Factors of Success

    
          Success can mean many different things to different people. I believe that success can be different depending on the individual. Everyone is born with their own personal passion and depending on what yours is can determine how you view success. My personal view of success is being able to be content with how you are living your life. When I say being content I do not mean to be satisfied so that you do not strive for more. I am only saying that you can accept what you have because you know you have worked for it and followed your dreams. Many people become unsatisfied with their lives because they are stuck doing something they do not have a passion for. With all of the distractions that are in our society today it is easy to lose sight of what your true passion is. The pressure of society and the influence of the people around you can force you to think that your passion is flawed or unrealistic. In reality that is only an illusion that can distance you from doing what you will be happy doing. Material things play a big part in doing this as well. Many times people will shy away from their passion if it is not known for making a solid source of income. This causes individuals to be discouraged in chasing their personal dreams and having a tarnished image of their passion. I believe it is wrong to discourage anyone from chasing their personal dream no matter how absurd or unobtainable it may sound. Sometimes knowing you attempted to follow your dream can give you a feeling of satisfaction in itself. In Chris's case he died following his dream and living his passion. Even though he did not make it out  of Alaska alive he was still able to die doing what he wanted to do most. Many people tried to discourage Chris from doing what he did and many people looked down upon him for doing it. Chris did not listen to these people because he knew they were only distractions trying to prevent him from achieving his personal success. I do not understand how someone could tell another person what they should enjoy doing and spend their time doing. Everyone has their own view of success and having fun so when giving a person advice I feel it is best to advise someone on how to achieve their own goals not tell them what their goals should be. Often times it can be the journey alone in trying to achieve your goals that you enjoy and receive satisfaction from.
          Once a person has realized what their personal view of success is the next step is finding affective ways to achieve this success. One of the most vital factors in achieving success has to do with focus. By staying focused you are constantly reminding yourself of your priorities. Distractions can often cause a person to forget what is most important to them and what comes first. It is also important to be motivated to do what you want but I do not think this is as important as being focused. The reason I say this is because even when doing what I love to do like play football there are still days where I do not feel motivated to put in the work to become better. Though I do not always feel like putting in the work I still do when I remind myself of my priorities and the importance of working hard. Being focused means you do not let distractions deter you from accomplishing your goals. Many times growing up I have been told "nothing worth having comes easy". Judging by my personal experiences in life I would say that this quote holds truth. Very few things I have ever enjoyed or just been satisfied with came without some form of payment. The things that did come easy did not satisfy me as much as things I know I worked for. Throughout my years of playing football I have learned to love every part about the game. I now do not only enjoy the thrill of playing in the games and winning. I can also find satisfaction within the grueling offseason workouts and the tragic loses. Knowing that these situations and moments will contribute to progress in my passion gives me the satisfaction I need to enjoy the journey just as much as the destination. In the end, it is my focus that helps remind me of these things and keeps me motivated enough to pursue success the best way I know how.
          Family is the major factor in helping me succeed within the community. Within our society there are many distractions that can cause you to lose focus on achieving success. If you are fortunate enough to have a loving and caring family in your corner it is easier to stay focused on your personal goals. Even if you do not have an immediate family available it is important to keep the ones who have been there for you close by for support. Very few people are willing to support another without receiving benefit. The people who are willing to do this are important to keep around if you plan on achieving your success. Success is not something that is easily obtained so achieving it completely on your on is close to impossible. This is especially true for a young adult like myself. Being that I am very young it is easier for me to get distracted because it is not hard for me to come across them. Friends and the influence of society present distractions to young teens and adults on a daily basis. If you do not have family and mentors around you to influence you in the right direction it can be tough to ignore these everyday distractions.


What prevents me from achieving success...to be cont...

