Brad Paisley concert

After a very hard week of school, this past Saturday, my boyfriend and I went to see country artist Brad Paisley in concert. This was my second time seeing him in concert, and it only got better. I have been to several concerts before- country, pop, rock and roll, and even rap. However, I have never seen any performers interact with their audience like country artists do. Brad Paisley did not disappoint with that whatsoever. Not only did he let fans come up on stage with him and hang out by an onstage bar the ENTIRE concert, but also had two proposals on stage, had a fan sing with him, and even took one fan's phone to take selfies with. There's just something about a country concert that makes my heart feel so good inside. Here is a video of a very close up experience I had with Brad! I was SO close to touching him!

When I first saw this commercial on Super Bowl  Sunday, I was super excited because I love the Budweiser ads. They always have a dramatic appearance that speaks about a lot more than beer. A lot of beer commercials are just about having fun at a bar, or a view of the icy mountains that Coors Light always airs. However, Budweiser does more than just show a good time. The company usually tries to get viewers to get into their feels, which is a very good strategy. For example, some people don't like the whole crazy bar atmosphere that beer commercials present, and some people don't really like drinking beer in the first place. With the Budweiser commercials, this could change people's minds. They might have a Budweiser beer because they like the way the commercial made them feel deep inside- not the usual temporary happiness that alcoholic beverages tend to give. Budweiser commercials show history, emotion, depth, and you can tell they take their time with their commercials so they can get to the heart of their viewers. This Super Bowl commercial was amazing. Budweiser stopped all regular beer processing to fill their beer cans with water to give to the places that were devastated by natural disasters.  Even though I can't legally drink, it made me want to raise a Bud to this company for what they are doing for communities all over the nation. And even when my family saw this commercial everyone said how Budweiser always does the best job with their commercials. My mom, who never drinks, was very impressed with the company and respects the work that they do for the community. One of my all time favorite Budweiser commercials was last year's Super Bowl commercial featuring the Budweiser story of immigrant Adolphus Busch journey's to America where he met his co founder- Eberhard Anheuser in a St. Louis bar in the late 1800s. It was a powerful story that brought to light the power immigration had in finding not only America, but so businesses in America. While I was looking for the 2018 Super Bowl ad, I came cross another commercial that was aired in June 2017. Another example of Budweiser's love for the community, specifically our nation's veterans. This company really knows how to advertise more than just beer. I had to include that June 2017 commercial as well.

We have begun the Lenten journey! For those of you who do not know what Lent is, it is the 40 day time period prior to Easter celebrated by Catholics and other religions as well. I am not sure what other religions do because I have been raised Catholic, and I unfortunately am unaware with what other religions participate in this journey. During this journey, we are to "give up" something to prepare us for Easter. What we can give up anything from pop, to sweets, to my extreme- social media! You can also do something for 40 days that you don't normally do rather than give something up. This could be maybe saying a daily morning prayer or reading daily scripture. Really, it's just important to grow closer to God like Jesus did with his 40 day journey in the desert where he fasted from all earthly food and was tempted numerous times by the devil. With the small history lesson out of the way, I would like to talk about what it is that I have gave up which is social media! For me, that means, no Snapchat, Instagram, or Twitter since those are the only social media accounts I have. (I don't count Pinterest as one, but I'm sure it falls under that category) I did this once in high school and did well with it but I figured I would try again now as a college student. It hasn't been that hard so far! It's nice to not have to be bothered with constantly taking homework breaks to check on what everyone has been doing. I am a culprit of this social media generation so it is nice to not have to worry about it. My brother asked me how I haven't been tempted yet, and I guess it may because that I deleted the apps so I don't even have the access to them (unless, I go to the app store but I am way to lazy to do that lol) but I also think it is because I wanted to do this. I always tell myself that I should just delete the apps for a week, but never actually do it. And now since I have a reason to do so, I want to do exactly that. I want to live without out that loud noise that social media gives off. I am excited for this Lenten journey! I wish you all luck in yours and even if you don't participate in it, I pray that you grow closer to God during this 40 period time before joyous Easter!

