week 14

Life mission:  In the fast paced 24/7 world of today we get fixated on boring conventional missions. We all want the house the car and the money. That is perfectly acceptable but when we all seek the same  we create a reality that is boring. Life becomes a routine we all wake up go to bed go to work and school. Well most of us do. When we live this way life becomes like a plane on auto pilot. We know where we want to be but we let something control our path there. We don't take control of our lives. We must stop being like sheep and start becoming more like free thinkers.

My life mission is to make something out of nothing. I want to build things and invent things. I want to change the world. I would love to learn how to build devices that would make our lives better. I believe that humanity moves forward each time a technological breakthrough or miracle happens. I would love to invent a car that runs on water. My life missions would be to create the things that make life better for all of us. I would also love to help people. If i cant become the millionaire everyone wants to be then i want to become the problem solver everyone dreams to be but never become it.

I would leave a legacy of progress and my legacy would cause humans to challenge the auto pilot lifestyle. Who says you have to wake up at 8 am when your best work is done at 4 in the afternoon? My joy would be in seeing young men and women try to live life the way they want to live. Who says we have to be married by a certain age? Do we really want to waste 20 years perusing an elusive goal to please our parents? I would love to create a society full of ideas creativity innovation and invention. Lets travel to mars and party it up in zero gravity.

Here lies Marvin

Born in the town of Cambridge
grew like a tree
and eventually ran free
he traveled the forest and the 7 seas
a man that stumbled upon a personal legend
a tale of invention innovation and change
created a world of his own
A vivid light that took the world by storm was sparked
through the galaxies his world sparkled
though the ages the light grew stronger
and his soul will allow it to last longer
his legacy gave us this gift
may it spread from east to west
from north to south
from up over above us to
the stars in which he now lives on
may he rest in peace.

Week 13

During the season of giving thanks i think of my life and the many things that i have. It is a change from the normal. I normally think of what i have and it is easy to overlook what i already have and what i have gained.  First of i must mention that i am thankful for the simple things that we all take for granted. Things like a roof over my head food on the table running water and clothing. I am also thankful for being alive. We can be gone in an instant and i am thankful for everyday that i get a chance to make something out of my life. These simple things make the core of what i am thankful for, but there are other things that i am also grateful for.

I am grateful to have a job a year ago i went from working at a fast food place to being unemployed. I regained my job there but  i was unhappy with my life. I was fresh out of high school jobless and depressed. But then i got a slightly better paying job and a job that was easier. I am grateful for this job. I am also grateful that i was able to get my hands on a new car this year. After my old car broke me down i had to take the T and i was constantly late. This new car helps me get to were i want whenever i want. I no longer have to walk at 10 am 3 miles to my house. I am grateful for being emotionaly neutral. Although i would love to be happy and fired up about everyday i no longer feel sad, and i am grateful to be in a stable state of mind.

I am grateful to be in good health. I have no medical problems i can run jump throw and dance.
Finally i am grateful to be back in school. The semester has not been a breeze and i still have to work on my focus but I am grateful to have a chance to learn new things and advance in life. I am grateful for this chance to learn skills that will help me acquire a job that i truly love. I will remind myself that i have all these reasons to be thankful whenever i feel things are crashing down on me.

week 12

Story 1: I am a billionaire i live in a giant penthouse my office is like tony starks from iron man. I took a risk in the stock market and it paid off. I am world known for being the smartest investor. I own 90 percent of apple coca cola and Google.  I appear on CNN giving financial advice i have written 5 best selling books and i eat dinner with world leaders. I have 4 kids all whom go to ivy league schools and my wife is a supermodel. I own a penthouse with personal chefs i no longer worry about making it in life because i am one of the worlds most successful persons. Next week i will surpass bill gates for worlds richest man. Although i have immense wealth i also generate wealth for poor countries. I open companies in poor countries and employ over 4 million people in poorer countries. My companies help purify water and install windmills, solar panels and my companies also pump billions of dollars into countries economies. We also plant trees and vegetation to keep earth green. Life is great im rich married to a model and i am making the world a cleaner and safer place to live.

