Video Response #2

Personal Dictionary

"Fun Home" Book Review

          It’s been a while since I read a whole book, but I’m glad I followed through and completed “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel. Although it’s more of a comic book than it is a regular novel, I believe this was a great stepping stone for me to start appreciating reading more. The visuals were all drawn well which helped readers flow through the book faster without needing to picture anything themselves. The author has laid out the entire book so that you could visualize the story the way she wants you to, but also in the order that she experienced it herself.

          Besides the writing and visuals, I really admired how Alison laid out her chapters perfectly to progress the story in a smooth fashion. She goes from talking about an obsessed father, who renovates the house too much, to an annoying father figure that passed away from a truck accident. After Alison came out of the closet herself, we find out that her father was also homosexual. From then on, we piece the story together chapter by chapter and many questions start to sprout throughout our minds. Questions such as, how much did Alison really enjoy growing up with her family? Or the ultimate question, did her father really die from an accident or was it suicide?

          In my opinion, I believe Alison’s father really committed suicide. Maybe I missed something while reading or maybe it was Alison that really wanted us to believe that it was suicide. Her depressing tone throughout the whole book made me wonder how annoyed she was at her father as if she tried to find reason to believe that the “accident” wasn’t really an accident. She even gave light to all the clues and hints that could lead to the suicide. Like the books and newspaper revolving around death that was left around the house. Or the snake that she remembered from her past that linked with her father’s phobia of them; which was supposed to be the reason why the truck driver thought Alison’s father may have leaped back into the streets to his death. And the trigger of it all could have been the divorce that was supposed to be filed. With a broken and complicated family like hers, it makes you believe that anything could happen.

          After finishing the last chapter of “Fun Home,” it really made me appreciate my family even more than I already do. The complications of growing up working in a funeral home, being gender confused, finding out your father was gay, and then finding out he’s passed away makes a great story full of surprises. The only depressing thing is that this book was based on someone’s actual life. In conclusion, “Fun Home” has motivated me pick up another book, but it also made me appreciate Alison Bechdel as an author.

Power of Influence

Power of Influence

It's true that everyone is made up of the different people and experiences they've encountered throughout their lifetime.  There's no such thing as a completely original person or idea.  For me, one of the biggest influences of my life was my girlfriend Vivian.  Without her, I would not be the person that I am today.  She's consistently given me positive feedback and motivation that's helped me in pursuing my career goals and furthering my progress in life.

Without the existence of music, the world would be a dull and quiet place.  Music is an expression of humanity's creativity, a medium more relatable and understandable than art.  Personally, I've experienced music as a tool to bring diverse groups of people together and create friendships.  In fact, I met Vivian at a concert in Hollywood through our shared love of electronic music.  Although we lived in different areas in California and came from dissimilar backgrounds, we have coincidentally gone to the same electronic dance music (EDM) events many times before finally meeting in February 2012.  After asking Vivian which musician she would tour with if she had the opportunity, I wasn't surprised when she replied that she would "probably tour with an electronic artist just because it would be more fun and I could go to their concerts."  Till this day, we still go to clubs and concerts, more frequently than before, to see music artists that we are either both interested in or hope the other will enjoy.  Throughout my day, I need EDM to fuel me from dawn to dusk for studying and working out.  Vivian explained that she would "pick indie music, just because I feel like if I had to listen to music 24/7 then I would like it to be really relaxing."  With constant music swapping through Google chat and by borrowing each other's iPods during our commutes, we have challenged each other to broaden our horizons.  I've gone from listening to EDM to Indie and from Rock to R&B music, thanks to her diverse taste in music.  With every new recommendation from friends, we have grown more critical about the quality of music we listen to, after having adapted to each other's interests.  For someone who doesn't like change, I'm glad to have opened up to new ideas.

I was never one to make big decisions without some sort of guidance from friends and family.  I was content with the path my family laid out for me to become an Engineer, but it wasn't until halfway through college that I changed majors.  While it's common these days to be confused by the array of vocational opportunities available, and the fine line between working for your passions versus security, Vivian made me feel better about my indecisiveness.  "No way," Vivian related, "I wanted to be a Pediatrician, but I really didn't decide on finance until senior year of high school because it offers a lot more opportunities."  When I was younger, I was naive in thinking that my career should be strictly about personal interests.  While it's important to enjoy work, a truly successful career should be about combining interest with money making potential.  After meeting her, I decided to go transfer to another college that could help me reach my goal of becoming a Radiology Technologist faster.  The important thing too, is to never stop being creative while in a full-time job.  She said, "I'm already considering changing jobs, but I'm also planning to open up my own business by summer."  After a couple months of brainstorming, I'm convinced to make a big step in my life and invest in this business idea with her.  With all my free days off of school, I can help run this business while she continues her full-time job on weekdays.  While education would come first, it's important to try out new side projects; even if the business was met with failure, I would learn invaluable life lessons about entrepreneurship and being independent.

Growing up, my parents harass me countless times to finish school as soon as possible, but I was always at a lost in the direction I needed to decide on a career.  While I'm still in school, Vivian has graduated from USC with a degree in finance, she's been very supportive of me whenever it comes to my schoolwork.  She doesn't pester me needlessly, but I'm always ready to fully motivate myself to work hard and try my absolute best to be that person that I feel would be good enough for her.  I asked her how well she did in college and she said, "Not great, 3.2, but my GPA was a lot higher before I got my job offer senior year."  Whenever I need help on homework or studying, she always has the time to lend a helping hand.  With her efficiency in problem solving, she can review my textbook quickly and assist me immediately. 

Before I met Vivian, I only flew on an airplane about five separate times in my life. She "didn't go out of California much, but [she] flew to Taiwan once a year."  Within the past year, we've traveled non-stop to Chicago, New York, Hawaii, Las Vegas and a few other states either for work or for pleasure.  For someone like me who grew up in a small town in Arizona, I'm finally getting the chance to explore big cities and experience a different lifestyle; however, if I could live anywhere in the world, I would stay right here in California. "I would want to live near family and friends," she explained, agreeing with me.  I've adapted to the lifestyle here and can't wait to see what else California has in store for me.  Although I miss my friends in Arizona, I've met so many people who have positively influenced my life and experienced life in both major west coast cities.

          Vivian has changed my life in many ways.  I've opened up to a variety of ideas, broadened my music taste, traveled the world, figured out my goal in school, and learned to pursue my passions.  With everyday passing by, I feel like I've grown to become a better and happier person.

Video Response #1