Church Just Isn't For Me

     I do not attend church. This is because I am an atheist. This means that I do not believe in any deity or religion. This may seem simple, but it took me a long time to figure out that I feel this way. I am actually a confirmed Congregationalist, and I was confirmed in the Spring of 2009. I discovered that I was atheist after a discussion I had with another atheist friend of mine.  In this discussion I had with a friend of mine, we talked alot about pure philosophy for hours on end. 
     During this talk, we talked about the philosophies of various religions, and their spiritual leaders and deities. This topic brought to light many questions I had about certain aspects of Christianity. At the end, I decided to ask him why he was an atheist. He told me that his main reason for basically disowning faith was because he felt that heaven, reincarnation, and nirvana were all purely incentives or rewards for being good in this life. I then realized, why should I have to be rewarded for being a good person? My reward comes in feeling good about myself. Ever since, I have not been to church. 

Ten Things that are Bro (i.e. i am thankful for them)

I, Paul Hargrove, am thankful for the following ten things:
1. My family. These are the people that I love the most, and they mean the world to me.
2. My friends. My friends have been the kindest people in the world to me, and I would not be the person that I am today without them. 
3. My health. I am a healthy teenager, and I am glad that I can experience life to the fullest as a healthy human being.
4. The band. Through the good times and the bad, the band, and especially the drumline has always been there for me, and I love them all so very much. 
5. Nourishment. I am thankful that my father can provide me with food that nourishes my body to help me stay healthy.
6. Safety. Although we may live across the river from a very dangerous city, I am glad that I live in El Paso, in a safe neighborhood, that I can safely say comforts me to know that I can go to sleep at night knowing that I will be safe all night.
7. Education. I am glad and thankful for the ample choices of education that are provided for me, they will help me become a productive member of society.
8. Music. Ever since i was little, i have loved music. It has been such a big part of my life, and I am just glad that there are other musicians out there that feel the same way that I do.
9. Weather. I know this sounds strange, but one of my favorite things in the whole world is being caught in the middle of a huge thunderstorm, it just makes me so happy.
10. I am thankful for my bros, which indeed fit in a separate category then my friends, as they are such a huge part of my life, and I love them all!

Veterans are Bro

     Veteran's Day. A day meant to honor those who are currently serving or have served in the past as members of the American Armed Forces. Some people say their heroes are Superman, Batman, or other iconic superheroes of some kind. Me? My hero is the aggregate group of veterans in this country . Think about it, if we had no veterans, there probably wouldn't even be a United States of America! Because if there were no veterans of the Revolutionary War, there wouldn't have been a war in the first place, and all of the states we know today would be colonies in the British Empire!
     This all started on September 11, 2001. I know this sounds cliche, but I don't think I could truly appreciate our vets until that fateful day when my entire elementary school had to have recess inside. I know that sounds kind of strange, but that day was definitely the day that I realized what our men and women in uniform do for us.  That day, and several days following, I came to realize that although they may have been fighting for a cause that was discovered to be false, the Armed Forces do protect our liberty.

My Life Is Bro....iin GA,KS, and TX

     I was born in Georgia on November 16, 1994. In Griffin Georgia, to be exact. I lived there for the first two and a half years of my life or so, until 1997. Then, i moved to Manhattan, KS. We moved because both of my parents were on the faculty at Kansas State University. Then, as my mom finished her PhD in human nutrition from Kansas State, she was recruited as a faculty member for the University of Texas at El Paso in the College of Health Science. Today, i still live in El Paso, and I plan to graduate from Coronado in 2013.
     As to where I plan to go after graduation, I am sure as heck not staying in El Paso. The scenery, food, and people that live here are wonderful, but i have no apparent vested interest in a future career in El Paso. As for higher education, I hope to attend Kansas State University as an undergraduate in either Music Education or Software Engineering. After undergrad, who knows?

OCCUPY THIS, MONOPOLIZED BANKS!

     The Occupy Wall Street protestors have some very valid points within their protests. However, I feel that it is not too reasonable to camp out on a street for weeks. This will in the end just create more chaos. It is completely unproductive to the cause of the Occupy protestors to live on the street. Security guards, SWAT team, and the police have been physically attacking protestors in an attempt to repress the protests.
     As for protests in El Paso, I am unaware of any form of violence associated with these protests. Also, i am unaware of anyone camping out or anything of the like, similar to that within the Wall Street protests. Although i may not agree with the Wall Street protests or the protestors means to attempt to receive their demands, but I do think that their complaints are genuine, and need to be addressed.

If I were rich? Well, let me tell you......

     Well, if only I were rich. If I had a million dollars, there are probably several things that I would do. First of all, I would set aside a portion of it to save in the bank, perhaps around 750,00. Then, I would take about 100,000 and put it into an investment firm. This would generate the maximum profit on my part. Should either my bank or investment firm fail me, I would have a backup method of restoring my original funds.
     Next, would be the remaining 200,000. These remaining funds would go towards paying off any debts that my family have such as a house loan, car loan, etc. Then I would put at least 100,000 towards an education fund for my children, as I intend to have children. Should there be any money remaining, it would be definitely given away to a non-profit organization, such as the Susan G. Kohmen Foundation.

He discovered America........not.

Well, most of us learned in elementary school that "In 1492,Columbus sailed the ocean blue." this may be true, but Columbus did not discover the country we love and live in today. Many thousands of years before Columbus made this famous voyage, there were many different tribes of Native Americans living such territories as present day Kansas, Florida, and even our own Texas! Also, did you know that Vikings from the Scandanavian area of the world such as Norway and Sweden?
Also, Christopher Columbus was not Spanish, but Italian! The only reason Columbus sailed under the Spanish flag was because the Spanish royalty were thenonly royalties that would finance hit voyage, which many other nations believed was tomfoolery because at that time, everybody believed the world was flat. In addition to what everyone perceives as this great thic he did, Columbus also committed mas genocide of many of the npNative Americans that lived in this new world. Well, know that you know a little more about him, your opinion might change.