It's not true what they say, "practice makes perfect." The correct expression is, " perfect practice makes perfect." If you do something wrong over and over you create a bad habit but a good habit is an opposite. Perfect practice is how I like to practice the guitar. The guitar is an intricate and beautiful instrument that can be played in different ways for each genre of music. My talent is rhythm guitar, it is the most underrated guitar style. As a rhythm guitarist, there is no spotlight but the other members of the band understand the value of a good rhythm guitarist. This guitar style is made up of 3 main parts: the chords, the rhythm pattern, and the progression. I practice for about 2 hours a day with the guitar. Most of my time is spent perfecting chords and putting them together with strumming patterns, with a little bit of messing around. I am not good enough just yet to play the chords, strumming patterns, and progressions all at once but that's the current goal. Spending time every day aiming to perfect my craft is the destination and getting to a goal is the journey. While the journey is different the destination is always the same, "perfection."

There is no better feeling than kicking my shoes off and laying in bed after a long day. Life is short, so I try to spend as much of my time doing the things that I love most in life. Even though I want to become a nurse, the road to that destination can be tiresome. Being a full-time student and taking nursing classes often make me fill like I don’t have time to even breathe. No matter the school day there is nothing that I love to do most after a long school day than to play video games and be involved with music. Right after school is done the first thing I do is listen to music. I live about 40 minutes away from CSU-Pueblo in Colorado Springs. The best way to make time go by fast is to have fun. I enjoy pretending to sing like a musical superstar. My musical vice has several genres that include: Christian, gospel, classical, Christmas, and instrumental music. I adore music greatly because it lifts my spirit up by helping me think about “things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, worthy of praise.” (Phil. 4:8) Music also makes me feel fulfilled because it’s one of my purposes for being on this planet. I recently began learning how to play rhythm guitar. Learning a new skill is frustrating, exciting, and intriguing. In a way, I understand why bookworms love books so much. Both books and video games allow a person to escape from reality for a bit. My life is not miserable that I need video games, but it allows me to live the “what ifs” in my head. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I were a Marvel comic book character. In Marvel’s Gordian’s of the Galaxy I get to pretend to be Peter Quill also known as “Star-Lord.” Quill is a human from Earth that commands a spaceship with the help of his shipmates: Rocket Racoon, Groot the Flora Colossus, Drax the Destroyer, and Gomora daughter of Thanos. These six are also known as the “Gradians of the Galaxy” and they are pretty much heroes for hire. I get to kill monsters and travel the galaxy. As luck would have it I also have a video game that helps me learn music called Rock Smith, it is both fun and insightful. Life may not go as I planned but at least I have video games and music to help ease the rough days.

Jesus Christ said it best when he said, "it is better to give than to receive." That quote was the single most important financial lesson I have received. My old financial plan was to live off 80% of my income and save 20%. I would pay my bills, eat, and buy things out of that 80%. In the beginning, it was fun, but the more I did it the less enjoyable it became. The 80/20 rule was all about me and I felt empty inside. It was not until I learned "it is better to give than to receive" that I adopted the 70/20/10 rule. I live off of 70% of my total income, 20% I save, and 10% I give. Giving has been the single most important financial lesson I have learned because it has changed my life. Implementing giving into my financial regiment has made me feel fulfilled. When life has been rough, I found that giving to someone lifted my heart. Giving to a friend or family is good in all but that is expected of us. Giving to a stranger is a different reward. People say, “don’t give to the homeless asking for money because they will use it for something bad,” but you can’t judge every good apple because of one bad apple. What a person sows they will reap (Galatians 6:7-8 KJV); the good you do, good will come back to you, and vice-versa for bad, karma is the most common form of this saying. If we give with good intentions or with a happy heart, God will reward us good for our good. Life is worth living if you are living for someone else, also the world would be a better place if we thought about each other more.

1.Gratitude by Brandon Lake (Cover) 2.Living Water by Shane & Shane(Cover) 3.Bigger by Grace Fellowship Church(Cover) 4.Victory by City Light Worship, Jr Aquino(Cover) 5.Sparrows by Cory Asbury(Cover) 6.Control by Ryan Proudfoot(Cover) 7.Spirit Lead Me by Influence Music, Micheal Ketterer(Cover) Album: The Lord says," Put your trust in me" Artist: LionHeart Sheep Album art by Studio Amen

5-4-3-2-1, Kobe drives the ball to the hoop, just before zero he makes the bucket to give the Lakers the buzzer-beating win! That's how the best-animated film starts. I have seen a plethora of animated media, but Dear Basketball by Kobe Bryant stands above the rest. "Mamba Mentality" is the mantra that describes Kobe Bryant, Dear Basketball, and the reason why that short film has impacted me the most. Mamba Mentality means to give everything you got towards your passion so that when it is all said and done you have no regrets. Kobe was an inspiration to me because of how different his thought process was. The way that Mr. Bryant described his love for basketball in Dear Basketball was so powerful I could feel it! The emotion behind his storytelling was so moving it made me want to find my passions and give them my absolute best.