Author: James Ballard

I'm J.T. and I'm a senior literary. As you can tell, I am a very big Spider-Man fan, and I will talk about him every time I get the chance. Writing has impacted my life a tremendous amount and I hope that one day I can inspire other young writers that way they can be impacted just like I was. I am a very talkative person, and I enjoy meeting new people along with telling joke, laughing, and having a good time. I hope that everyone enjoys my work! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠆⠀⢀⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⢰⡀⠀⠰⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⡏⠀⢀⣾⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⢷⡀⠀⢹⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⡟⠀⠀⣼⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠸⣧⠀⠀⢻⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⣿⠁⠀⣸⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⣿⣇⠀⠈⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⡇⠀⢀⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⡀⠀⢸⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⠀⠀⣸⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⢸⣿⣇⠀⠀⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⠀⠀⣿⣿⣧⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⡀⠀⣀⠀⠀⣀⠀⢀⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣼⣿⣿⠀⠀⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⢸⣿⡏⠀⠀⠀⠙⢉⣉⣩⣴⣶⣤⣙⣿⣶⣯⣦⣴⣼⣷⣿⣋⣤⣶⣦⣍⣉⡉⠋⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⡇⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⢿⣿⣷⣤⣶⣶⠿⠿⠛⠋⣉⡉⠙⢛⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡛⠛⢉⣉⠙⠛⠿⠿⣶⣶⣤⣾⣿⡿⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠙⠻⠋⠉⠀⠀⠀⣠⣾⡿⠟⠛⣻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⠛⠻⢿⣷⣄⠀⠀⠀⠉⠙⠟⠋⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣤⣾⠿⠋⢀⣠⣾⠟⢫⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡍⠻⣷⣄⡀⠙⠿⣷⣤⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⣴⡿⠛⠁⠀⢸⣿⣿⠋⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡗⠀⠙⣿⣿⡇⠀⠈⠛⢿⣦⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢀⠀⣀⣴⣾⠟⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠻⣷⣦⣀⠀⣀ ⢸⣿⣿⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⠀⠀⠈⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠁⠀⠀⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠙⣿⣿⡟ ⢸⣿⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⣿⡇ ⢸⣿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⣿⣿⡿⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⣿⡇ ⠀⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠿⠿⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⠀ ⠀⢻⣿⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⡟⠀ ⠀⠘⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿⠃⠀ ⠀⠀⠸⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⠏⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⢻⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⣿⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣿⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡟⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⡿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡾⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡸⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢹⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⡟⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢳⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡞⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠜⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Road Trip

In my last blog, I talked about college preparation and how I had somewhat of an idea of my future and how I knew I wanted to move out with a friend and live off campus from the University of South Carolina. But I also stated at the beginning that one day I would look back at that blog and see how different things worked out. Now, just as I predicted, my plans have almost completely changed.

I realize now that I am not made for being in one place. My freedom is something I hold very dear to me, but right now it feels restricted. I have spent years waiting for the day I graduate so I don’t have to be tied down by the title of teenager or student. It feels very inferior to me, and I know that I am more than just that. And I also know that there is more to life that just being told what to do and how to do it. So, after all this waiting, why would I subject myself to go to a place that’s going to make me work like a dog for the rest of my life just to pay it off. College, though I understand its importance, is just another cage to me now. I do not want to spend so much money on something that gets me nothing. I do not want to be one of those people who spent four years working on a degree just to not be able to find a job anywhere and have to pay off debt for the rest of my life. It would all be a waste. I understand many don’t see it that way, but I do.

I have a primary plan right now that I cannot talk about yet, so if it doesn’t work out, I have a backup plan that is just as good to me. The world is full of beauty, and I want to find it all. When I graduate, I want to move to South Carolina with my father and work on a project with him. After a lot of working and saving, I plan to buy a van so me and him can renovate it for living capabilities. I wouldn’t need much. Just a bed with storage space under, an electric generator or solar panels (most like not solar panels), and whatever else I find I may need. Once this project is done, I am on the road. My first destination is New York City. I have dreamed of seeing it my entire life, no matter how many people say it’s not all that. I’ve been jotting down the places I want to go in New York, allowing me to learn a lot of cool things about the area.

