to more better career opportunities and since you invested time and money in getting that degree, you are blessed to get paid a way higher rate than most people do.
It may be a drag and it might take a while for you to get that degree but it makes it easier if you pursue something you are passionate about.

Next time you go shopping for yourself or just want to spoil yourself, make sure if it's something that you really need instead of what you really want. I can almost guarantee that if you are a geek like me, you will be happier with the purchase of the new computer rather than the new t.v, unless you use the t.v as dual monitor or mainly use your new huge t.v as a huge main monitor and now you have made the t.v into an investment because a bigger screen means you can do so much more at the same time on your computer  therefore making you more productive=)

Think Before You Act

I really dislike saying, "I wish I could turn back time". As most of us wish the same, we have to remember that  a lot of things happen for a reason. Sometimes things happen to us because we learn faster through failure than through success, that's just how our brain works.
Even though some things are inevitable...there are are some things we can control and choose.
So now I'm coming to the point in which I want to reach, "THINK BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING".
Life would be so much easier if we all thought before we said or did something. I guess I used to be one of those people that lived in the present rather than thinking about the future. Tomorrow is not promised but that doesn't mean we could make stupid decisions now because what if tomorrow does come, we are going to live with the consequences today that we chose to do yesterday.
Being at a party is a perfect example... let's suppose that we are in the future by a couple of days of the party. An individual is locked up for DUI and for killing an innocent pedestrian while he/she drove like a maniac while drunk . In his/her jail cell the individual is constantly thinking, "why me, why did I drink, why did somebody not take my keys away because I was too drunk to drive, why did I go to that party, this all would have not happened if I went to that stupid party???".
Life can change in a quick second but we have the power to  maintain control if only we thought stuff through before.
The individual in the example could've prevented all of this if he/she would've put a limit to how much he/she drank or not to drink at all knowing he/she had to drive. It's easy for him/her to try to blame somebody for letting him/her drive drunk but that is the irresponsible way to think. You are responsible for your own actions and sometimes your actions bring good consequences but it also can sometimes bring bad consequences.


So next time think before you

• have unprotected sex or have any pre-maritial sex at all
• drink and have to drive at a party
• choose not to do your h.w
• choose to do drugs
• speak

Those were just a few examples but if you really care about your life, why not protect it and think before you do something.

Be Careful What You Think Or Say

Have you ever wondered why bad things keep happening to you over and over and over again and when you say, can it get any worse?.. and more times than likely, it does get worse? Have you ever said one of the following?

•  I always get cheated on
•  I always get treated like a doormat
•  I am always broke 
•  I always get pulled over by the cops for no reason 
•  I always get heartbroken

I’m sorry to tell you this but at much as you would like to blame others for your misfortunes, the person you should really be blaming is yourself.

You may be asking yourself, “but how is this my fault???"

And my answer is, because you are bringing negativity into your life and actually putting it into existence by manifesting yourself in negative thoughts also by the  negative words that come out of your mouth.

This is all because of “The Law of Attracton”.. Still confused? Well let me put it like this..how does the law of gravity work? What goes up must come down right? That being said, how do you think the law of attraction works. Think yourself as a magnet and rememember, better yet, look at the examples that have bullet points next to it..go ahead and read them again…okay, remember you’re a magnet, you being a magnet and you saying all those negative things, what do you think you are more than likely to attract? 

Ahhh, I think now you’re getting it ;-)

Exactly, you are attracting negativity into your life because that is all that is coming out of your mouth and thoughts.

If you were to ask me ,"But obie, how can I not think negative when all this negativity is around me, I hate my job, I never have money, I’m in so much debt. Nothing good ever happens to me? I would say, “stop making excuses and start changing your life for the better”. Followed by a slap in the face if you were to say "F*ck my life", because I really hate when people say that, I feel that is one of the worst things people could say when they are blessed with life. Most people are thinking about what they don’t want and wonder why they keep seeing it over and over again.