Story 2: The world economy goes down, we plunge into a global depression my stocks go down and i loose my wealth. My companies collapse and at the same time i get slammed with a lawsuit. I loose my company and its assets.  I am left with my last 20,000 dollars in savings and a family of 5 to feed. I go from being a billionaire to another victim of a global meltdown. I shutdown operations and move to the very same fields my company helped to plant. I learn to live of the trees plants and vegetables i planted. The windmills and solar panels still stand i use them to harness energy. The technology i used to purify water still exist's and i use that to get drinking water. With 20 grand i build a log cabin and i manage to live happily from nature. Although i lost my wealth the good work that i did with my wealth still stands. I never expected that the things i built to save other people would one day come to save me.

Story 3:  I become an astronaut i travel to space and become the first human to walk on mars. I bring back to earth the first samples of martial soil and i am hailed around the world as a hero. I meet the men from the first moon mission and salute them. I later learn that i will be going to the moon the first moon mission in over 70 years. When i return from the moon i will bring back a piece of the moons soil i will mix it with earths soil and the martian soil and turn it to a paste. With that paste i will paint a forward pointing arrow on a mural. The arrow will symbolize us as a human species moving forward for the next century and beyond.

I put my guard down and i allow grace to come through
I put down the old rusted shield that has protected me against unknown forces
Grace reaches me a confusing force it is
It rattles my mind and i almost fall to the ground
What is this force what does it want?
It throttles the wind violently back and forth
It fills the air with sand and i cannot see what is in the distance
I cannot see what is behind me
I can only see what is in front of me
I can feel things sink in the quicksand around me but
I can only see solid ground in front of me
Grace is a force of the present
I cannot see the past or the future but i can see what is in the present
Grace is conspiring with the elements of the world
The wind and the sand blocked of the past and the uncertain future
Grace helped me live in the moment for the first time
Grace and  the universe blocked my distractions
And they blocked every wrong path in my way
The only path that is right is the one that is in front of you.
I realize that the universe and its forces conspire to set me on the right path.

week 11

In the future i see myself graduating from college. I see myself going to the world cup i also see myself buying a puppy,being a professional, living life without fear, visiting pyramid, Taking walks along the beach taking a road trip visiting mountains. All while having a smile and eating the best pizza the universe has to offer.

The crystal ball tells a tale of food love and dreams
I see through the mist what the future may be
A crisp morning a bright star that we call the sun shines on me
On the beach i walk with my puppy kicking sand
To the left I see
I see mountains
Green mountains on a tropical morning
as i watch the mountains I sit back and enjoy the best pizza in the world
I shake the crystal ball faster and I see
A future without fear
I travel the world and become a professional
My business is not done in a suit it is done in a weight room
I coach and teach my love for sports to others
The crystal ball sings to me
It sings in a language i cannot understand
But yet i love the harmony
The crystal ball brings peace and warmth i can enjoy forever
as the crystal ball fades i see one more thing
I see life being lived and
Love being loved to the fullest

Week 10

I am really passionate about fitness and health. I love to read articles and books about improving muscle strength. I really love seeing the progress i make from month to month in the weight room.  I also love to run. The feeling that you get while running around the Charles river on a crisp Autumn morning is therapeutic. It reminds us how beautiful life can be. I love taking in the air and watching nature as a pass by the trees the leaves and the gleaming river.

Working as a sports trainer for a very reputable sports team or gym would be a great career. Many people want to be executives,lawyers,lawmen or doctors. But to me those careers would not make me happy. My passion is to help people improve their lives and fitness. If i can coach somebody to better health and sports performance i would be happy. It would be my way of giving back to the world. I would be providing people with skills to live longer stronger fitter lives.  I would be changing the lives of the doctors lawyers and executives.

I would like to work with people who are trying to get into shape. Fitness beginners as they may be called would be the perfect demographic for my service. I would an environment that would not be judgmental or their abilities. I would build self esteem and i would watch my trainees bloom in the weight room. I would love to coach for free to help out kids who are in danger of joining gangs or doing drugs.  I would coach for free for all of those who do not have the money to pay for a coach.

