FINAL PAPER

Zach Parrella

English 1A

8/11/13

McFarland

Final Paper

           

In our society; success, education, and passion are three important things people aim to achieve. People understand the best way to reach success is through education. Success is something that everyone should aim for because being on the bottom wishing you were the one who is successful is a life full of regret. The best way to reach success and do it happily is aiming to be the most successful in whatever you find your inner passion.

In the novel, Into The Wild, Chris is a college graduate who is sick of the real world and wants an escape route. He wants to get away and Chris’s passion is not what most people around him approve. Chris has the passion of traveling and being on the run with nothing but nature all around him. His ultimate goal is to reach Alaska and survive in the wild where most die. Chris died in the wild doing something he loved and wanted to commit his life too. “I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYEAND MAY GOD BLESS ALL”(199). Those were his final words and he died happily doing what he wanted. The movie The Passion Project tells us to go out into this world and find our passion. Once we find our inner passion we need to build our life around it while doing what we love. There is no point living a life if we are not passionate about what we are doing.

            In this paper you will read about success, family, passion, my passion for football, and education. While reading this you will read not only my own personal stories, but of others who take a stand for what they want.  Passion is huge concept that can be shown in many different concepts and situations.

            Everyone wants to be able to say they are successful and that they have made it in life.  It is something everyone should strive for and to try to make it too the top. “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure”-Bill Cosby. I think success is when you finally through all the time and hard work have made it too the top of doing what you love. Everyone looks at success differently some think its about money, while some will say its about having a loving family. Everyone has his or her own unique version of success. “If the day and night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal- that is your success”(47). I look at success, as all my hard work paying off in the future. All the years of truly grinding will finally pay off and I can look back at the tough times and truly say I have made it where I want to be.  I think my success will be transferring to a University for football and getting my degree and finding my dream job. After all the struggle and hard work I want too look back and know all the effort was worth it because of where I am today.

            My family is definitely a positive factor in helping me succeed and getting to where I want to be in life. Family should be the number one priority in everyone’s life. Family will always be there when you need to count on them the most. They will love you in the good times and bad times in life. “Family is not an important thing. Its everything.”- Michael J. Fox. The reason family will help on anyone’s journey to success is because; a true family will always be there to support and help. I have personally been blessed with a great family and especially my dad has always been my number one role model and always their guiding me in life. My family will always be my top priority because I know for a fact they will be there when no one else will, through the bad and ugly times that I will face. That is why I believe they are such a great help in my road to success. I also truly think another way of achieving success is being able to have my own family. I want to be able to raise my own family and be able to be my children’s number one motivator to push them and guide them to be successful.

              The thing about success is once you find yourself on top the hardest thing to do is stay there. Distractions will come up and try too take you off of your path that you have found so much success and triumph on. The thing is you need to have the will power to not fall off from the top, but to push the negative distractions aside to keep you where you know you belong. “The key to success is the willingness to give up what’s preventing you from getting there.”-Tim S. Grover. At the top you have to realize it is just you and loved ones, because the rest of the world is jealous and wants your spot. They will do whatever it takes to take your spot. I take that point of view into the way I play football. I worked so hard to make it to the starting spot as a freshman and get my name out their to transfer that I will let no one outwork me or take what I deserve. I just take that attitude that I want it more then anyone and someone out there wants to take that success away from me, so I fight to keep it with me.  Distractions and people will come and go to try and take what is yours, but it is up to you to fight to keep yourself at the top.