After New York, I will start heading up and down the U.S. going through all 50 states. This will obviously be over the course of a year or two. While doing this, I plan to work a freelance job in journalism while writing a book and documenting my travel. Once I’m done with the U.S. it is time for the world tour. That’s likely to be planned a lot later.

I understand that this is somewhat unrealistic and kind of crazy, but I know that in today’s world, it is better to chase your dreams than try to make money. And the price of college in just as unrealistic in my opinion. I hope this made sense. There is so much more but then this would be one-hundred pages long. If you want to know more feel free to ask me about it.

College

Just like everyone else, I am also dealing with college preparations. I just wanted to share some of the current plans here just so I can look back at this in my dorm or rented apartment/house/condo or my parent’s house and see how different my plans ended up being.

Initially, my plans were simple. I was going to go to USM for digital journalism and live my life as a freelance journalist or something like that. I was going to live in a dorm and rely heavy on scholarships. But then I realized their English program was heavy on creative writing and I decided I wanted to do that. But a tour around the communications building on the campus hanged that to broadcast journalism. Back then, I was very attached to USM as it is a school that many of my friends are at or are going to be, and it is close to home. So, letting it go became very hard and other colleges didn’t ever cross my mind.

It wasn’t until after I decided on the English degree again and began to apply for college. This was when I started expanding my horizons, as I knew it was dumb to just go with one school. I knew about the in-state schools and applied to all of those knowing I wouldn’t be going to any of them, but I did begin to realize that I may be missing out my not visiting any of these campuses. This made me cross a few off the list and bring others higher up. Belhaven was almost equivalent to USM on my list as I was able to imagine myself living there to a certain extent, but in the end, I feel as if my religious beliefs would not align with those of the students there.

An English degree then began to look a lot less appealing when I realized how different an English class and a creative writing class could be. I’ve always been more in touch with the creative side of literature rather than the technical/”boring” side. So, USM, though still being a top school out of technicality, became very vulnerable in this race and would make it very easy to move out of the way. That is what happened after the professor for creative writing at Belhaven told me about the University of South Carolina. This school seemed like a great choice for me because my father lives an hour away, but I still didn’t like the idea of being away from my friends. That idea sat for a little bit until my father began telling me things about the school. One thing he informed me of was that the school had a very impressive film program. This sparked an idea in my head. I’ve always wanted to write scripts and make movies one day, so why not study film? I began to research the school even more and now I can safely say that the University of South Carolina is now my top school. I will be applying for a primary major in either English or journalism, and a secondary major in Media Arts.

But that is not the end. Of course, there’s all the money and financial aid and stuff that needs to be worked out, but I have figured one thing out. I want to live off-campus and not with a family member. A friend and I will be moving into either and apartment, mobile home, or condo alongside attending college. Before that happens, I plan to get a job and work for the rest of the year and work all summer to save up money. I’m excited for this because of how badly I want control of my life. Coming to MSA have given me a taste of freedom, so now all I want is to go out and live in it. I know I can still feel freedom on campus, but it’s for the plot I swear.

Hard Times (not the song)

Okay, this is going to be another serious blog for me. Normally I’m not the most political person. Not that I don’t care, I’ve just never educated myself like I should have. I knew what I needed to know, and I knew right from wrong, but recently I have been trying to change that. I think we all know that we are living in a time of fear, manipulation, division, and inhumanity. I would just like to talk about how this is affecting me and how I am scared. Maybe this will help me feel a little better about it all.

I can’t go too deep into everything, but I do want to talk about the things I have seen and the censorship that is going on. Jimmy Kimmel’s show was canceled due to something he said. He used his first amendment right, not to slander a death, not to talk ill of the people in the situation, but to tell the truth and call out the people who are using a tragic death to gain popularity. Though this is not the biggest thing that has happened recently, it makes me question what is next. Will I not be able to express my opinions in the future? Will my rights be taken from me because I don’t think the same way as all the people who like the color red? Will Big Brother be watching?