The iron and I like two dance partners
I lead the iron follows
I take a look at the iron before our dance
I become nervous
I take a deep breath and push my chest our
the iron stares at me
shinning the light from the gyms bulb the iron signals
signals that it is time to start our dance
our dance of struggle
loaded with 300 pounds the iron tells me i must start
as i begin our dance and perform my first repetition
i feel my body being anchored to the floor
sweat runs through my face
heat pours from my body
I realize i am dancing with the devil
one repetition is not enough neither is two
nothing satisfies this beast for
the dance does not end until i put the iron back into its rack
and as i rack the weight i realize
the dance with the iron is a trip to hell and back.

The Alchemist review

The Alchemist a book by Paulo Coelho is a must read for anyone going through a life challenge. We follow the story of a young Shepard. Who travels through the cities and deserts of northern Africa, in search of treasure. Along the story the main character Santiago meets several strange characters. He meets a gypsy a king disguised as an old man, he later meets a crystal merchant a British scholar and an alchemist to name a few. He also faces an array of challenges along the way. Each challenge he faces and resolves brings a life lesson to the reader. The life lessons learned here can be applied immediately to ones life. Reading this book is like talking to a psychologist. You learn several coping techniques you especially learn to be mindful and live life by the second.

Most shocking to me was the part of this book involving the British scholar. At this point in the story Santiago meets a Englishman who is in search of an alchemist. The Englishman feverishly tries to find a way to turn metals into gold. He reads countless books and learns almost all that is written about alchemy but he still fails. This hit me and ironically made me realize that there are things in life that cant be learned from just reading. The English man toiled all his life with books,but he missed life's lessons. I realized that you have to be aware and open minded. It's great to read and learn from academic sources, but when like the Englishman  rely on one source of information you end up being ignorant and you miss out on other great  baskets of information.

I like the book and i believe it conveys many heartfelt messages.  Great books  often times are books that you can relate to, and i certainly can relate to the characters in this book. The book was not overly complex and the chain of events developed quickly. Many other books have overly complex plots and drag over volumes. What i really liked about the book was that it reassured me that I and 6 billion other people in this world will face hard times, but to my joy  and their joy we will all get through those hard moments in life. The only complaint i have after reading this book was that the ending did not offer complete closure. There are parts that ended but are left to speculation. We can assume at the end that Santiago and Fatima will marry but we can only assume. I really wish the book elaborated more on this. Finally i wish the book  at some point at the end involved the king that convinced Santiago to start his journey.

I would recommend this book specifically to any young person starting out in life. You will learn a lot about life from this simple book.  This book is great for that first semester student at bunker hill, dealing with a life challenge. I can go as far as to calling this book a fable because many morals are learned here. I recommend this book because you will learn Mindfulness you will learn that every life legend that was worth something had many challenges along the way. The Alchemist can also be read by any person regardless of age who needs to be reassured that the troubles of today signal the success of tomorrow.

He traveled from the green Andalusian fields

Brave he was
The boy who dreamed of treasure
Traveled the  world
he stumbled upon the warm sands of Africa he
was a crystal merchant

he was a Sheppard
he was a teacher
only this boy could understand the soul of the world
for he spoke without words
in search of the pyramids he went
along the way he found danger in dunes
but nothing could stop him
for he realized his personal legend
he spoke to the world and unleashed a symphony
a symphony that taught us
"when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” 
he unleashed the power of his heart
and from then on
The world knew of a brave boy named Santiago

Week 8

We have many things in life that we take many of them for granted.  We sometime forget that the things that we have others would risk their lives to get. We are all guilty of taking stuff for granted. I am no different. I take for granted having a nice car. I bought the car used and i am making monthly payments and when i first got it i loved it. I still love my car, but as time has passed i find myself wanting a better car. I fail to recognized that i have a better car than mot kids my age. I take for granted my cell phone. I work with cellphones and i constantly activate new lines for people. Whenever I  activate a new line or do an upgrade i become jealous. I take for granted my phone. But I forget that i still have a nice phone and that many people around the world would love to have the phone that I have. I get angry when i have no hot water left in the shower,but many people don't even have a clean source of drinking water.

Although i take for granted many things i find myself to be grateful of other things. Im grateful to be alive and healthy. I am glad to have a job i am glad to go to school. I am grateful for my baby brother for my home I am also grateful for meeting new people at school. I am grateful for those people who encourage me to improve my self. Life has many frustrations but that has not stopped me form being grateful to be alive, in one of the greatest countries on earth.

