The Government and Daycare

            Many working parents often find themselves in the awkward position of looking for places for their kids to go while they work; daycares fulfill this need. However, the part that is tougher than finding a daycare is managing to pay for it. Daycares are, in most cases, pretty expensive and the average working American receives low wages and thus has trouble keeping his or her child in such a program. Some parents turn to cheap babysitters that live in their neighborhood or even family members as an alternative. This does not always work out though because of conflicting schedules and such so daycares are the most convenient choice as far as schedule. Thus the question of free daycare arises. Some people feel that the government should provide free daycare for working parents so that they do not have to worry about the aforementioned predicament. In my opinion, this can go either way. I feel that providing free daycare for the people that need it could be very helpful to those involved if the government paid daycare centers accordingly. Perhaps it could be included in welfare support or something of the like. Working parents could work and provide for their families best they can without having to fret over where their children will be all day. However, as I said, this could go either way. Providing free daycare could lead to a massive drop in profits if the government did not pay daycare centers and simply reserved spots for certain children. If it did provide the money needed then it could also lead to a larger debt that the government has to pay for it is already knee deep in it. Some parents may even abuse the free daycare service and just leave their kids in daycare as much as possible to keep them away. People are all different so providing a free daycare service can lead to many varying results. It is what you make of it.

The One Thing I Value

            I do not hold many things dear, palpable things anyway. These things I care for are mostly values and personal guidelines and rules. Despite that though, I still have a few things I love; my laptop for example. It almost seems silly to me, valuing something like that. However, I feel it seems justified, for the most part. I love my laptop because it has brought me much closer to that which I want to do in life. I use my laptop for all of my creative needs. Before I got my hands on it, I’d felt stifled because I did not have any way to express my naturally creative mind. Now I can with ease. I have graphics design programs, music-mixing programs, and of course Microsoft Word so I can write. I even made the background for this blog! I love to express myself through art, music, and writing because I do not often do it through my own words. I mask myself with humor but most everybody does so it is not news or anything. Everyone has a veil of some sort behind which they hide, just not all of them have outlets for what lies within them. I do not always use these things to express myself, though. I also create for fun because it is what I love. I hope only to improve so that I may continue on a progressive path, doing what makes me happy.

A full collection of my art can be found here: http://roflpizza.deviantart.com/gallery/

This is an original piece I did; don't let the looks fool you, that is an eye, not a crater.

This is fan art I did. Skrillex is a musical artist I like.

ROFLPIZZA is my online alias, I put this on my art and music.

My Summer Essay

            This summer was not unlike all the rest. It was uneventful and drab at best. Days of sleeping in past noon, no appointments, schedules, or deadlines to meet. Not a care in the world. However, I did pick up something that made those empty three months worthwhile. Something I’d always wanted to do and have slowly worked my way up to. From the most basic to the big leagues, I now find myself where I’d wanted to five years ago. This was something that I never thought possible. A dream, of course, is to what I am referring. I don’t have much faith in dreams or ambitions; a glass half-empty way of thinking. I have a philosophy on this, a philosophy by which I live. Though, it serves as more of a guideline than it does a rule; or a reminder, rather. I feel that having low expectations allows more room for failure. Striving for goals or anything really will always lead to some sort of failure for we are only human. Despite its seemingly negative nature, this philosophy does in fact work both ways. Having lower expectations also brings about even more excitement when something does go correctly. That’s what happened this summer. My low expectations brought about by the many less than joyous summers before it made this one good thing seem life-changing. In a way, it very well could be.

            By an amazing stroke of luck, a certain computer program fell into my possession these past few months. It is the Source Filmmaker (SFM). The SFM was given to a select group of people in a ‘first come, first serve’ fashion for its closed beta. It is a 3D animating program that is used by Valve, a gaming corporation. This is more than just a program though; it is an extremely powerful tool. The SFM turns your PC-based video games into a playground, you become a puppet-master and the games your puppets. You may do as you choose for anything imaginable and beyond that is possible with the SFM. However, this power comes at a price: work. Properly using the SFM is no small feat and requires extensive knowledge to do so. I, personally, have invested around ten hours of reading and watching tutorials in an attempt to learn how to wield this tool and its power. I have a good grasp on the basics and have the ability to work the intermediate controls. Scratching the surface is all I’ve done, though. There is so much more that can be achieved with the SFM that I am unable to comprehend at this point in time. If I were to someday fully understand the SFM then I could possibly pursue my dream career, animation and model design for virtual worlds. Not only video games but movies and TV shows alike. Working in this field for Valve would be a great achievement for it would allow me to do what I love for my favorite gaming corporation. Just stumbling upon the gateway to my future has made this summer worth having so that is why I chose the SFM for my essay. I hope I can write more about my experiences with it in the future and share with you all the joy it brings me for the SFM is part of who I want to be, in spite of my philosophy.

My Name Poem

My name.

Not just a word,

A label,

Or a tag.

My name is my personality,

My likeness,

My being.

My name is me.

I am my name,

Josh.

A joke, as some would say, a buffoon.

I’m in agreement.

However, others may say Jesus.

Or savior.

Do not call me Josh because it is my name,

Call me Josh because it is who I am.

‘J’ is for jest.

For I am the best at it.

‘O’ is for obscurity.

Misunderstood in a good way.

‘S’ is for sultry.

A natural Casanova, as one would say.

‘H’ is for haphazard.

Floating through life, making it up as I go along.

“I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

The one from whom my name comes,

I live as he did for I am imbued with his legacy.

Faithful and dependable.

My companions are all aware that I will be at their side,

Always.

I have touched many lives

And many have touched me.

I mold myself around others

And my experiences with them.

Like a moth to light,

I am attracted to new experiences

And new friends.

Give and I shall return.

For I am Josh.

DeviantArt

   I've decided to set up a DeviantArt account and show off my artistic abilities. If you want, here it is: http://roflpizza.deviantart.com/

My Number One Rule

   To me, it's most important to stay away from drug and alcohol use because it can affect you physically, mentally, emotionally, and even socially. Substance abuse can have long-term effects on the way you feel and act as well as drive away those that are close to you. My family has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and has nearly torn us all apart. I currently have family in the hospital because of their addiction to heroine. They've been having graphic hallucinations and are being treated appropriately. This is just one example of the effects of drug use. In my opinion, if you need drugs or alcohol to have fun then you are boring as a person.