Open Letter to Zimmerman

This video connects to what we have been learning in class just like the Trayvon Martin case has connected to what we have been learning in class. This video displays a man from Los Angeles who writes a very deep and meaningful letter to George Zimmerman. He shares his insight on how he feels that the struggles Zimmerman will face in the near future are very deserving and similar to how a black man is treated in our society. He talks about the disadvantages of being under privileged and how Zimmerman will now know what it feels like to be under privileged even after he recently used privilege to his advantage. I agree with the letter when he describes the things that the under privileged go through. I feel he points out a good connection between the under privileged and what Zimmerman will now go through. He then talks about the negative comments he has received for writing the letter. The negative comments he explains sounds very similar to what we have learned to be privilege techniques. He talks about how people continue to tell him stop making it a race issue and want to end the race conversation. This shows how people try and change subjects the same way a privilege person does when they feel threatened or guilty.

Deal Breakers

      Graduating high school and transitioning to college can be very difficult for most. The biggest difference between high school and college is in college you have the option to withdrawal from any class you are in. For me there are two main reasons that seal the deal on whether or not I will succeed in a class or withdrawal. When I first came into college I was not as focused as I should have been. Instead of focusing on my priorities I was enjoying the freedom of being in college. During my first semester in college it was not long before my teacher dropped me from the class. He decided to drop me because I had too many absences. This was a rude awakening for me because I did not see it coming even though I should have. Even though my transcripts suffered from this in return I learned my lesson. After that semester I realized even though I had more freedom in college, with that comes greater responsibilities. The lesson I learned was that if I planned on succeeding in college I had to remain focused on my classwork and not be lazy. This was one of the toughest lessons I had to learn in college because I had nobody to blame but myself.
        The second reason I will decide to withdrawal from a class depends on my teacher. I find a hard time succeeding in classes that are not engaging. I have had many teachers who sound like voice recordings playing over and over everyday. When I feel disengaged from the classroom my motivation to do work goes downhill. Many teachers who do not interact much with their students distance themselves from the class. This can cause a student to get distracted very easily. Often times when teachers are not engaged with the class it sends out a vibe that the teacher could careless about their students. In the end I feel it is not necessarily the teachers job to motivate students to do their work but successful ones do. When a teacher sends the message that they do not care about their students I feel more inclined to drop the class. The reason for this is because in that type of environment I know it is difficult for me to succeed. Even though having a bad teacher is a good reason to drop a class many students decide to stick it out anyway. One of the hardest parts about community colleges and especially Chabot is getting into classes. This is why even though a teacher may be difficult to work with sometimes the student will remain in the class. Waiting on a class with a good teacher can often be unrealistic being that classes get full quick.

Andrade video repsonse

     The youth is extremely important and essential to our society. The youth of our society has no chance without support from teachers and parents in our community. This is most prevalent throughout the urban community. Many urban communities lack support systems from parents and teachers. Jeff Duncan talks about the support system he has put together and how much success they have had in helping students from an urban community succeed. I can relate to what he talks about because he is referring to a community I am very familiar with. Jeff Duncan talks about how East Oakland can cause kids to have CPTSD which is complex post traumatic stress disorder. I feel this is true in some ways because it is very difficult focus on school when you see or hear about friends and family members dying or going to jail. Last night I was told one of my friends was a victim to gun violence within the East Oakland community. This made it very difficult to think about the homework I had to do when the news I received still did not seem real. People dying from gun violence in Oakland is something that happens all the time. This can take a toll on the community as a whole. I have seen mothers, kids, and young adults suffer from the result of frequent gun violence. This makes me think of the conversation Jeff Duncan brings up in his speech and that is how are we allowing this to continue. If nothing is done to help our youth especially in urban communities like East Oakland things will only get worse. "Very little attention to their humanity, and yet at the same time we tell them schools care about them". In this quote Jeff Duncan speaks about why students within urban communities hesitate to engage in school. Even though school is said to care about it's students and want the best for them it still often neglects the "material conditions of their lives". This is a case where teachers and schools lacking passion within the curriculum is very detrimental to the students. It is difficult to focus on a academic subject when your life is filled with harsh reality. A mix between this harsh reality and not being able to connect with the school system is the number one reason kids decide to drop out of school.