I could breathe the crisp autumn air. I  can stop think and taste my black coffee better,instead of gulping my coffee in 30 seconds.  I can enjoy the sound of the raindrops flicking on the asphalt I can be more mindful and enjoy life more. I can listen to my favorite music and really focus on the sounds and feelings the songs transfer to me. I can stop and enjoy the energy of my friends I can enjoy the way they treat me as if i was their cousin of brother. Stopping and enjoying life as it is makes me feel better. I feel like i am home i feel safe and secure, and i know everything will be alright.

Crisp autumm breeze
will drift us to the apex
like mountain lions we climb

Week 7

We as humans all have fears some fears are more rational than others. Some fears are bigger than others and as we age our fears evolve. Fears can attack us in so many ways. fear is the ultimate mind game. Fear is the ultimate mental monster and we constantly have to find ways to scare fear.  At the moment i am afraid of failure. I am very afraid of not making it far in life. I have struggled in the past with school and i struggled in the air force. I just got diagnosed with a learning disorder and at the moment i am fighting this mental monster called fear.  I fear that the limitations imposed upon me based on this label of learning disorder will come out to be true.

The biggest boulder in my way to success is coming to terms with my learning disorder. I need to realize that no learning disorder is holding me down. But what is holding me down are my negative thoughts of "I cant because i have a learning disorder". Every time i fail i think it is because i am not good enough or because everyone is better. I think because i was diagnosed with this learning disability i naturally suck at everything. Every time i fail i blame the learning disorder for my failure. I start to panic and feel anxious i start to have a bleak view on my future. I am using 3 assets of mine to slay my fear.


My ability to get mad at my fear rather than let it defeat me is a mixed blessing. Anger is not a good emotion but it is an asset that we posses. It is an asset that allows us to fight with the fury of a thousand armies. We turn into a one man army when we are angry. I control my anger and put it towards my fear and in return i am able to fight my fear. I am able to say to myself that i will not fail i am able to say to myself that what ever happens happens but if what happens turns out to be a bad thing at the end of the day i will at least have the pleasure of knowing that i am not a coward. For i took the risk of coming head to head with my worst fear. I enrolled into school knowing that previously i have failed. I took the chance of failing once again. If fear is a game of chicken then i am racing towards it at 1,000 miles per hour. Fear is fought in many ways but in cases like mine i am fighting fear with fire.  I will continue to use my assets like anger and determination to win.  If this monster creeps up on me again and enfeebles me i will harness my power and take it on again.

You try to tremble me
You linger in the back you whisper in my ear
but i have not fear
You tell me to stop you tell me to fail
but i always prevail
you scream and seek help but there's no avail
there is no escape from my wrath
you call yourself fear
a coward you are
you pleasure is to see me in pain
but my anger will leave you in vain
i am a bigger beast but all i want is peace
this anger wont ease
until you cease.
What ever happens happens but let me remind you that you dont control me i nourished you
I made you grow
I created you
And  i will be the one to say i cremated you i ended you.

Week 6

Currently i am very busy my life has many things going on. Most recently i went to the Red Sox game yesterday. The Red Sox game was my very first play off game and it was great to take in the moment. It was great to look down on the Fenway diamond and breathe in the cool October breeze. I also got my Mobile shirt at my job. Getting the mobile shirt is a big moment for a Best Buy mobile employee. It is the shirt that distincts us from all other employees in the store. I am also talking to new people i have met at my work and at BHCC.

For all the good things that are happening there are also bad things going on. I am currently trying to accept that i have NVLD a learning disability. Reading this weeks lesson has got me thinking about being in denial. I may be in denial and may have to accept that i do have a learning disability and it is part of who i am. It is not a good feeling to learn that you have something called a learning disability. But i am trying to just accept it and not waste energy self loathing.

At this precise moment i feel a bit more calm i tried the bell meditation and it has worked. It has been 40 minutes into this lesson and i am learning to ignored the flood of thoughts that i have. Thoughts that lead me to not get my school work and my job related classes to be finished in time. I am feeling good about myself and i am also feeling happy to be in a new home.

