Reflection - John, 'Once in a Lifetime' by Talking Heads

Recently I had my IPod on shuffle and came across this song. It had been years since I had I heard it and it was about the time we were doing our unit on water during class. Not only did the song relate to what we were learning in class but I believed the song had even greater meaning. I believe the song is trying to convey a deeper message to its listeners. The song talks about finding yourself in a multitude of situations and asking one’s self 'how did I get here?' What I believe the song is trying to say is that in the words of my favorite movie Ferris Bueller “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” To me this means instead of trying to rush through life as fast you can, one should try to slow things down and enjoy life from a moment-to-moment basis. This song really made me think about my life because I’m at a point in my life where I’m about to graduate high school. It really made me think to myself, 'how did I get here?' and even made think about my life to this point. And as of recently I haven’t been looking ahead to major events, but just taking life one day at a time and enjoying every moment. The song makes you realize that this life is precious and you should enjoy everything you can.

Reflection - KK, 'Tears in Heaven' by Eric Clapton

“Do your little bit of good where you are;

it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

-Desmond Tutu

Humans are not capable to do everything they want to do. However, all human beings can do something. If all of us choose to do something, that is going to make a great change.

What I just stated can be proven easily when disaster occurs. For instance, after a natural disaster happens, people suffer the loss of their properties and family members. At this time, not only is money needed for the rebuilding but also mental support. The number of people who are influenced by the accident can be large. If nobody besides the government decides to help, then it will take a long time for the public to recover. Nonetheless, if people in that city are willing to help, then we get some help. What if people from other parts of the country also offer assistance, then we get more help. Moreover, if people from other parts of the world make their minds up to help out, the help people receive undergoing the tragedy will be greater. As a result, it is going to be much easier to help those people make progress in going back to their normal life. I was impressed how many people are eager to be of assistance. The majority of people who go to Haiti are from somewhere outside of Haiti, but it is surprising to see how their help is making a difference to comfort the Haitian people as well as to reconstruct the society.

This quote tells us never to hesitate giving a hand to other people, even it is something trivial. Because every little counts!

Reflection - Ret, 'My Wish' by Rascal Flatts

In thinking about a meaning quote, I have chosen a quote from the song “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts. The quote is “I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow, and each road leads you where you want to go, and if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose, I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.” For the first part of this quote I think this it is saying to relax and cherish each moment that you have because it might be a happy moment that you will never want to let go and you never can tell what will happen to you next. So seize the day, Carpe diem. The next part of the quote is saying that you have the choices on which way in life you want to go or how you want to live your life, but hopefully they all go to where you want to go. This I think is the most important part because what you chose to do now may set you up for the future. The last part, I think kind of goes with the part before it in a way that if your faced with a choice, to choose the one that is meaningful to you because it may affect you now or in the future when living out in the big world alone or happily married with kids who will model you. After hearing this song for the first time, it has been my favorite song since because to me it has a powerful meaning to it.

Reflection - Charlie, 'Castles Made of Sand' by Jimi Hendrix

As I look back on my life I can only think of one song that truly meant a lot to me. 'Castles Made of Sand' by Jimi Hendrix might not be the most lyrically astounding record of all time but it does offer some great life lessons to me. It’s a pretty depressing song if you think about it, really. The lyrics tell about a drunk who has been left by his wife, and a handicapped girl who ends her own life by falling off the edge of a cliff. But if you look past just the plain lyrics of the song you can really understand Hendrix’s point here. He is talking about his own life, and the things he would have liked to do about it. When he is talking about castles made of sand, I believe he is talking about the dreams he wished he could have achieved. Throughout the song, he gives us his thoughts on relationships, how he thinks they are very frustrating and fragile at times. No matter what it is he is talking about, Jimi poetically sings about the many bad things that will happen to us in life, and how we should overcome them as life moves on. Our dreams can be crushed at any moment in our lives, and we have to live past that. When you combine Hendrix’s lyrical ingenuity along with his masterful guitar skills, only good things can happen. In my point of view, not only does this song’s lyrics deliver a great meaning to me, but also the instrumentals truly deliver the meaning even further.

Reflection - John, 'Courage to Grow' by Rebolution

Part I

“Its time for the world to unite as a human race.”-Bob Marley

When asked to think about a particular quote that conveys a strong message and influences me exponentially. The quote above almost always lingers in my mind. This quote has substantial meaning to me. I admire Bob Marley, he is one of my inspirations, and this quote sums up the kind of peaceful all caring man he was. Bob Marley believed in one love and one life, this means that all the people in the world should unite and be together instead of fighting over oil and other pathetic reasons for war. He believed that he could bring people together through his music and let the people feel the good vibrations his music brought to us even though there is much turmoil going on throughout the world. This quote is my favorite quote of all time because of the wonderful message it conveys. Another reason why I find this quote so important is because it’s not depressing or sad. It’s a true quote for inspiration. It makes people want to go out into the world and change it for the better. It unites all kinds of people under one. Hence the “one love, one life” I stated earlier about Bob Marley’s beliefs. I chose this quote because I look at it everyday, and think about it very deeply and carefully always coming to the same conclusion. It’s time to make a change, and bring people all as one. Lastly, this quote has so much meaning to me that I put it as one of my senior quotes.