Snow Day!

I felt like a little kid again waiting for the call that school was going to be cancelled tomorrow, February 9. I can remember going to bed in grade school and in high school and waking up the next morning to find my school's name on the bottom screen of WGN morning news. It feels like I haven't been in Writing class in forever; however, I feel the same about many of my other classes. This nasty flu is going around that many of my teachers have caught as well unfortunately. Many of my classes this week were cancelled because of this bug. Now with the snow day, it's another day of cancelled classes. Hopefully, with this long weekend, we can all rest up and return to school good as new! Luckily, this snow day does help me to catch up on some things that I felt piling up on me. I can always hear this voice in the back of head haunting me with the list of things I need to get done. I hope everyone has a good weekend and can catch up on so many things just like me!

Today is February 2, 2017 and today marks the 5 year anniversary of Chris Kyle's devastating death. If anyone has seen American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper, then you know exactly who Chris Kyle is. He was the legendary United States Navy Seal sniper. He served four tours in the Iraq War and is known to be the deadliest sniper in U.S. history. He is accounted for at least 160 kills by the Pentagon, however that number is supposedly supposed to be twice that. It is almost impossible to put into words just how much Chris Kyle did for America. The movie doesn't even cover all of his accomplishments and all that he did to protect the American people and his brothers at war. Most of the things he accomplished is not heard of by the regular civilian. We don't know half of the things that go on overseas. But one thing is for sure, the things that do go on- no regular civilian could ever be able to relate to or attempt to do. When Chris came home from the war for good, he helped out many veterans who were having a hard time to adjust to regular life back in society. This was when his tragic death happened. On February 2, 2013 Chris was on his way to help out another war veteran with handling depression and other psychological problems that Chris, nor his family, were
aware of. When Chris met the man at the gun range, things ended badly, as Chris was murdered by this man. His wife, Taya Kyle, has written a book about her time with Chris, his death, and how she can get up every morning knowing she will not have her husband by her side. I highly recommend reading both Taya's book and Chris's autobiography. It is so hard to comprehend how the most lethal sniper in American history was not killed in combat, but in his homeland by a fellow veteran. With that being said, there are so many other men like Chris Kyle that continuously save our lives everyday without us even knowing. They go unnoticed until Hollywood decides to make a film about them. The unnoticed should be in our hearts and our minds always. I believe we live in the greatest country in the world. To the men fighting for our lives each and every day, the men that have lost their lives for our sake, and the men who have finally come back home, we honor you and we thank you for your service. We respect you all and that is why we STAND for you all. 

1.     My documentary was After Innocence, and it was about what happens to the wrongfully accused imprisoners after they are exonerated and released into civilian life. Needless to say, it was a very intense documentary that pointed out the problems with America’s judicial systems at the time and most likely in today’s world as well. The intensity throughout the whole documentary got to me. Some scenes, for example, made me question the government and others just made me feel incredibly sad for these innocent people, who seemed to be treated still as murders and rapists, though there was clear innocence for them. In one scene, a district attorney of Louisiana was asked a few questions about one exoneree’s imprisonment, Calvin Willis. One question he was asked was if it was tragic that Calvin spent twenty years in jail when, if there was evidence twenty years ago, they would not have prosecuted him. The attorney did reply with yes however; he went on to say, “But that does not mean Calvin was wrongly convicted. He wasn’t. The system worked exactly like it was supposed to…the government doesn’t owe an apology to anybody about that, this is just a horrible thing.” I was completely taken aback by this. This attorney is saying that although the evidence wasn’t there twenty years ago, Calvin was convicted regardless. That was just the way the system worked and how it was supposed to work. So, the judicial system was supposed to convict a man they had no evidence on? I could not believe that. That is like hurting my poor puppy because a stranger said that it bit him, when there was no sign of a bite or blood on this stranger anywhere. However, since this human over powers an uncommunicative puppy, I am to believe him. That makes no sense. AND THEN, to say the government doesn’t owe an apology?! HOW! This man’s own government failed him, and it’s not going to apologize for this? Calvin just lost twenty years of opportunistic time in his life, and he can’t even get a “Sorry.” Along with Calvin, there were many other exonerees going through this same inhumane trauma. There was actually one right here in Chicago, IL. His name was Aaron Patterson This gave me a sense of sadness, knowing that this happened just 25 miles away. Though I do not know this man, I feel close to him since of this location. Governor George Ryan was the governor of Illinois who pardoned Aaron for the crimes he was innocent for. Aaron went on to tell the governor how he is helping those who come out of prison adjust to civilian life. He mentioned how these ex-prisoners are handed a bus ticket, taken to the bus station, and that’s it. No guidance, no help, nothing. It really made me feel uneasy about the judicial system, and just how flawed it truly was. This whole documentary was so touching that I don’t think I can hit on all the points that changed my viewpoints. I always thought that those who are guilty get what they deserve, but what if those people are actually the innocent?