When I stop, I notice... Who I am
When I stop, I notice Who you truly are
When i stop I notice you have been with me my whole life
But i just met you 
When I stop i notice I have been ignoring you all along
When I stop I notice you are my greatest gift
When I stop I notice you are my biggest handicap
when I stop I notice you are my downfall 
When I stop I notice you have caused agony and pain
When I stop I notice you have been with me like a friend in my moments of pain
When I stop I notice you are a learning disability
You give me handicaps 
But you also give me advantages
You push me to the floor
But you pick me up
When I stop I notice that its been 20 years
20 years that I have wasted ignoring you
20 years in denial
But today is the day
When I stop and I notice that you are a part of me and i will always be a part of you

Week 5

We all have had moments in our lives that seemed like a misfortune at the time,but later turned out to be a blessing. Blessing's in disguise happen almost everyday they range from small blessings to profound and deep changes that rearrange the course of our lives for the better. When i graduated high school i had decided not to go to college. I decided to join the U.S Air Force and live on my own. I was ready to travel the world and explore different cultures. I was ready to be my own man and be a independent 20 year old. While i was in basic training one thing led to another and i was not able to graduate.

Being sent home from Air Force training initially made me feel like a failure. At the time i felt like i was not good enough to complete a task that millions of other people had completed. I felt depressed and i was in emotional despair. I was angry at myself and i felt like i was doomed to be a failure. I thought to myself "all these people are better than me". I wanted to quit and when i came home i did not know the purpose of my life. I also did i know what the hell i wanted to do in my life. I had planned on spending 20 years in the Air Force. And now life had just knocked me to the ground i had to get back up somehow. Life had me unconscious  and i was having a hard time finding a path to walk on.

As time has passed by I have learned to cope with this failure. I have learned to look at it for the good things it has given me. It has been a blessing in disguise for many reasons. It has taught me how to deal with negative emotions. I now view depression to be like a flu it sucks and it lingers for a while but now i know that it eventually goes away. I learned that as long as you work on your defeats the outcome can only be good. I gained employment,met new people and enrolled in school (BHCC) all these good things happened after being discharged. I also went to a few Red Sox games and i also got a new car. My perspective on the event has changed. To get good at something so complex like life you have to fail many times. Michael Jordan missed thousand's of shots before becoming the greatest NBA player of all time. Muhammad Ali went to jail and was stripped of his titles before becoming the greatest of all time. I failed basic training before becoming the best....... the best at something that don't know yet.

Alchemy is not produced by wizards
Alchemy is not produced by machines
Alchemy is not not an equation or a science experiment
Alchemy is not gold nor is it silver
Alchemy is a magic that we posses
Alchemy is positive perspective
Alchemy is turning frowns into smiles
Alchemy is jumping when you fall
Alchemy is being  first even if you are last
Alchemy is not the glass half empty
Alchemy is the glass half full
Alchemy is positive perspective
Alchemy heals wounds
Alchemy destroys failure
Alchemy creates success
Alchemy destroys hate
Alchemy makes love
Alchemy eats darkness
Alchemy makes light
Alchemy is our minds ability to change bad experiences into good ones.

Week 3 assignment

There have been many times in life were i felt like i had power most of those times have been in my dreams. But i can think of a time were the powers in my dreams transcended into the real world.  I always dreamed of being recognized for doing something but i was never the fastest or strongest. Most people who got recognized on ESPN or TV were either really athletic or good looking. I never was any of that and i felt like i would never get recognized for a talent. Until one day i realized that i had the power of writing. this was not an ordinary power but it was a power that allowed me to describe my imagination to people. It was a way to show people all the wonderful ideas and concepts i had in my head. It was a way to communicate. And on the day i realized i had this power i started writing and entering contest. Until one day my power paid off and i was recognize by the state treasurer a local bank owned and a patriots football player for the creativity i put into my essay. Finally i was able to get some recognition thanks to the power of writing a power that allows me to translate my toughs into text.

For all the good experiences i have had with my writing i have also had moments in life were i felt like i was losing my power. In times of emotional distress i have felt powerless and hopeless i have felt like my creativity and ability to write had drained out. I have also felt like i could not communicate with other people. My writing translates my thoughts better than my words can. And when my writing powers  go away i feel like a mute. I feel blind because i cannot picture the world around me without my written words dictating the image.

