Matthew's Amazing Awesome Blog

Ethan Webb: Why is music important? Charlie Roth: Custom Prompt

Prompt: Who was/is the most formative in your life. Why? The most formative person in my life was my Papa. Papa is what I call my grandfather. He taught me two main lessons. The first one was about work. Every summer I would go to the farm and work with Papa. We would work really, really hard. He always told me that it would all pay off in the future. He was correct because every year we would sell the cattle that we had taken care of. The second lesson is a little more ridiculous. He would always say, "if you cant go first class, then don't go." This means that one should strive for the very best, or one should not strive at all. He took this seriously in all aspects of life. He got the very best farming equipment, the very best technology, and the very best fountain pens(his hobby at the time) that he could acquire. He could do this because he worked so hard. So I guess that the first lesson that he taught me feeds into the second one.

In my opinion, humans are always evil by default. I have always thought this, and I don't really think that anything could change my mind. I think the root of it is because of greed and desire. Usually, it has to do with someone wanting something that someone else has, but then they take it without permission.  My entire life I have had experiences with evil people. I could remember when I would watch the news when I was a kid. I would see stories of people killing their own family just for money or for disagreements. And just recently a man was beaten to death with a frying pan by his girlfriend because she said that "he needed killing". Honestly, I have no idea what is going through people's heads whenever they do these things, but I don't think it is good. 

I noticed something very puzzling over this fall break. Every year my family takes a trip to Destin over fall break. We all have a great time as long as there are no red flags. And that was the problem with this year. Every single day that I went to the beach, there was a red flag even though the waves were very calm. Upon getting into the water, my feet fell from under me and I fell face first into the sand. It was painful, to say the least. I experienced something called under toe. It is actually very normal, and I was just stupid enough to not expect it. Under toe is caused by the waves that hit the shore and start falling back into the ocean. It creates a very powerful pulling force whenever there are strong waves. If this force is strong enough, then it can be very deadly. So just be careful the next time things look calm and always check the flag color for that day.

A & P was a fascinating story in my eyes. Not only because the narrator was a pervert, but because he acted impulsively in the most stupid way possible. He quit his job because his boss was merely asking for a little bit of order in his store. He quit after first describing his shoulder fetish for these girls. Which is just even weirder on a whole different level. Is there really a problem with having only a bathing suit on in a store (in those days at least)? The 60s were a time of change. For civil rights of African Americans and for the rights of women. Women took the fight to many places that one wouldn't expect. In 1968, feminists protested at the Miss America pageant claiming that is was "sexist". For the better or for the worst, America was changing into a place where equal rights were starting to emerge. So here is the answer to the question I stated above. Was it a problem in the 1960s to walk into a store with only your bathing suit on? Yes, it was perfec...

Tucker Harrel Flash fiction story Naya Batiste Short Story

We have travelled over 300 miles to get here. The cattle are tired, I am tired, and so is my horse. I have been through deserts, mountains, and swamps to get here. I met too many people to count on one hand. Some people I regret, and other I do not. Some people I met are now dead. Never would I have ever thought that I would actually get here in one piece. My plans to start a permanent ranch could finally be fulfilled in this new land of dreams and opportunity. Little did I know of the arrows that were about to kill me and 100 cattle that I had been herding for the past 3 months.

Harrison Bergeron is an interesting jab at how the future United States of America would look like. The story is set in 2081, and America has been drastically changed by a new set of amendments. These amendments form a new department of government called the Handicap General. The Handicap General's job is to make sure that all people are on equal grounds in every aspect of life. Harrison Bergeron focuses on a family that has just lost their son to the Handicap General, and their son has started a revolt by claiming to be the emperor. He is shot by a shotgun right after. One interesting part of this story is how America has completely changed from its original values. America was meant for everyone to be equal at the starting line and not the finish line. Being equal at the finishing line completely messes up society as a whole. This is because more people could put in more work than others, and yet still be equal to them. One example of this would be comparing...