✍ 1987 Digital Cam

I've always been passionate about music. Back in the late 90's, I remember riding in the backseat of my uncle's truck and hearing George Michael's "Faith" being covered by Limp Bizkit. From that moment on, rock and hip-hop had my heart. To a lot of people, it may have been just another insignificant rock song, but to me it was pivotal. Although the song's duration only lasted a few minutes, it made such a huge impact on my life! 20 years have passed and I remember that day like it was yesterday. Today, being the last day of 2017, I thought I would share with you a list of my favorite albums released this past year. Each and every one of these left a lasting impression on me: NF - Perception Eminem - Revival With Lowry - I Could Not Plan This Blackbear - Digital Druglord MGK - Bloom Hopsin - No Shame

I have a challenge for you. Don't worry, I am participating too. Let's call it: Breaking Monotony Think of something you do on a consistent basis that has become quite repetitive in your life. It doesn't necessarily have to be something major, but spend a few minutes pondering your daily and weekly routine. I've listed some examples below... Watching several hours of television shows. Spending a lot of time on social media apps. Drinking too many sugary beverages. Excessively snacking.  Eating unhealthy food. Shopping when you shouldn't be. Isolating yourself. Overworking yourself. Lacking a proper amount of sleep. Being lazy. Have you thought of one for yourself? Awesome! Now, I hereby challenge you to go a FULL 10 days without including that specific habit in your routine. Depending on what you have chosen and how big of a part it currently plays in your life, it could be extremely painless or devastatingly difficult. The reason for t...

I deleted my Facebook at the beginning of this year. Soon after that, my Instagram account was no more. Today, I'm taking the leap and getting rid of the last social media platform app I have downloaded onto my phone: Twitter. I deleted each account for completely different reasons unrelated to each other, but I feel like this is necessary to further my journey of minimalism and simplicity. Deleting Facebook was the hardest of the three. I had been active on it much longer than the others. I shared hundreds of pictures, thousands of posts and so many memories throughout a decade of my life. The main two reasons I removed Facebook was (1) all the wasted time I spent each day scrolling and refreshing my life away for no real reason at all (2) the majority of the posts from "friends" were meaningless... memes, shares of viral videos and funny pics, or my personal favorite: soapbox rants over politics, religion and personal drama. This is why I felt like the first st...

If I'm going to write, I have to write for me. It may sound selfish, but I promise it's not. When I try to appease others... my ideas, my thoughts and my opinions become watered down to the point it's not even my words on paper anymore. Instead, it's nothing but an empty vessel; a version of myself only seeking approval from others. And that's not who I want to be. I can't be that guy. I can only be me.

"For everything there is a season." I started my minimalism journey nine months ago and this blog about six. I personally feel like I have changed a lot over the past year, but I still have a lot of growing to do. I would like to read more books so that I can expand my vocabulary and communicate more effectively. I'd like to meet new people to connect and help broaden my perspective of the world. I'd like to take a path my feet haven't walked before to gain experience, growth and a deeper understanding of myself and those around me. I've definitely enjoyed the last six months of blogging and I appreciate all the positive feedback I've received from it. Thank you all! With that said, I wanted to let you guys know that my writing will be going on a hiatus. Its not due to writers block or lack of passion because I really have enjoyed writing; I love it! I find it to be very cathartic and freeing. But I also feel like I still have a lot of learning,...

Positive Thoughts.  Positive Vibes.  Positive Life. ...that is my blog's current tagline. Lately, I've been questioning whether to change it or not. With it as my header, I sometimes feel limited or restricted, as if I am trapped inside my own box. I don't want to be the blogger who posts stuff just to post stuff. I don't want to write only because I feel like it's my obligation to. I admit, there are times where I struggle to write inspirational articles and uplifting stories. I find it difficult to teeter between being optimistic and being a realist. At times with certain topics these two can be conflicting, making it hard to fully express the point I'm trying to convey. Somewhere along the way, I drew a line in the sand for no apparent reason. Well from this point on, there's no more boundaries. I must be fully open, completely transparent and unwaveringly honest with my readers. How do I plan on doing that? By staying true to myself! My en...

Since a very young age, patience has been an attribute I have struggled to fully obtain. When I set my mind on a goal I'd like to meet, I give it a hundred and ten percent. Without any hesitation or doubt, I go all in. In doing so, I also expect to see results from my hard work very quickly; most of the time too quickly. The bar I set for myself is so high, I tend to have unrealistic expectations. In most cases, a reasonable amount of time isn't allowed to achieve proper results. These perceived failures cause me to beat myself up a bit more than I should. In all actuality, it has nothing to do with my efforts or shortcomings, only a lack of patience to reach the finish line. Periodically I have to remind myself: True change doesn't happen overnight. It may take days, months or even years. But if you're willing to take action, the payoff is worth the struggle; the reward is worth the work. A carpenter doesn't buy all of his materials today, expecting the ...

This holiday season, I want nothing. "Shame on you! Where is your Holiday spirit?" Before judgements pass, let me explain myself a little bit so that you can see where I'm coming from. First of all, I'm not angry. Nobody hurt my feelings. No one has me upset. And despite what some of you out there might think, I'm not trying to be a Scrooge in any way. This isn't my attempt to wage a war on Christmas, even if the media tries to convince our entire country of this so-called attack every single December. Last year it was Starbucks and their holiday cups and the year before that I believe it was Target. Heck, this year media platforms may even try to attack McDonald's because of their ball pit. I mean come on, it is a direct mockery of tree ornaments, am I right? Not wanting gifts doesn't stem from having a lack of money or a case of just me being broke . Thankfully, I still have enough in the bank to purchase new items for each of my family ...