Writing Project #3 - Soundtrack Of My Life

Vanilla Ice - Go Ninja


Looking back on this strange and humerous music video by Vanilla Ice, people are dancing to the theme song from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There are several dancers all dancing in sequence on stage in front an audience at a concert. All four ninja turtles, Michaelangelo, Leonardo, Donatella, and Rafael are all on stage dancing with Vanilla Ice. Human-like turtles, these characters are based off the comic books and movie series. Named after the famous painters from the Renissance ara, these ninja turtles are crime-fighting heros. As a child, countless hours were spent playing with this ninja turtle action figures. With my friends, a whole day may be spent just dreaming up different scenarios with these toys. Our imaginations would run wild and create complex situations between the common fate of good versus evil. There would be epic battles between the teenage mutant ninja turtles and their feared enemies such as Shredder and the Foot Soldiers. We would put the ninja turtles through training, learning new fighting styles and strategies from thier wise mentor, Splinter. Cheap and very durable, these toys were everything that a young boy with a big imagination needed. The action figures created many friendships and memories. Even though that stage of action figures is over in my life, they will always have a significant value from my childhood.

Rodney Atkins - Watching You


In this music video, Rodney Atkins is driving around with his son in their pick-up truck. He is telling several stories about his son and all the similarities they share. His son is paying close attention and being very observant of his father and trying to copy his actions as close as possible. He seems to do everything like his dad, everything from dressing alike to talking just like him. Much like the young child in the video, a great amount of my knowledge and behavior has been influenced by my father. Even though I was not able to spend much time with my father because of a divorce, our relationship still remained strong. Through my younger days and transitioning of becoming a young adult, having a supportive father was very helpful. He was always loving and always there for me no matter what. The lyrics in this song state "I've been watching you, I wanna be just like you." Everyone has a some sort of a role model in their lives or someone they look up to, and my father is defintely one of mine. He has been a very important figure in my life and its encouraged me to be the same type of father to my children someday.

Tupac Shakur - Dear Mama


In this music video, Tupac Shakur's mother is giving a short interview about giving birth to her son. Throughout the video, there are scenes of Tupac with his mother and clips of young children causing trouble with the law. In the song, Tupac's lyrics explain that him and his mother did not get along all the time but yet he loves her more than anything. Even though my mother has caused me a lot of stress and frustration over the years as a parent, there are still feelings of love between us. Even though we would fight constantly, she was always trying to be the best parent possible. Being a single mother with two children is a tough situation for anyone regardless of financial income. As Tupac stated in his song "There's no way I can pay you back, but my plan is to show you that I understand." Raising me and mothering me for 18 years is something that can never be paid back. My mother has shaped me as a person, for her strong character has reflected onto me. Her work ethic and caring feelings as a parent was something that could not go unnoticed. She has been a very influential figure in my life even through all the struggles and hard times.

Brad Paisley - I'm Gonna Miss Her


This music video opens with scenes of Sportscenter on ESPN. The sports anchor is discussing the annual "Brad Paisley fishing invitational" and there a clips of Brad Pasiley with his wife. She becomes very frustrated and upset with him because he made the decision to go a fishing trip rather than spend the day with her. Watching this video reminds me of a all the time that I have spent throughout my life fishing. The sport of fishing is definetely one of the most relaxing activities anyone can experience. Fishing trips to the lake with my Dad and Grandpa were very common as we had a different objective each time. There would be days we would try for bass and other days we would try to catch trout. Not very many people know about ice fishing but it is very enjoyable. Although the weather is cold, ice fishing really allowed me to appreciate the beauty of nature. Time seems to stand still whenever our family goes fishing. Our fishing trips give us something that is far more important than catching the fish, a strong family relationship that will last a lifetime.

Dierks Bentley - Free and Easy


Dierks Bentley has several clips from his various live concerts in the music video. He is on a music tour and traveling from tour to tour. There are images of Dierks Bentley driving in a car showing open fields of grass with cattle. Furthermore, there are very large audiences at his concerts with thousands of screaming fans. For anyone who has grown up in the small town of North Platte, Nebraska, they can definetely relate to this music video. Every summer, North Platte has an annual Nebraskaland Days country festival. The week-long festival consists of a rodeo, carnival and is always capped off with two country music concerts. Attending the concerts every year with friends has created memories that will never be forgotten. The adrenaline rush at the concerts is undescribable for there are thousands of fans bein crazy and completely out of control. Even though country music is disliked by many people, a country concert should be experienced at least once by everyone. Almost everyone from North Platte is always in attendence at the festival days which has led to a strong community connection. Everyone has something in common through Nebraskland Days, creating a form of unity throughout the town.

Kenny Chesney - I Go Back

-

This music video opens up with Kenny Chesney standing in a high school gymnasium and reminiscing on past memories. There are flashing images of a high school football player standing on a field through his memories. His mind seems to be swirling and filled with numerous high school memories. After graduating from high school within the last year, it is very easy to remember those memories. When looking back on high school, the most memories come from playing football. The sport has always been a huge passion in my life and will always continue to be a strong interest in my life. A great amount of time was spent in high school playing or training for football. There were not always happy memories from football though for its clear in my mind the memories of morning conditioning and the hard work in the weight room. A lot of tears came from playing football, for coming up short in the playoffs with a loss seemed as if there was nothing left in my life anymore. More importantly, playing high school football taught me lessons that will be valued for the rest of my life as an adult. Football proved to me that nothing comes easy and everything requires very hard work. It showed me that nothing should be taken for granted.

Jim Jones - Summer With Miami


A clear blue ocean and towering sky scrapers introuduce this music video, "Summer With Miami" by Jim Jones. In the video, Jim Jones is living a dream life in the beautiful city of Miami, Florida. He's driving in very expensive cars and eating food with attractive women. The sun is shining bright throughout the video in a cloudless baby blue sky. Everytime this video is shown, memories of a summer I once spent in Miami re-appear in my mind. Spending a week there on a mission trip, many life changing experiences impacted me. We had the priviledge and opportunity to help re-build a damaged church. Additionally, we even had the awesome opportunity of putting on a sports clinic for the refugee children that lived in the neighborhood. Miami was a gorgeous city with palm trees and sandy beaches, but part of Miami that we were in was the true Miami. It was a troubled neighborhood with many homeless people in the ghetto. The impact that we left on the children and the people in the neighborhood hopefully made a difference on them, but they defintely infleucned myself. The joy in the kids faces was amazing when we simply asked if they wanted to play a small game of soccer. Experiencing a troubled area of Miami showed that happiness can come to anyone without money.