Part II

Song: “Courage to Grow”-Rebelution

Part of the lyrics:

This is a song for those

Who lost their hope

A long a long time ago

I know someday that you will find it somehow

Because you're not too old

To accomplish goals

And all the answers are within your soul

Its up to you, you got to figure it out

Uh huh

Whether you want love or money

Good fortune or fame

You want a brand new card

You want the world to change

You better take some action right now, oh yes

Because there's nothing in the world that you can't get

So don't fill your life with confusion and regret

You better take some chances right now

Well you can gain the world

But for the price of your soul

Yes I know, well I know, yes I know

You can gain the world for the price of your soul

But I hope you take the road less traveled

And I hope you find the courage to grow

Well I hope you find the courage to grow

This is one of my favorite songs of all time, and Rebelution is one of my favorite bands of all time. This is just one of the many meaningful songs they provide. Its not just useless non-lyrical rambling like most of the music now-a-days. It’s poetic and provides a good message, and it just makes you feel good and makes you happy the things music should do. I chose this song because of the unbelievable message it conveys. It said when you have lost all hope and have nothing else in the world to not give up, and to keep going. No matter what it is you can achieve it. It might not come easy, but if you want the world to change, if you want your soul to change, if you want your bad situation to change, go out there and change it! This message I have found very valuable through this past year of my life. I listened to this song to gain hope, and just to be filled with happiness as this song provides me. Although like a majority of our teen population I listen to music for the message within the song, and its happy lyrical message given. Much of our generation listens to the most ignorant horrible stuff I have ever heard. Its nice to have a band like Rebelution that not only makes you feel good about yourself, but also provides a strong go out there and change the world or yourself for the better message.

Reflection - Zach, 'The One Who Loved You the Most' by Brett Dennen

"When you forgive your imperfections,

And you’ve auctioned all your clothes,

And you look to see your true reflection,

You will be the one who loves you the most ..."

Brett Dennen -“The One Who Loves You The Most”

In life in order to love others one has to first figure out who they truly are first. And trust me, I know that finding oneself can be quite the daunting task. This can be especially difficult with all of the modern societal distractions that are posed to young people today, such as the modern forms of gossiping and social networking; not to even mention the struggle for greed and other monetary items. One of the toughest things a young person faces is unmasking all of these fake and unimportant covers that society tries to tell us are important, and realize that the most important things in life are loving one another, and not in the romantic sense, but more along the lines of caring for each other and supporting others when they are hurt and wounded. I believe the songwriter, Brett Dennen, is trying to uncover a sense of true being, and loving people for their “true reflection” and who they are at their core. And I honestly believe that this true reflection he speaks of is in every one of us! I know that may sound corny, but it is the honest truth, we were meant to be God’s keepers on Earth, and try to live life to the fullest, most honest sense. And in order to achieve this goal, we all have to “forgive (our) imperfections” because we are not perfect and never will be, but we should forgive our own flaws and accept them for what they are. Because if I’m only worried about myself how can I possibly care for and love another person? I believe that when people look beyond the material hazards that life continues to present us, we will be able to see the beauty in every one of us, and “unmask the world around us” through loving and cherishing one another.

Reflection - Kathryn, 'Unanswered Prayers' by Garth Brooks

“Sometimes I thank God, for unanswered prayers

Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs

That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care

Some of God’s greatest gifts, are unanswered prayers.”

This song is one of my all time favorite songs. Not because it is catchy or because the melody is pretty, but because behind the music there is so much feeling and so much soul. I honestly think that the lyrics of this song can be applied to everyone everywhere. The idea of unanswered prayers is something that we may not always look at as a positive thing. Usually when we ask God for something, whether it be forgiveness, help or simply things, we typically want those things now and not at a later date or in a different form. The thing about unanswered prayers is that, at the time, it can seem like God has just forgotten about us or does not believe that we deserve what we asked for. When I feel that way I know that I question whether or not I have done something wrong to make God not want to help me or I question whether God just doesn’t listen sometimes. It is hard to look to the future and see that maybe what you wanted today is not what you really need in the future. The reason that this song affects me so much is because in those times when I wonder if God has let me down, it helps to remind me that God has a plan for all of us and we just need to trust and to believe in Him. If we trust God, I believe that the he will help us on our path, even when that help does not all come in the form or at the time that we expect. That is what I believe this song means and stands for. It is a song about our trust in God and His plan for us.