A Nerdy, Autistic, Catholic, Civil Engineer in Training
Hello, again!
I don’t like long posts more than anyone else, so here’s the rest of the weekend. I’m sorry if I made you wait. If you are wondering what’s on my graduation cap or what happened on Friday, click this link. https://badsay34.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/graduation-weekend-part-1/
Continue reading “Graduation Weekend, Part 2”
Hello World!
It was one of the amazing feelings I have ever felt. I was so happy, yet so nervous. It was the satisfying culmination of all the accomplishments I made. I was grateful to God for every moment, everything leading up to it and everything after it. All the people I met, old and new. We celebrated all that we’ve learned. I hope for the best for the future. ‘
The future of that moment is where I am now. I was describing my graduation from the University of Texas in Austin just over 3 weeks ago. I want to tell some of the stories of the weekend and how that compares to now. Why I am writing this a little later is not a result of busyness, but rather recalling all that happened will help me deal with the mellow transition time that I’m in now and make it worth while just like my graduation. I have separated the weekend into two posts, this is the first one. The second one can be found by clicking this sentence when it’s finished. If there’s no link, I should be working on it.
Hello World!
I just wanna go home.
No, let me explain. The phrase “Go Big or Go Home” is meant for you to pursue your dreams and became famous and well-known in your field or go home depressed. I think that following your dreams is not wrong, but I think we all need to take a new perspective on this phrase. Going home shouldn’t be the end of the journey, a fall from grace. Going home is part of the journey, a fall back to grace.
Dear World,
This blog lacks a lot of depth on the Civil Engineering aspects. I admit, I have not done much in school besides learning properties and methods that will help me engineer solutions to civilization’s problems and build new and unique things. It’s nothing. Okay, that’s a lot. Honestly, it’s a bit different from my Catholic mindset, where I talk about my faith. It’s the day-to-day behind the scenes work that doesn’t get the spotlight. It’s a whole different world. One of the things I believe is whatever I do has a purpose and should be congruent with my beliefs. I believe that in helping to design and build new things provides a service to the community. So today, I wanted to delve into an experience that helped me better understand construction and how a construction site operates.
Hello World,
I think we all need some quiet vacation. Especially since I worked, took summer classes, and did Ignite Texas this summer. So I need to relax a little. M
y family decided to stay a couple days in my cousin Ron’s (I think 2nd or once removed, something like that, he’s my Dad’s cousin) and his wife Ellen’s Beach house in Port Aransas. It was super nice. and just a short walk to the beach. On the first day, we just walked around town and settled in. We had dinner at Seafood and Spaghetti Works, and went down the beach for some quiet time.
On Tuesday, we went to the UT Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. We walked around on the outdoor and indoor exhibit. I even caught a video of a brown pelican landing. I cannot show it here due to media restrictions, but it was pretty cool. It was a really interesting place and I would recommend going whenever you are in the area. 
Also UT did not ask me to advertise their place. I’m not that well known anyway. We went the Texas State Aquarium and watched the dolphins. I did not mind much of dolphins in tanks, especially if they are both born in zoos. We went to Taqueria San Juan, the best Mexican place in Port Aransas. I had the Texas plate, which was good. I liked it, even considering the fact there is only two or three Mexican places there. We also celebrated my sister’s birthday in the evening. It was a good day.
The last day we headed home, but not before stopping in Rockport. At Goose Island State Park, we stopped by and saw a baby blue heron. It is not a newborn but it looks rather young and maybe a “teenager.” I am 
laughing as I write this, because it was so cute. The wind there was unbearable as we tried to picnic-lunch there without losing our food. I enjoyed my break but my older brother could not wait to get home.
Now I am back in Austin for school. I am waiting for classes to start and my roommate to move into the dorm. I hope it all goes well. Especially since I am stressed due to school starting. It’s good to relax a little before the stresses of life take over.
Hello World!
I am here to talk to you about the fun time I have had at Ignite Texas as a counselor, what I have learned, and the friendships I made. Ignite Texas is a summer camp for incoming UT freshman and transfer students that helps them develop in their faith and be connected within the Body of Christ at UT. The camp has done great things for me as a camper, but even better things as a counselor.
I went to Ignite as a camper last year. The camp was huge, overcrowded, but perfect. The friendships I made there I still connect with every once in a while. My small group leader was unique. He had a personality all his own, but he knew he was God’s. His connection to God was nice and he helped me ground my faith and explain a part of me I still am trying to figure out. The other campers had great stories, and I wanted to be them, to see and look towards God in everything. Honestly, when I look back, I didn’t know where I’d be right now. I had it all planned out then it changed.
To be honest, I didn’t want to go to Ignite as a staffer. I was nervous in a leadership position that I thought I wasn’t ready for. I was unsure. The crazy thing was that God was working though people in my life, leading me to the camp, and I became a natural at loving, leading, and understanding my faith. I connected and made friends with my fellow staff in my camp, Camp Zenon. (
named after the DCOM) I feel these friends are the ones I want to keep. I will want to keep up with them because they are beautiful people connected to a more beautiful God. They express His love through their words and actions. As I became friends with them I realized I could and have done the same love to many of my friends. I realized my part in God’s story, not just my own. I hold people together; I care genuinely for others. I cannot say that without acknowledging my Creator and Father as the source.
Now, to the work at camp. It was this past week ,at Session 1 of camp. I connected with the lessons taught by the speaker, Adam Tarnow. I worked with another counselor and we co-lead a small group. He let me speak when needed and vice versa. 