Another thing is the cruelties that are happening to innocent people who came to this country for a better life. You know, the thing that was promoted all those years ago. Like the stories you hear of immigrants seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time. I can’t believe that people are being picked up off the street and put into prison for living their lives. Some people taken from COURT CASES who are in the process of getting their citizenships. Pregnant women and children are put into these facilities where they are denied treatment for illness along with poor quality of resources, causing their health to deteriorate more. I saw a story of a girl who was taken from her home while babysitting her siblings because she was not American. The worst part of that was they weren’t even looking for her. They were looking for the previous owner. She was a student, and she was ready to make a name for herself. Now, she sits in prison, calling her mother in pain due to her, now, poor health and the pain her scoliosis is causing her. Oh yeah, they aren’t even helping her with her diagnosed problems. This is the most shameful thing I have ever seen. We are seeing concentration camps pop up in the United States, land of the “free”. Free only if you are a rich white man in power.

There is so much more I could talk about, but I’ll end it with the gun violence in our country. Even though everyone says that banning guns will not help with anything going on right now, I don’t think keeping them so easy to get is helping either. There needs to be heavier restrictions. Almost anybody can go into a Walmart down in the south and purchase a shotgun without any background checks. That is horrible because what is stopping someone from buying that gun and shooting up the store? That should not be a question that needs to be asked. And now we are seeing people being murdered all because someone chose that it was their responsibility to make them stop spreading their beliefs. Whether someone is spreading good or bad beliefs, no one gets to determine whether they live or die. Another thing is that students can’t feel safe. School shootings are more common than they should be. We shouldn’t have that problem. Time and time again, we see it happen and the only people who try to prevent it are the schools themselves. And even then, that may not even happen. Then just like Kimmel said, people who only see red use these things to gain political points and spread more hate and violence. They pin the blame on the mentally ill, immigrants, trangenders, and all these people that don’t deserve the blame. Some not even making any sense. I saw one conservative man say transgender people probably kill more people than guns do every year. Make that make sense. At the end of the day, whoever pulled the trigger was able to purchase a gun, bring it into an event, and kill somebody and still, guns apparently aren’t the problem. Yes, people make the decisions to do these bad things, but it there are so many ways we can go about solving the situation instead of spreading more lies and hate.

Like I said, there are so many other problems going on that shivers my timbers like financial aid cuts, Medicaid cuts, tax raises, and specific files not being released. All these things should not be issues, and you’d think it would be common sense, but it isn’t. But whatever gets the rich white men more money, right?

New Beginnings

So, we all have been here for 3 weeks. That is crazy to me because it already has felt like 3 months. I want to start this off with, I am so happy to be back here. MSA is one of the only places where I truly feel accepted. Summer especially made me excited to come back, but we’re not going to talk about that. What we are going to talk about is how these three weeks have been.

When I first got back here, I was ready to see my roommates as one of them was the one I had last year and who I consider a brother, and the other was friend that I began getting close with near the middle of the second semester and who is working his way to the brother title. Moving in was a struggle as always and after a rainy shopping trip with my mom, I was finally on my own again. Though I was excited, I was also scared. Not of being on my own, but of what was to come. I have heard horror stories from my seniors about how senior year will be. I was terrified of the commitment and terrified of the tasks at hand. I was also afraid of the social aspect. Most of my friends my junior year were seniors. This meant going into my senior year, I wouldn’t have many friends. There were friend groups that I floated around and visited and interacted with but nothing that I was a part of other than my seniors. But I had to swallow those fears and just see it for myself before I freaked out.