Into the wild

    This book is similar to many of the books we have previously read in many ways. It connects to "Bread Givers" because I can see similar characteristics in both of the main characters. They both are very strong minded people who chose to follow their dreams. Often times when someone wants to follow their dreams other people will try and get in the way of that. These are struggles that both Sarah from Bread Givers and Chris from into the wild both have to deal with. Parents can be a huge influence on their child's life. It takes someone with a strong mind to rebel against their parents and do what they feel is the correct thing to do. Sarah and Chris both obey and listen to their parents all the way up until their breaking point. Sarah's breaking point is when she is 17 working in her fathers store. Chris's breaking point is after he has already graduated college. They both decide that if they are going to follow their dreams they must leave the influence of their parents. Even though Chris ends up dying while fulfilling his dream at least he died doing what he truly wanted to do with out letting others influence him. In the society we live in it is easy to fall victim of peer pressure and do what is expected of us or what others may want us to do. Very few people have the courage to make decisions on their own without influence from family, friends, or media. This is one of the reasons I considered Sarah a hero and makes me view Chris as somewhat of a hero himself. Even though the end result was not necessarily positive he still made a big enough impression to have a book written about his journey.
     Privilege is something that can make a person feel like they have a right to judge others. Many people feel as if the way they think the world should work is right and anything else is wrong. Privilege can make people feel as if their ideas are status quo or normal. I believe many people who make negative judgments on Chris's journey are talking how one who comes from privilege would. The people who criticized Chris and think he is dumb for doing what he did sound similar to those who were criticizing James Byrd and Matthew Shepard. Chris was a very different man which makes it easy for people to judge and critique. Just because he is different does not mean that he is in the wrong or any less of a man. I actually feel he has much more courage then your average man because he lives his life the way he wants and is not afraid to be himself despite what others may think of him. Often times people do not have enough strength to follow what they are passionate about. The media, family, and friends can make one feel as if their passion is not good enough or will not help them succeed. Chris is very aware of his passion and listens to his calling.

Michael's view on passion project

      The movie "The Passion Project" was very interesting to me. The reason I say this is because it displays the mindset of your average student. I feel often times the voice of a student is unheard or unnoticed. If more teachers understood the view of their students I feel less students would fail. During the movie, the students cover many topics I can relate to and agree on. The main topic covered is "passion". This is something that is very rarely added to academic curriculum. It is difficult for someone to succeed in something they are not passionate about. "There is a lack of that raw passion and there is a lack of wanting to explore each child's mind". I agree with this quote by Samira because I have experienced very few classes where I felt passion being added into the curriculum. Teachers have also been reluctant in my previous classes to explore their students mind. It is difficult to bring about passion in your students as a teacher if you are not passionate yourself and you are not clear on what your students are passionate about.
      Along with adding passion to the classroom I think most classrooms also lack authenticity. In order for a student to want to learn from their teacher it is important for the teacher to give off a genuine feeling. Many teachers do not show a genuineness to want to help their students. This can distant the teacher from the student who feels he is not offered genuine help. Speaking from experience it has been easier to succeed in classes where I felt my teacher wanted the best for his or her students. In order to do this the teacher must interact with its students as well. By making the students feel connected and apart of the classroom this will intrigue them to succeed. "We kinda have to know about the teacher and we gotta feel like the teacher is real, like he really or she really truly wants to help us". This quote by Ray is very true for most students including myself. If a student feels a teacher truly wants to help, this will motivate them to do their best. For example, I have always struggled to succeed in English prior to the class I am currently in. Before this class I felt that it was due to my lack of capability in English but now I believe that is not true. After experiencing a teacher that brought passion to the subjects I was writing about the writing became easier. Also I feel the teacher does a good job of interacting with his students which kept my attention. Under these circumstances I was able to learn things I could never comprehend. The main difference between this class and previous classes are passion and the genuine vibe from the teacher that says he truly wants to teach his students.