2.     There were a couple things that surprised me about this documentary. To name a few, I was surprised at the fact that some of the wrongfully imprisoned men actually forgave their prosecutors, as well as the victims who accused them! They are much better persons than I will ever be because of this. I couldn’t imagine looking at the face of the one who defiled me, broke me, and gave me a record that will forever be a burden in my life. That was truly something. Another surprising detail was how little the government does for these innocent men. One exoneree said how if he was actually guilty and was released on parole, he would be entitled to health care, job training, placement in society, and housing that people on parole are entitled to. However, as a free and innocent man, all he got was $5.37 by the State of Pennsylvania. How could this be that innocent man who suffered years in jail and dealt with assault, solitary confinement, depression, gets absolute no help adjusting to civilian life. It sounds much like how our government fails to help veterans adjust to civilian life after years spent on tours, risking their lives for our country. Although I have known about the troubles veterans have to go through, I never knew that innocent men released from jail have to go through the same thing. Also, I thought that once these men are exonerated, their records are clean and that they can get a job or a house with no problem. However, this is not the case. The men are still fighting to get the years spent in jail and the charges against them off their records. How can an innocent person have charges on his record for crimes he did not commit? These are just a few things to name that surprised me throughout the documentary. There are plenty more that I wish I could reflect upon.

3.     I have so many questions about the documentary. To start, how many of these innocent people that were charged with crimes are women? Unfortunately, all of those interviewed were men. Regardless of innocent or guilty people, what even is the ratio of men to women in jail? What can we do differently in the judicial system to help the prisoners? I remember a teacher once said how Norway is reported to have the best prison system and because of this, the murder, incarceration, and re-arrest rates, are some of the lowest in the world. At the time, I didn’t think anything of this, but now because of this documentary, I want to look further into this. Although justice should be served and those should pay for the evil acts they commit, is America’s form of punishment the best form of punishment. I am sure it easier said than done. If someone in my family was murdered, I would want the murderer to be sentenced to death on the spot. It is hard to accept and forgive the evil done in this world. How do we forgive a man who killed 58 innocent concertgoers from a distant hotel room for no reason, and then was cowardly enough to kill himself? How do we forgive the most evil of people? If we were to change our prison systems, why would we let these evil terrorists, both domestic and foreign, live in comfortable settings instead of rotting to death? If we did change the systems, would we also see changes in the incarceration and murder rates in the USA like Norway has seen?

4.     It’s tough to see problematic concepts on a documentary that is already about problematic concepts. I guess maybe the film could be seen as sexist? Although I do not think this, some may. Mostly all of the crimes “committed” were rape and murder. Are there other crimes that people could be exonerated for? The government’s judicial system is most definitely a problematic concept in the film. It’s been over ten years since this film was released, I wonder what the exoneration rates are like now and if there have been any improvements since 2005. Many of these innocent men were forced to go through therapy for crimes they did not commit. I wonder if this therapy made the men feel even crazier than they already did about being in a jail for being innocent. I wonder if all prisoners are given therapy, and if so, how many of them find it useful. This film was so interesting and after going through the documentary list multiple times, I am happy to have chosen this one.