The first few days were surprisingly really fun for me other than orientation. My fear of the social aspect was quickly thrown out the window. Almost instantly, I was accepted by a group of people I was very fond with and interacted with a lot last year. Some I was already close to and others I have been able to get closer with. Having a group of friends that I relate to and can be myself around has definitely made this year a whole lot better. Not only this year but life in general. Another thing that helped get rid of the fear is the amount of people I have met this year. There are so many people that have come up to ME. I ALWAYS HAVE TO GO UP TO OTHER PEOPLE. Though sometimes it gets a little overwhelming, I have felt a lot better knowing that this many people want to be my friend. I will say though, I am a person with his own problems. Please, if you are a junior trying to be my friend, treat me that way and don’t put me on a pedestal. Now that I said that, I’ll move on from the friend yap. Not only have I been able to show off my new style, but I dyed my hair the second day of school and it is a choice I’m very happy I made. Just wanted to put that down.

Anyways, I have had a lot a fun this year. Sadly, the stories the seniors have told me were very true, but only on the responsibility and academics aspect. this is the most stressed I have ever been in my entire life. I have applied for five colleges so far, signed up for the act, and am dealing with a million due dates in one week. Next, I have to worry about scholarships and whatever else seniors have to do. But I understand that it is a part of growing up. Everything I am doing now is building my strength for college and for a career in what I want to do. This is a very scary time, but fear is a part of the process of being better.

p.s. some of the stress is my fault ngl. but y’all already know that.

Excerpt from Drawn (something I worked on)

“You have been drawn,” are a few of many words on the page. I can’t stop reading those four words. I can’t stop thinking, “I’m going to die.” I’m going to lose everything I care for. No one has survived. They can say they have all they want, but no survivor has been seen. I can’t believe I’m next. Why won’t my legs move? They feel so heavy. I need them to get to the door.

“Parker?” my mom calls from the driveway.

“Parker, what’s going on?” my dad asks standing next to her.

“They… they drew me,” is all I can mutter back.

My mother fell to her knees after hearing those words. It’s crazy how big of an effect just a few words can cause. Thes words cause me to stand frozen and cause my mom to weep on the ground and cause my dad to stand there trying to figure out what to do.

About two years ago, the U.S. Government implemented a draft like plan. Every month, a handful of people would be drawn basically from a hat. If you are drawn, you are forced to have this experimental surgery. The surgery is supposed to help the government get a better understanding of this new biotechnology. Apparently, it’s supposed to revolutionize the way we live. Once used, it’s supposed to change everything. But the problem is, they won’t tell us anything about it. What it is, what it does, why we want it. Nothing. `

Everyone who gets drawn goes and never comes back. They always tell us that people survive all the time, but that is just a lie. My uncle got drawn in the first year. When he didn’t return, they told us he survived a moved somewhere else. Then every week we would receive letters from him saying how good his life was now and how his “enhancement” makes everything so much better. The problem was, he didn’t really talk to us much. So, why was he sending us letters.

After many moments of crying and silece, we all decided to walk back inside. My dad holds my mom as she continues to cry. He carries her through the door where he lets go of her so she can go to the couch.

“What do I do?” I ask.

“What can you do?” my dad answers. This makes my mom weep even harder.

“But I’m not ready to die,”

“You won’t. Your uncle survived. I’m sure it’s going to be fine,” he tells me.

“We haven’t seen him since he left for the surgery. We have no idea if those letters are even from him,” I yell.

“I’ve told you time and time again, stop saying that! My brother is alive, and you know that. You will survive. We will have you back. There’s nothing for you to do,” says my dad.

“No, I have to go. I have to run. Y’all have to take me somewhere. I can’t risk this. My whole life will go away,”

“Run where? They’re going to find you no matter what. You have to do this. We will not let you run from this. For once in your life, you need to be responsible,” he yells at me.

I look at my mom to see if she is willing to help. Our eyes connect, but she looks away. That was all I needed to see to know that she was on his side. At that moment I knew that I couldn’t stay there. My own parents weren’t willing to help save me. So, now I must go to a place where I can get help.