Passion is something you should always strive for and chase. Wherever you find that passion in your life you need to go out and achieve it. Everyone's passion varies and that is what makes us all unique. “At last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess”(22). In, Into The Wild, Chris has his own passion that many people find crazy. Chris travels into the wild of Alaska with slight knowledge of the wild and no experience of trying to survive out there. Chris needed to get out and follow his dreams. He realized that after graduating from college. “The trip was to be an odyssey in the fullest sense of the word, an epic journey that would change everything”(22). Through the struggles of traveling and hitch hiking into the wild of Alaska, Chris chased his dreams and even died trying. Whatever your passion is go out and chase it, Chris had a crazy passion that most of us would not be striving for, but he went out and did what he really wanted to do in his life and that should be an example for all of us. Chris did not want to settle for less and at least dying doing something he actually wanted to do. Many people are too afraid to go and do what they actually want in life. They are too scared to take that leap of faith and take that chance to fulfill their life with their passion.

What is so unique about passion is that everyone finds it in something different. That is what makes the world so interesting because everyone is chasing dreams in different areas. People's passions and goals can be crazy and people will go out and say that is impossible or you will never achieve that dream, but that's why you challenge that statement and prove to yourself and everyone else that it is possible. “It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God- given right to have it”(155). You deserve whatever it is that you want in life no matter how impossible and hard it sounds. Chris's passion was definitely different then most common people. He just wanted to get away from everything in his life and take that challenge to survive in the woods of Alaska. Everyone believed he was crazy and would never make it. After reading the novel your just thinking wow this kid is crazy why would anyone want to even try and take this challenge without even being an expert. All odds against him Chris still went out and tried to achieve his passion and doing something that made him happy to be alive. Even though he died out in the woods he was still doing something he loved. No matter how crazy your passion might seem go out their and chase it. If you don't later on down the road in life you will look back and just have regrets.

Passion and Privilege are two different concepts, but can easily run together. You can choose what your passions are and what you strive for in your life. Privilege is something that most people are just born into and many strive to get that. People who are not born into the privilege will use their passion and strive to be the greatest in that area to earn that privilege. “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are”-Joseph Campbell. Everyone wants to be on top and when you are on the top you have the privilege that everyone wants and you were once that desperate person using your passion to get to that very top. Many people who are born into privileged homes cannot prevent it, but at the same time many take it for granted and do not know the real world around them and the hungry people striving to get where they are at. Many are less fortunate and use a passion in athletics, school, arts, etc. to get them where they want to be and earn there right to have privilege. It is a grind to get where you want to be in your life. Whatever your passion is run with it because that will make you the happiest and take that as far as you can because you can take that to the top.

Whatever your passion is that you need to go out and attain it. Your passion can be anything it is whatever makes you the happiest. It is something you cannot live without. “Hours slide by like minutes. “The accumulated clutter of day-to-day existence-the lapses of conscience, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities, the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes-all of it is temporarily forgotten, crowded from your thoughts by an overpowering clarity of purpose and by the seriousness of the task at hand”(143). That is what you should feel when you are so caught up into your passion, the distractions of the world are blinded to you while you are so deep into your passion. The movie the, Passion Project, really spoke out to me by saying you need to just chase your passion and let nothing get in the way. In the interviews one person said, “passion is something you can wake up in the morning and feel good about what your are doing.”  What I really got from the film was whatever you do find passion in it and take that and run with it. There is no point to be doing a job or anything that you find yourself miserable in. Take that inner passion and make that your life because you will enjoy life way more and look forward to each and every day. Everyone has their own unique passions and that is what makes all of us different, but what separates strong from weak people are the ones who will do anything to achieve what they are passionate and take sacrifices to get there.

