Howie Day - Collide

Definitely my song of the week! Such a great song, with such a simple guitar part! I guess a great song doesn't always have to be complex! Now I just have to find someone who can sing along with my guitar playing, because I SURE can't hit those notes!

~Alex S.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Well it's finally Spring Break (for my school at least)! I'm finally free from my classes for a week of fun and relaxation... But oh wait... There's a chance of rain every day this week! Oh well, I'm sure that break will still be fun, and at the very least, at least there's no school!

So I went to Youth Group tonight, and all the Core Team members, Mike, and Emma all told their stories about why they believe and how they got to be where they are today. I found it all very inspiring, and it really got me thinking; why do I believe in the things that I believe in? Is there a set reason to it? It's really a mind boggling question! Because on the one hand, there's the orthodox answer "because I like it", but then there's that nagging thought that there MUST be a deeper reason, right?

So I leave you with that thought. Why do you believe in the things you believe in? And if you come up with an answer like "I was raised that way", or "Because I like it", then I highly encourage you to look a little deeper into your heart and mind, and try to figure out specifically why you believe.

Peace be to you all!

~Alex S.

Why Are We Afraid In What We Believe?

I just got back from my weekly Youth Group meeting (where once again, Youth Band rocked the house), and I got to thinking, why are people so afraid to proclaim their religion? Shouldn't we be proud of what we believe? If we are proud, why do we constantly try to hide or diminish it?


I think that honestly, people are afraid of what other people think. You're probably thinking "well duh, THAT answer didn't require much thought", but bear with me here, I'll go into more detail on why I said this. People today, no matter where you live, or what religion you believe in, treasure other people's opinions of them more so then they care about what they believe. But in doing this, they are being hypocrites for the simple fact that if you don't believe in what you say you believe in, just because of what other people believe, then why DO you believe in the first place?


In order to believe something, you have to show that you believe. And again, I know what you're probably thinking "Well I don't want to be shoving my religion and beliefs down my friend's throats!", but that's not what I mean. What I mean is that you shouldn't hide it when people come looking for it. You should open up to them and say what you TRULY believe in.


As a Catholic, I TRULY, ABSOLUTELY believe that there IS a God, and that he loves us and wants us all to spend eternity with Him when we die. I believe that He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to walk among us on Earth, and give us the skills we need to reach the eternal happiness of Heaven (not to mention he actually opened Heaven's gates in the first place). I believe in much more then that as well, but just because I believe it, doesn't mean YOU have to. The reason why I said what I believe the way I did was because I don't want to come across like I'm forcing anyone to believe anything, because it's not my place to do so.


So take some time, figure out what you believe. Maybe what you ACTUALLY believe isn't at all what you THOUGHT you believed. Maybe you don't really know what to believe, and if that's the case, don't feel discouraged, because I felt this same way for the longest time. Then I got to talking to other people about why they believed in the things they believed in, and I chose for myself what to believe.


If you take anything away from this blog entry, anything at all, remember this: you are the key to your own destiny. Only believe what YOU believe, and you will be infinitely happier and more willing to profess your beliefs, which hey, that's what believing is all about, right?


~Alex S.

School on a Saturday

Well today I took a driver's ed. course (courtesy of C.O.P.S. driving school)... It honestly was more like a common sense school. Everything about driving has and will always come naturally to me, so I kind of just sat back and enjoyed the ride. The awesome part is that I get three 2-hour sessions with a C.O.P.S. teacher, and I get to drive a Mini Cooper! How awesome is that! I get to use it for my driving test too, which is good, because the car is half the size of the space I'll need to parallel park in.

Not much else happened today... Was just a long day in a classroom! I'll just have to see if tomorrow can make up for it!

~Alex S.

One More Week!

I absolutly cannot wait for Spring Break! I don't know about any of the other schools around, but I know Cardinal Newman gets out for Spring Break, and I'm really pumped! This is a break that has been WELL overdue!

So anyways, I'm also pretty excited for next weekend, because I get to go and see my girlfriend perform in "Alice in Wonderland" at the Koger Center! She's been working really hard every day at dance along with the rest of the cast to get the acting and dancing down perfectly! I highly recommend everyone to go see it (tickets are available at the door). To say the least, I'm pretty jealous haha. Not because of the dancing, because ask anyone who knows me... I can't dance. But she gets to perform at a HUGE venue! The biggest venues I've performed at are Camp Gravatt and a beach-side restaurant in Destin, Florida. I couldn't possible be more proud of her though. :)

And in other news, I'm attempting to do a cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). Needless to say, it's hard. I really want to take the song, and transform it into something that pulls at your heartstrings. Hopefully I'll be able to do it! Wish me luck!

~Alex S.

Pink - Perfect (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover) on iTunes (Donate to Victim...

Hey everyone, I just found this amazing cover by Boyce Avenue, and I decided to help promote it, especially since it's for a good cause. Every time someone buys this song off of iTunes, the profit will go to helping people in Japan. Give this song a listen, and if you feel like helping, please purchase this song and help the Japanese get back on their feet.

~Alex S.

Spring Forward!

It's hard to believe that it's already springtime! This year has just flown by at breakneck speeds! Before I know it I'll be on Spring Break, and then on Easter Break (my school split the two for some reason), and then onto Summer Break! I'm not going to lie though, I'm going to miss this school year once it's over. There, I said it, I'm going to miss school. This year has been full of new experiences for me, new classes, new teachers, new friends, a new girlfriend, new sports, new injuries (although that's pretty much an every year thing), and most importantly, a newfound faith in God.

Before this school year started, the last time I had gone to church was when I was 4. That's just about 11 years! But then this year started, and my friend persuaded me to join the Cross Country team (which I loved by the way), and I met this girl. I had known her name for ages because my family and hers traded our textbooks every year (she was the grade above me, then her sister was the grade below me, then my sister was the grade below her, etc.). Her and I started talking, and she eventually got me to come to the St. John Neumann Youth Group. This Youth Group has totally changed my outlook on life from one being all about having fun, to one being all about doing God's will. And yes, if you're wondering, that girl is currently my girlfriend.

It's crazy to just see how much I've put religion into my life since the beginning of this year. I've joined a Youth Group, and was nominated to represent us at the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) this coming November. I also helped in the formation of a Youth Band, which is steadily growing! I've also started consistently going to Church, and since I just got Confirmed, I decided to also become a Lector! At school, instead of taking the easy Sophomore Theology class, I signed up (and was accepted into) a Christian Leadership class, taught by my Youth Minister, the Director of Campus Ministry, and our school Priest, Fr. Kirby.

Wow, I wrote a lot more then I thought I would. Guess it all just had to come out at some point!

Peace,

~Alex S.