Six months ago, not long after my uncle was drawn, I was taken to the police station after stealing a few things from a clothing store. Though I’ve been there a few more times since then, that was my very first time being arrested. I’m not sure why I steal. My parents don’t really support me in the way that I need them to. Maybe it’s for attention. Maybe it’s for freedom. I can normally get out of trouble easily, though. I’m a good liar. I use the young and stupid excuse all the time. It works like a charm.

Last Car Blog (probably not)

Okay, so this go home weekend, I had a problem. When I was driving the day before, my car was running funny. When I pulled out of parking spots and put it into drive, it would barely move even when I was putting my foot on the gas. After like 15 seconds it would work normal again, but after the third time of it happening, the check engine light came on. OH NO! So, when I got back to school, I was freaking out. But then Ms. Sudie started to ask me about how I was liking it, and I told her that I liked it, but I was also having a problem. Me and her came to a conclusion that it had to be a transmission problem, and she wanted to check my transmission fluid before I left. Mind you that drive is 3 hours for me.

The next day when she tried to check the fluid, we find out my cars model doesn’t have a dipstick for the transmission fluid. So, I had to take it to Autozone to get a diagnostic ran on it. When the guy came out to use the device, I knew I was doomed. The wire on it was all torn and taped up and it was awful. It took 20 minutes to run a diagnostic. If you don’t know, those are supposed to take at most five minutes. THEN WHEN HE GOD THE CODE, HE TOLD ME TO LOOK IT UP INSTEAD OF HIM CONNECTING IT TO THE COMPUTER AND PRINTING IT OUT. I was so mad. But I looked it up and it turned out to be a sensor in the engine. Not something with the transmission. But he gave me no info on the sensor. He told me to just not drive fast, and I’ll be fine. Then he said if I wanted to no more, I would have to go to the Nissan dealership. So, I did. Bad idea. The guy there spoke mechanic gibberish. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I don’t know cars like that. I told him about how long the drive was, and he was very hesitant with telling me that it would be okay and he just said it could be fine. Bro. Help. He also told me it would be 450 dollars to fix. The gulp I did…

After all that, I just left and went home. I still sped when the guy told me not too. I had no problems the whole way. The very next day my mom took it to her mechanic friend, and he said it was an easy fix and not that big of a deal. He fixed it for less than 100 dollars and it was as good as new. Well, kind of. The car is rejecting the sensor now. He told me that wasn’t common, but he has seen it happen. Btw don’t think this guy sucks. He’s the best mechanic I’ve ever had. But he told me the car will definitely last the two weeks I’m up here, so we didn’t get it fixed again because it would be to close. So, when I go back, I have to bring it to him to get it fixed. It’s been pretty fine. I think. Wish me luck, guys. Nothings keeping me out that driver’s seat though.

Another Car Blog

So, last week I went home for the weekend early on Thursday. I was so excited because I knew I would be coming back with my car. The only reason I didn’t have it was because we needed to get the insurance and all the paperwork filled out. Well, we got all that done, so I was ready to take it to school. But first, I had to get through the weekend first.

This weekend was awesome, because it was the very first time I got to drive my car on my own. It was on the way home from school where I asked my mom if I could pick my brother up when he got out of school (I left really early in the morning.) That was the only excuse I had in that moment to drive on my own. Thankfully, she said yes. Later that day when I was already home, I got ready and went and picked him up. For the first time, I had total control over the music. Even when I’m driving, my mom dogs on my music and tells me to change it constantly. But now, I got to blast the music as loud as I wanted and listen to whatever I wanted. My brother was embarrassed when I got to his school with music playing really loud, but at least it was Radiohead and not Niki Minaj or something. Later, I was supposed to see my nephew, but stuff didn’t work out. So, instead I took my brother to Gulfport to get popeyes and we drove around for a while. Later we got ice cream, and I had so much fun driving on my own.

The next day I picked him up again, and something awesome happened. I got to see my favorite teacher from Long Beach again. We got to talk while I waited on my brother to come out (he took forever). When he got in the car, another teacher I really liked came by and said hi. When we all were done, me and my brother left and went to McDonalds. We ate that right up and then got back on the road again, where I just drove along the beach with my music playing. It was so fun. After that, my mom called us home, so I drove back.