We tried to let the campers in our small group see God as a Father, and not describe themselves by our relationships, sin,performance, or as just themselves alone, but that they are His. They are part of the Body of Christ. I hope to continue to make in impact in their life, and 
be friends, like how I am with my old small group leader, my fellow staff members. I hope they grow and learn just I have and will continue to do. I get to see new members of the body of Christ, answered prayers and beautiful works like I did last year, but in a stronger and deeper way, where it is about the heart not just the mind.
Now that both sessions are done, I pray that Session 2 went well. Head to http://www.ignitetexas.org and follow Ignite Texas on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Al the glory goes to Christ Jesus.
“Now to him who is able1 to do immeasurably more than all we ask2 or imagine, according to his power3 that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.1 “
Ephesians 3:20-21
Hello World!
Short blog. There are a lot of topics that I could blog about, but my current ideas feel a bit forced, as I tend to see things in a way that what they actually are or at least appear to be is not what I’m saying. That makes me a skeptic, something I don’t what not to be, at least this early in the blog game. So one request for readers, comment any topics you want me to talk about using “TR: (topic request)”. I will be doing Q & A ‘s soon, but it would be for at least a month. For questions “Q: Question” You can also do this on my twitter @Badsay34, and facebook ,https://www.facebook.com/pages/ABCs-of-My-Life/143738565688001?ref=hl.
Sometimes I forget this is a blog about my life. So I’m going to share with you some of my Franklin Barbecue I got this weekend, instantly. 6 hours for me, 0 hours for you. Oh wait… it is all gone. And the internet doesn’t work that way… Oh well, pictures are the next best thing.
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Yes I have some friends, and they saw that my hopes and dreams were satisfied with the BBQ. Too good to be true, y’all.
Shameless plug!
In a couple weeks, expect a post about Ignite Texas, a camp I truly love. Until then, I will just leave this here, for freshman and transfers going to University of Texas at Austin this year. Check it out! I will be at Session One as a counselor, but Session Two needs more campers. Ignite link. It is cheaper and longer than Camp Texas,which means it is so much more worth it. (Please note the experiences are totally different, as I have gone to both as a freshman. Ignite has a more fun, Christ-centered agenda, Camp Texas just has a “Here is UT, meet some people, have some fun.” agenda.) Thanks, y’all.
Hello World,
I am greatly sorry for the late post, I went home, and I didn’t plan for this post in advance that much. Here you go.
I love to create things. I like to exercise my creative spirit in many different ways: music, writing, poetry, Youtube videos, and art. I fell in love with the world of architecture, as I thought it would be a successful way to express my creativity for the future. Lately, I have been looking at many of my creative exports, and trying to understand why I create, who I am. I have noticed a lot of things, such as music and writing stories, is unfinished, low quality, and feels unsatisfying. I will explain my love of architecture, and why I first felt compelled to do it, but also understand my faults for such a career.
I love architecture. It is the most versatile art form. It is a critical part of how we live, where we live, and what we do. One of the main reasons I like architecture is due to an architecture class at University of Texas, Architecture and Society, taught by Mr. Larry Speck. When I first started architecture, I thought, I can learn how to build houses, help all my friends with their dream houses, and be productive. I was wrong. It was much more than just buildings, but buildings that suit the area it was built, the people that inhabit and utilize the buildings, and the beauty behind such a building. I studied many buildings, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. This colorful building was meant to be open, exposed, and show the complex character in contrast on the older surrounding buildings. Another building I actually saw and wrote about was St. Mary’s Chapel in downtown Austin. I actually decided to go to mass, and it was quite beautiful. The mass felt natural and glorious there compared to some other plainer-looking churches, in which do not have the same atmosphere.
That class gave me first insight into how architecture affected people, and gave me a better reason to pursue architecture than just a creative way to express myself, for the people. I had other studio classes, where I was learning how to do my job as an architect, how to design, how to make buildings beautiful and useful in the real world. The problem with these studio classes was that I was not very good. It was obvious at first, but became more obvious as the year went on.
I had many faults in my studio classes. I wasn’t crafty. I could make a model, but it was not good quality. There were minor misjudgements that added up and never went away. My ideas were not very good. I could not think outside the box very much, and was not initially open to the idea of “no wrong answers, just better or worse.” Finally I could not communicate my ideas in presentation. I did put in a lot of time and effort, but it just was not making sense. I played around with different ideas without ultimately realizing what they do to the design, and communicating those ideas and their purpose was hard for me. These faults ultimately lead for me to drop out of my second studio class, leaving me behind a year. They also made me question whether to change my major to Architecture Engineering or stay in Architecture.
I tried to understand what was so difficult about my creativity. I looked at my videos, music and other creative exports over the years, and I realize many of them are unfinished. Some of them, I even know I could never finish now because my ideas and mindset are different. I also noticed that a lot of it was aided by computers, as that somehow made the process easier, but didn’t allow for the greatest potential final product or learning experience. In some cases, computers can be eliminated as in architecture, others not so much, as in videos. Either way, the way I expressed my creativity was made easier through overuse shortcuts to heighten the quality, but decrease the effort and experience. Otherwise, I was pretty mediocre in all creative efforts, but I loved and had potential in all of them.
As I go in in my major, I am now wanting to transfer see if engineering would fit my nature, as it has more rules, formulas, and right answers, compared to creativity in architecture. Creativity in engineering comes from what you have and know, and is more systematic than architecture. Sure, it may be a bit harder and more boring, but if it fits my way of thinking better, so be it.
The Nerd of May 