Vincent English Blog

Response: The best example of forgiveness and reconciliation I can give is with myself. There was a time when I felt that life would never get better, and that for some reason, I was destined or cursed to live a terrible life and die young. This mentality changed the way that I saw myself and interacted with other people. I would be so hard on myself at this time because of all these "failures" I had in life. Luckily, I learned to forgive myself and accept who I am as a person. If you looked at Vincent from 2 years ago, you could tell that I was being so hard on myself all the time. I feel like looking at myself now, and knowing how good a relationship I have with myself now, you can tell that I have been able to mend my relationship with my mind and body.  Summary: Today, we finished The Color Purple and started working on our final presentation project. Reflection: Forgiving other people is a great way to fix, create, or restart a new relationship with someone. However, for...

Response: A song that brings back a specific memory would have to be One by Metallica. This song has been with me throughout all of my life, and every time I hear it, I see a bunch of different memories and time periods of when I listened to it. The earliest memory I have of this song is from playing Guitar Hero III, which was the last song in the game that I could never beat when I was younger. I remember just hovering over the song in the select menu to hear the specific part they chose in the song, which was right before the final chorus. Every time I hear that part, it reminds me of all the visuals, characters, and stage designs of Guitar Hero III. I picked back up the game around mid-2022, and it took a year of trying to train back up my skill to finally beat that song. The solo for that song also reminds me of all the times that I died at that part in the game, which, surprisingly, is a lot easier to play on a real guitar than Guitar Hero. Summary: Today, we read The Color Purple...

Response: The best gift that I have ever received was for my 18th birthday this year. My girlfriend had only known me for about 2 months at this point, but her gifts were both perfect and thoughtful towards me. She gave me a Mecha Darth Vader LEGO set, a personalized CD and decorated case that she made of all our favorite songs, and the most exciting gift of them all was an originally made, 1998 CD, of my favorite album of all time, ...And Justice for All by Metallica. I had barely even mentioned to her what my favorite bands or albums were, but she was completely spot on! I was so happy that on the drive back home, I listened to the album the whole way. Summary: Today, we read The Color Purple. Reflection: Gifts are a great way to show someone how much we care about them, but it can also be stressful finding the right gift too.

Response: A recent phone call made me realize that he will always be the same, no matter how much time passes. For the longest time, it felt like I was just interacting and talking with him out of pity, or so he wouldn't get mad that I wasn't talking to him. It had felt like I was finally getting him on the right path in life by having our relationship grow and heal, but it's clear to me now that he will still be the same man I've always known. The message of this whole story is more important than the details, but we had gotten into an argument about when my sister and I were going over to see him, and it was clear that he was having trouble understanding that we couldn't see him for a while because of all our events here (he lives an hour away in Dallas, GA). During our argument, all I could hear was the same voice he would use with my mom whenever they would have petty arguments like this, and it was just so disappointing to realize that this man is never going t...

Response:  Dear God,  I cannot believe I have to make an entry like this, but Mister _____ has been keeping my own sister's letters a secret from me all my life. I have been missing her and wondering where she could've gone ever since she left our house, just to find out Mister knew this whole time. I now see Mister for what he truly is, a man who is desperate for some control in his life. He thought he could control me by keeping these letters from me, by beating me all the time, by trying to belittle me into the wife he wanted to be, but I say no more. Finding these letters has completely changed how I feel about this man, and now I will have to restrain myself from killing him. Please, God, give me strength. Summary: Today, we read letters from The Color Purple Reflection: Finding out something about someone, like how Celie did with Mister _____, can really change how we see a person in our lives. Some people would choose forgiveness, silence, but I would choose revenge.

Response: As I grew older, or more accurately, once my parents split up, I started to see the big flaws that my "perfect" parents had in their lives. This change was especially noticeable in my dad, as I could finally start to see inside the little cracks that had been appearing in his personality over the years. This big, strong man in my life was really just an insecure and weak boy who had been pretending to be strong all this time. I admired him for trying to be strong at first, but then it quickly turned into motivation for me to become a better man than he ever was. My relationship with him has totally shifted from respect and admiration to hatred and pity. Summary: Today, we read letters from The Color Purple Reflection: It can be strange seeing people in our lives' flaws and weaknesses. It can either bring you two closer together or farther apart.

Response: The most memorable moment that I had over the break was on Thanksgiving morning, when I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with my mom, sister, and girlfriend. We had all just watched the new season of Stranger Things the previous night, and we all woke up in the morning to watch the parade. This has been a tradition in our family since my mom was a kid, so it was really special to have my girlfriend there watching with us. I've always dreamed of having a family one day, so it was nice to have a little look into what my future might look like if I do end up starting one with this girl. Summary: Today, we read letters in The Color Purple. Reflection: Thanksgiving break is such a nice way to relax from the school year, but once it's over, it can be hard to start up the routine again. At least we have memories of how great it was, though!