If you didn’t know, I used to live in Gautier, Ms before I lived in Long Beach. So, Gautier is where my best friend lives. Sadly, because we don’t live by each other anymore, I haven’t seen him since the summer. So, I decided that Saturday was the day I would fix that. I hoped in my car, and I drove the 45 minutes over there. The drive was not that bad at all, and I had a lot of fun getting there. When I got there, he hopped in my car, and I started driving around to see all the old places I went to a lot. Places like my old home and my old schools. There was one restaurant that I loved, but I didn’t get to go that day sadly. We spent the whole day driving around and going to different beaches. We ended the day at his house where we ate dinner. After that, I drove back home and went to bed.

Then came Sunday. This was the day I had to drive the three hours all the way back to school. But I’ve already done this drive two other times with my mom in the car and I did fine, so there wasn’t really anything I was worried about. The whole drive was pretty smooth other than me having to slam on my break twice because of other people. But I was fine. I made it to the school in one piece and got my parking pass to keep my car on campus.

Diving my car around on my own has taught me two things. I need to get my AC fixed and driving with your mom sucks. I didn’t realize how fun driving was until she wasn’t yelling at me every time I made a mistake. It was sooooo freeing. Okay, that’s it for my yap sesh.

My Spider-Mobile

Okay, So I got a car and I’m sure everybody knows that because I made sure y’all did. But, I have yet to make it my own. I only drove it during spring break, and it had to stay at home until this next go home weekend. So, I decided to make an amazon wish list of all the stuff I want to put in it to decorate it. Now, obviously it’s all going to be Spider-Man stuff. Well, also the stuff Kendra wants to put in to decorate it.

The care has a few problems with the interior. The seats have tiny burn holes in them and the driver’s side visor is only attached by one clip. These are things that I can quickly fix with just one buy though. I just need to buy a replacement clip for the visor and then seat covers. I was going to get Spider-Man seat covers, but I figured that would be too much. I think I’m going to keep the Spider-Man stuff to small things that aren’t too big like seat covers are.

My license plate doesn’t have a cover, so when I’m driving, all you can hear is it banging around at every bump. My fix to this to stay on theme is to buy a Spider-Man license plate cover. It’s not a big thing that can be an eyesore, so I think it would be perfect. I also found one that came with a matching steering wheel cover, so I will probably be getting that too. Then, I found seatbelt covers that I can use. I’ve never understood what they’re for or what they protect you from, but they look cool and add to the theme so I’m going to get them anyways. I also found a lot of stickers and stuff I can put on the back window. And then some things I can hang on the rear-view mirror and clip onto the vents.

Next, I wanted to make the backseat a little more comfortable for my extra passengers. I found a lot of Spider-Man plushies and blankets to keep in the back and make it look nice. I do plan on doing road trips in the future, so that would come in handy.

The last Spider-Man thing I will get so far is the biggest thing and kind of contradicts what I said about only getting small things, but you know what? I don’t care. I want it. It’s a Spider-Man sunshade. It just his mask and eyes so it looks like my car is Spider-Man. I really want it. It’d be really dumb, but I’d love it. And it would be useful. My dashboard wouldn’t dirty up my windshield with all the protectants that evaporate off it during the summer which would be very helpful because one: I hate putting on new protectants. And two: I hate cleaning the inside of my windshield. It will also help with keeping my car a little cooler in the summer.

There are also a few little things that I want to get that aren’t Spider-Man themed because it would either be too much or not practical. I want to get back seat curtains or window shade for those long trips where I might have to stop and lay down. I also want to get a panoramic rear0view mirror because that would help me a whole bunch.

I’m still looking around for stuff, but these are some of the main things I want to get. I hope to be able to get a few of them soon. I can’t wait to deck my car out. Before this blog and even after I titled it, I still didn’t have a name for my car, but I think I will call it my Spider-Mobile. Mayble that will change. Maybe Pete. Who knows?