Football is the reason why I came to Chabot to pursue my dream of playing at a four-year college. Right now it is the top thing getting me through school and staying on top of all my work, so I can make it out of here. Without football school would definitely be more of a challenge to motivate myself to want to be a college student. “ It is the experiences, the memories, the great triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found. God it’s great to be alive!”(37). Football is that thing that really is the reason for my best memories and great joy of living. If football were not there it would be a struggle to really want to go to school it would be a big deal breaker for me. Its something I love to play and the thing that is keeping me in school and working hard to make my goals a reality. I know it would be a deal breaker because I cannot see myself just being an average student and just going to school. Football is not the only reason why I am still in school. I am in school to get my degree and one day go out and find a job that I will love. The thing is for football it really makes any athlete actually try and want to go to school and make something better out of himself. Being a student athlete is also like a full time job, we have hours of watching game film and practicing not only that but playing games and our bodies taking a beating. Then over everything we are full time students who have to keep a certain GPA to stay eligible to play and for junior college athletes to transfer. It takes a special person to be committed to the game of football. Why it would be a potential deal breaker for me if it went away because of all the memories you make and the bond you form with coaches and teammates and how you will do anything to become the best and win. It is the reason why I am trying so hard in school to maintain good grades and pass my classes, so that I can transfer to some of my dream schools and through football get my degree. This game is more then just a game as of right now it's my life and nothing can take it away. Check out this link of my freshman season highlights to see how much I really love playing this game. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/879320/zach-parrella

People underestimate the time a student-athlete puts into the game of football. During the season we practice everyday, have film studies, and a game at the end of the week and are also full time students. It is hard to really put everything you have into this game. The kids who want to go on and play college football or any other sports do not really understand the true life and commitment to your team and coaches. It is almost like a job when you think about it, but your playing for free and you got to ask yourself is this really something you want to put most of your time into. “Being a student-athlete is a full-time job, it is not easy.”-Jabari Howard. Jabari knows this lifestyle very well because he is a cornerback for UC Davis. Playing sports in college is a true job; it is a lot harder then what people think. “You’ve got to go out and show them that I’m a different creature now, then I was five minutes ago, cause I’m pissed off for greatness. Cause if you ain’t pissed off for greatness, that just means you’re okay with being mediocre.”-Ray Lewis. This quote should be the mindset of football players who truly wants to take their game to the top. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVf4EogGp44  (Check this video out about Ray Lewis speaking about how much passion he has for the game of football.) From a personal standpoint I love it because it’s the game I enjoy the most and it gives me something to do. Another hard thing to adjust to from coming out of high school is that at your school and league your one of the top players everyone was below you. A hard transition in college is the speed of the game and the fact that now your playing against men. Many of the people who are going to try and take your spot or the opposing team will be bigger, faster, and stronger than you and you have to find that inner-self to come out and give them all that you have and give them the beating, rather then receiving it. Some people will just never get that inner passion out of them and they will take the beating and hate it so much and end up quitting. Or when things get hard and they believe they should be the starter and give up rather then fighting to take someone’s position. I believe true passion is being able to show coaches that you are better then the guy starting and giving it all you have to get that spot and when you finally do get the spot you do everything you can do be the best there and fighting off anyone who even thinks they can take your spot. Passion is fighting for something you want or believe in. If football is what you want then you need to do everything in your power to fight for that and take what’s yours and if you do fail and you can look in the mirror with no regrets because deep down in your heart you know you gave everything you have and did whatever it took.

College is a very difficult thing for most people in our generation to stay on top of things and be committed to their work. Many people fall off because of distractions and other important things going on. College is tough and is easy to fall behind in all the work. That is the one of the toughest things for me in school is just making sure I stay on top of all my work and studies. Falling behind is what really makes student’s give up or drop a class and that is something I've been trying not to fall into and stay on top of my stuff. The problem when students start getting behind in their classes most automatically give up on the class and themselves. I personally struggle with this if I start getting behind, I just feel like there is no way to get back on top of it. This is the same for many other students and why many people do dropout and just simply give up. I do not want this to become a reason why college would end for me and stop me from getting my degree. To prevent this at night I put away any distraction and really focus on doing my schoolwork and not falling behind. I started really trying to focus like that by actually having no distractions and it has paid off. In high school I had a GPA of 2.3 and now in college I have maintained a 3.1. I will not let distractions and falling behind take me out of college and attaining my dreams.