First of all, the law of attraction is very obedient. Therefore start thinking positive thoughts. As soon as you wake up in the morning, say, better yet declare that that day is going to be a great day. I personally thank God as much as I can for giving me an extra day to live =)

When you think of the things that you really want, you have to focus on it and believe that it is already yours by calling it into existence with your thoughts and words, and do not be surprised when you do finally get it. It could be a new car, more money, better friends, anything could be yours.

You want a new job? I suggest you say or declare, "I will get a new great job”, over and over again, for days if you really want it.

You want a new car? Declare that car will soon be yours. Even better, the law of attraction becomes stronger when you start to imagine yourself driving that car because not only are you bringing in the positive manifestation with your words but also with your thoughts. Did you know that is scientifically proven that an affirmative thought is hundreds of times more powerful than a negative thought? So start thinking positively and become aware of your thoughts!!!!

This "Law Of Attraction" has been used through out history and you will be surprised which people have believed in it. They have become wealthy, live a better healthier life, happily married, so why wouldn't you want that for yourself?

There is actually a book named "The Secret" that you can read in order to find more information about this or better yet, if you are currently subscribed to Netflix, search "The Secret" and you will be able to see the DVD.

I was first introduced to this at age 19 by a friend named Cynthia, she posted it up in a post and I asked her more about it and she gave me more information. Lucky for you I'm not selfish either so I'm sharing this with you as well. Just want this to end this by saying that to be careful what you say or post. It's easy to become overwhelmed with the bad things going on your life but even if you think about it or not, they are still gonna be there so it's better not to think about it and even better to start thinking positive and remember that it doesn't rain forever. When you have an inspired positive thought, you have to trust it and act on it.

Too Blessed To Be Stressed

As much as we say that we hate drama, I am here to say to say that in the contrary, PEOPLE LOVE DRAMA!!!!!
I say this because I have the right to after living a blessed 23 years of my life. I've been in relationships in which I had a good girlfriend and I admit I was the one acting shady, but as I grew older I grew more mature and learned to appreciate a good girl, but then the tables turned and they started acting shady and people would ask me, "why are you still with her???"
That questions made me think if I liked getting treated like crap,lol...this may be funny to me but in real life  some people do. I in one hand do not like getting treated like crap, in fact, I get rid of people that dare not give me my full respect as I do onto them. But in reality, I hear so many stories in where my friend's (girls) boyfriends are treating them like crap and I ask them the same question.."DO YOU LIKE GETTING TREATED LIKE CRAP???"
What I'm trying to say here is that most people love drama for some reason. For instance, let's suppose you wake up early than the usual for work and so far you are having a great day and everything is going right...but all of a sudden you ran across a rumor going around  about you that is not true. Why would you let that mess up your day even when you were having a great day and just because you heard a rumor and  you decided to say, "I'm having the worst day ever"....seriously, are you really going to forget that you were blessed to live another day, are you going to forget that your children or husband or boyfriend kissed you good-bye before you left to work? We tend to make a bigger deal of the stupidest things and not appreciate that not many people get to see tomorrow or even worse, a close person to you gets to see another day and yet you don't shoot them a text or call wishing them a great day but you do stress about about somebody talking behind your back.
In relationships, most people don't appreciate a good or good woman when they have one. They don't appreciate that they send you a good morning text or goodnight text every night, you may at first but then become used to it that you start caring less about it. You don't appreciate that you are not the only one doing the chores and that your significant other gives you massages when you come tired from work...but yet you complain that you have to work all day and come to a dirty house, dishes are not done, and that your significant other is either hanging around his boys/ girls all the time or that he is always glued to the t.v playing video games and caring less about your existence.
Learn to see your blessing and count them one by one every time something bad is happening in your life. If something bad happens, realize that it could be worse. If your boyfriend/girlfriend is acting suspicious and he/she is stressing you out with their b.s... why when in a previous relationship you were treated like a king/queen you took it for granted? So learn to value and have respect for yourself and see that you deserve better.
Realize that just because you are close for your lights to be cut off, there are people out there in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. Realize that true friends don't rub stuff in your face but instead let life take its course and let u see later on in life that you lost a great friend..when you realize this, you will stop rubbing stuff in people's faces, you will know that things happen for a reason, you will see the silver lining in a cloud but better of all, you will be able to count all you blessing when something bad happens to you.