Marvel Rivals

Okay, so recently, Marvel Rivals has been my new obsession. Like, I am playing it any chance I get. It kind of messed my grades up for a bit but I’m fixing that. But this game is so fun for me, like It’s one of my favorites now.

When it was first announced and we saw gameplay of it, I did not want to play. I never found overwatch fun to play in my opinion, so looking at a game that looked so much like it made me not want to play. I was very upset because I really wanted a good marvel game to come out, because they have been Kind of lacking other than the Spider-Man games.

It wasn’t until they released the beta of the game when I started to want to play it. I saw some streamers play it and it looked so fun. I couldn’t play it myself because the beta was only on PC, but I definitely watched. When they added Jeff the Land Shark, I needed it. I was so ready to main Spider-Man and play all day every day.

One day, the full release went out, and it was on all consoles. So of course, I downloaded it instantly and started playing. I quickly realized how hard it was, and I started to distance from it. I really wanted to main Spider-Man, but his play style just wasn’t for me.

Every now and then I would play the game but quickly get off because I would play a character and get mad that I didn’t know how to play. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon Iron Fist when I really started to get back into it. When I tell you that dude if fun, I mean it. His abilities consist of punching, kicking, and more punching. All he does is kick people’s butts. He has HANDS. It’s so fun to go around and beat the crap out of all the vanguards and the supports. He isn’t the easiest to play and it does take a little bit to get used to him, but after I did, he became my main because I can’t live without him. Occasionally when we need a support, I’ll be Jeff, but Iron Fist is my ride or die.

6005a | Iron Fist, Marvel Rivals, 4K Wallpaper PC Desktop

This game has put me in a chokehold, and I never want to be let free. Every single day I look forward to getting out of school and playing it. This is the most fun game I’ve ever played, and I pray that some of you will try it out. PLEASEEEE!!!

SPIDER-MAN 2

So, this weekend was one of the rare go-home weekends that I actually brought home my PS5, so I wasn’t dying of boredom. I just bed rotted a little better. But I began to replay Spider-Man 2 to finish the new game+ thing on there because I want to 100% the game (I’m still mad there’s not going to be a dlc).

Essentially, new game+ is the normal game, but you have all the things you unlocked in your first playthrough, or whatever saved playthrough it is attached to. I hope that makes sense. There are also exclusive skins and abilities to new game+. If you finish the story, you get a trophy and if you completely 100% the playthrough, it’s another trophy. Trophies are the missions/challenges you have to complete to 100% a game. The platinum trophy is what you get when you finish all the trophies. I have platinum on Spider-Man 1 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

I started new game+ a few months ago when it finally came out, but I kind of stopped for a while because I had severe stick drift on my controller. Now that I have a new controller, I finally picked it back up. And I quickly remember why I sat down and finish the game in one night for the first time when I got it. I really enjoy the story, because it’s one of the few things that really portrays the addiction Peter has to the symbiote suit. Not every Spider-Man media portrays it as that, so I’m happy to see it in this form. It makes it very realistic (aside from the crime fighting and superpowers.)

The gameplay for it is also different from the gameplay in the first two games. Yeah, it has pretty similar fighting styles, but now there are extra abilites and power moves that both Spider-Men can do. Oh yeah, you can play as both Peter and Miles. There are also new moves like parrying and traversal stuff like loop-de-loops. Did I mention they can fly now.

Playing that game makes you feel so strong and heroic. It really pulls you into the Spider-Man experience, and the games have never disappointed with that. If you guys didn’t know, I really like Spider-Man and I really like how the games capture him. They are my favorite games in the entire world, and I can’t wait for the wolverine game to come out because it was made by Insomniac (the people who made the Spider-Man games). They never disappoint with their stories, and it really shows that they actually care about these characters and want to give them a good representation.

PLEASE INSOMNIAC, CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT NOT ADDING THE DLC’S.