            Jeff Bliss from Duncanville High took a stand to his teacher because he was sick of the bullshit job she was doing and not truly trying to give the students the best possible education they could receive. I really like this video because first it is shocking that he actually stood up to his teacher the way he did he was angry, but he made sense because he was not trying to cuss her out or just scream at her. He made valid points of what he hated about the class and what she could actually do better for her students. Most kids will just talk about how much they hate the teacher or class to their friends, but no one will really take a stand like Jeff. “You got to take this job serious, this is the future of this nation… this is my country’s future and my education.” What Jeff said right there is exactly true because us students are the future and we need to be taught correctly to make a difference. I really agree with what he did because I think most students will agree that you want to attend a class where the teacher will actually make an effort to go out and really teach you and make it interesting. Students want teachers to make a class worth wanting to go to and learn in. Teachers should watch this video, so they will not teach a class that would make any of their students feel the need to call them out like that. “If you want a kid to change and start doing better you got to touch his freaking heart.” Jeff took a stand because he wants him and his classmates not to be fed bullshit, but to actually get the most out of their education to help them in life. I respect Jeff because most students would never take a stand for education like he did. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSxElvdd0R4 Check out the link and see how much attention Jeff got after his courageous speech to his teacher.

Education is one of the most important things for anyone who wants to make it in the world. What students learn in the classroom will stick with them for the rest of their life. Education now a days is one of the keys to success and it should be taught in a way students can actually take something out of it. Educations to me should not only be learning the materials we need to know but also how to make it in life and to know what goes on in the real world. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”-Nelson Mandela. Students should be able to critique education because they have the first hand experience for many years of schooling. Education should be something you actually want to learn in new creative ways, not something that a teachers forces down your throat with no passion or enthusiasm. Teachers who just pass out handouts or read from a book will have no impact on a student’s life. The student will get something from a teacher who is truly passionate and loves what they do, it will make the student love to learn from that teacher and get something out of the class. From a personal experience my last and now current English teachers in college are truly passionate about what they do and bring that passion into the classroom. It actually makes me look forward to going to class and learning from them. Not only did they teach us the subject, but also help us out for life ahead. Us students want a type of education that we can actually benefit down the road.

Today's youth play a very important role for our society because they are the future of our nation.  Many communities suffer from a lack of support system to help these kids through growing up. With a lack of support the youth can easily become lost in this world. Without the support of teachers, parents, and others to our youth how can we expect them to know what is right and wrong. “Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.”-Aristotle. Jeff Duncan gave an excellent speech on how he has a support team who help the youth in his community in Eastern Oakland. One great thing I took from Duncan was how he said all teachers’ talk about are test scores and assignments when they should be mentoring their students not only in studies, but life. Jeff referred to the kids as the rose that grows from the concrete from Tupac. “Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature's laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. Funny, it seems to by keeping its dreams; it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared.”-Tupac. I loved how he referred to that because a rose growing in the concrete is impossible, but that is how people look at the kids that he mentors that they would grow to be nothing. Duncan explains through his support system he has many teens that no one thought would go to college now in four-year universities and colleges. Through the violence in Oakland there was a study proven that youth growing up in that community have been developing CPSTD which is also common with our troops coming back from Afghanistan. There is no wonder why the youth have trouble staying focused in school when friends, family, and neighbors are being murdered left and right. It is also very difficult to focus in school because you can have fear that you could be the one who dies. I love that Jeff has a great support system to help guide the kids to college throughout out all the struggles of their community. Without a support system to keep the kids out of all the mess the communities will just get worse and worse. This is why our nation needs more people like Jeff to take a stand and help our youth. Watching this speech made me also link it to that Jeff has a burning passion for our youth and to guide them out of the hood and to success.

In conclusion life can take us many different routes some are planned while some can be unexpected. The goals everyone has of receiving education and being the most successful are phenomenal achievements. The most important is living a life you can be passionate about. My passion and goals are keeping me trying to be the best, but also giving me a happy life.