Harnessing my power is very important and increasing my potential to be even better can only be done by reading more. Another thing i can do is collaborate with other writers and brainstorm with them. I can meditate to reach my deepest emotions and thoughts and translate them in my writing. I can go on trips not ordinary trips but trips with sights smells colors and feelings and translate all those senses into detailed writing.

When I was a Limitless Child i could travel the galaxy
When i was a Limitless Child i could travel to mars and back to the moon and beyond
When I was a Limitless Child I had friends in mars Pluto and in undiscovered planets
When I was a Limitless Child i could go to the Sahara and to the amazon in seconds
When I was a Limitless Child I would hang out with the hulk
When I was a Limitless Child the world was not round
When I was a Limitless Child car payments did not exist
When I was a Limitless Child Wars were not fought
When I was a Limitless Child work was sleep and fun was play
When I was a Limitless Child imagination was reality

Week 2 Assignment

Dear coach Kevin i am writing to commend you for all the great things you have done for all the kids on the team and my self. I am writing you to tell you that you have changed us from young undisciplined kids. To responsible adults ready to take on the world. I am writing to to let you know that even though we have not spoken in a year i still remember our conversations as if they happened yesterday.  Dear coach I hope this letter of less than 1,000 words shows the gratitude of which i don't have enough words to describe.

It was a cold September morning when we first met, it was the start of the soccer season and I was a young freshman looking to play the sport I loved. I had no father figure my father was always working to give my brothers and i the good life that we have now. You filled that void with a firm handshake and a talk. Coach you were able to talk more sense than any book or teacher I have ever met. You did this with your famous man to man talks and for that i am forever grateful.

I was a 16 year old un confident and underweight i was un balanced in life for I had no idea what I wanted to do and also on the field I would let the ball roll past me over and over again. Today i am a 20 year old a little heavier than when i first met you, But I am more balanced in life and can think clearer and take charge of what I want to do. You made a responsible adult out of me and your man to man talks have worn of on me. I am turning into the mentor myself i acquired your ability to reach out to others and I now use this to mentor my brothers.

O coach with a gentle approach you were able to mend me
O coach i was broken but truer words were never spoken
The true words of a mentor never go unheard
for now my life has become unblurred
O coach for now i have goals
O coach how we have become your molds.

100 miles and running

My name is Marvin i am 20 years old and i was born in the city of Cambridge Massachusetts. I grew up in Somerville MA for most of my early childhood and into middle school. I spent many wonderful and happy years in the neighborhoods of Somerville. I learned to run,jump,throw,play and ride bikes in Somerville's parks. I learned how to read and write in Somervilles schools. But most importantly i learned to love while i lived in somerville. And that is why when i moved from somerville at age 13 i still remembered my love for the city in which i grew up in. Today i am 20 and live in Everett MA my second hometown the city in which i also graduated high school from. I also work in retail and attend BHCC.

My interest are those of the average 20 year old American male i love xbox heavy rock music and superhero movies. I am interested in a wide array of sports from combat sports like boxing and the UFC to the NFL MLB and soccer my favorite team from the city of Boston is the Red Sox's. My hobbies are few but those hobbies that i do have i try to really pursue  with a passion. I love weightlifting and living a fit lifestyle. I try my best to fit in gym time into my life. Now that i have school and work the entire day it is difficult to get some workout time. Other hobbies that i have include playing soccer and  driving around for fun.

People would describe me differently depending on who you ask, some people would describe me as very quiet and shy. Most people would describe me as being a nice person. Others would say i am a goof and cannot be taken seriously. The way i behave and conduct myself varies with who i am with. When i am with a new group of people i tend to be more quiet. Once i get to know people i become more of the jokes a lot type of person. For all the adjectives people may have to describe me i would personally describe myself as being a very cautious person. I take no risk and always play it safe i rather be safe than sorry.

If

The Sunday sky turned
Rusty and red
Unsatisfying would be the
Sight of our blue friend sky
Turning the clock towards

Monday morning ,for monday mornings are not as pleasant as
Yesterdays morning

Sunday mornings are
Eager to let us rest for the rest of the day but when the sky turns red and dusk settles in we must say so
Long my dear
Friend Monday is around the corner farewell my dear friend.