Life

A Decade in Review: A Personal Essay

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

As the decade comes to a close, and as my 20’s fade into the background, I want to say that it’s been a mixed journey for me.

Years such as 2010, 2013, 2016, and parts of 2018 were straight up agonizing for me due to suffering many losses (deaths, breakups, loss of my first shot at being a Jouralist) in my personal life and my career. 2010 was a hard year, 2013 was a lonely year, 2016 was a year I suffered a complete mental breakdown, and 2018 saw me going back to my old habbit of jumping from job to job.

For all of that pain though, I realize that it has helped me become a better person now as I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I know how to be more mindful of my actions towards other people. I feel pride in myself for knowing what I had to change about myself. I have learned from those bad years what I will need to feel happy in the coming decade.

Of course, there were good years this decade as well, such as: 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2019. They were good to me as I felt more at peace during them than I did during the bad years. When looking back, I enjoyed the music I heard and made in those times, as well as the friends I’ve met. I think with the new decade will come new opportunities for both my music and my writing, but also to start saving money to eventually build a family with my wife (whom I married this past year).

I remember being optimistic back in 2010, and while things didn’t turn out as I had planned, I still ended up where I needed to be. To quote the 11th Doctor from Doctor Who, “I know now where I’m going, where I’ve always been going: Home, the long way round.”

Happy New Year, everyone. Make it a great one!

-KCard

Ten Years Gone By

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

To think it’s been ten years now since I graduated high school. I don’t glorify those days, my favorite memory of highschool was graduation day. College is where my heart lies, forever frozen in time.

With that said, 2008 was a big year for me. One that I had spent morbidly depressed, a nervous wreck, but still managed to graduate with honors and moved onto college to begin the best times of my life.

The summer of 2008 was the highlight for me, when I worked two great jobs, sang in front of 600 people, and transitioned to adulthood after tasting personal freedom for the first time.

When I reflect on these memories I feel a great sense of warmth in my own heart, more warmth than I presently feel. For that reason, I hate when people tell me things like “Kevin, you’re too young to be nostalgic!”

I’ve always been an old soul, I’ve always been a serious person, and though I was trapped in my past for many years, I won’t trade these memories and experiences for anything.

I miss the days of 2008, but instead of weeping for them being gone forever, I will be happy that I lived through them. I am happy I have lived as much as I have in my 28 years of life.

-KCard

Back From Hiatus

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

Today is a great day to be a New England football fan. Granted I’m not a football fan, but I’m glad I caught this year’s superbowl for the history made tonight by Tom Brady and The Patriots. And as I feel joy that The Pats have won, I realize that I’m ready to start writing again, and give my writers block the boot. There are a lot of good shows coming out this year that I want to cover including Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and Stranger Things Season 2. Lastly, this year is Peter Capaldi’s last series of Docto Who. I have a lot of work to do, but it will be worth pursuing despite the slump I was in before.

-KCard

On Hiatus

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

Hello Readers new and old, I’m afraid that for the time being I will be going on a hiatus from blogging until later in 2017. I’m unsure of when I may come back next year, but know that I love writing for you all. I can say a thousand times how busy I am with work and helping my friend edit his Self Improvement book, but the truth is I just have writer’s block of the soul right now. I will make my return when that writer’s block dissipates. Until that time comes, I thank you all for your continued interest in my nerdy rants and preaching on television and music.

-KCard

Lost Life Passions

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

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I know how this person feels, this is what college did to me when it made reading into a chore for me rather than a hobby. I try to pickup and read books every so often, but concentrating on them just makes me fall asleep after reading a few pages. I just don’t have the mental stamina to read anymore, unless I’m editing something.

Hell, it even takes serious effort for me to write blogs if I don’t write them immediately. I don’t envy book lovers though, I’m happy that they haven’t given up on their primary passion in life. I suppose what I suffer from now is a strong lack of inspiration in my old passions. It’s important to remember the person I used to be, but it’s also important to keep my mind focused on the present and take things one day at a time.

I think I’m coming up through those awkward reflective moments of my late 20s where I start to “feel old” by lamenting my childhood and teen years being over. Something many people who grew up in the 90s like myself have experienced as well with the whole “90s Kids” nostalgia phenomenon.

I know things “can always be worse,” but I personally prefer the saying, “Things will get better for you.” I believe that giving people hope for tomorrow is more proactive, where looking at others people’s misery just stressed me out more. I have resolved to hope for a better future, while continuing to take steps in my present to reach that better tomorrow.

KCard

GOT Short Review (Update on My Blog)

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

*Hello there, what a lovely night for SPOILERS!*

Hello again World of WordPress, Kevin here letting you know that I won’t be releasing a full review of Game of Thrones this week. I missed reviewing last week as well because I’m in a bind emotionally lately and don’t have time to focus my energies on writing as much as I uses too. My life is also going through some personal transitions, so I’m probably not going to be able to release blogs on a schedule anymore. I still intend to release reviews when I have the time, including the review for the UK band “Twist Helix”. Special thanks to Twist Helix for their patience in dealing with my lethargic arse.

Speaking of Game of Thrones, I did enjoy the last episode quite a bit, especially with how funny it was when The Hound killed those former members of The Brotherhood With Banners with that ax. I loved seeing Arya reclaim her identity after beating that nameless female assassin. Lastly, I’m glad Danny has returned to Mereen. GOT is becoming dark and bleak again like with how The Black Fish couldn’t help Sansa and Jon and Jamie saying he only cares about his sister. I look forward to next week to see if Ramsay will die in the upcoming battle for Winterfell. I’ve been looking forward to the death of The Bastard Bolton.

-KCard

Merry Christmas Everyone

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and hope that everyone else who doesn’t celebrate Christmas had a great Hanukkah and/or Kwanzaa. Also, happy almost New Year. Even as a self proclaimed Social Justice Warrior, I prefer saying “Merry Christmas” due to my Catholic upbringing. However, “Happy Holidays” is still easier to say than mentioning four different holidays at once. I think that old Virgin Mobile commercial hit it right on the head with “Happy Chrismahanakwanzaka” since people take this stuff so seriously. It’s the holidays! Just take some time to share laughter and love with your families!

-KCard

Where I’ve Been Lately

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

Hello again world of WordPress, it is I, Darth Vader. I mean, Kevin again. I just wanted to give people another life update about where I’ve been with how infrequent my posts have been.

Big news, friends! My dating endeavors are done for the time being in that I’ve finally found a girlfriend. I don’t expect the relationship to be the same as my previous four year engagement, but it should be nice to start the chapter in my love life and be close to somebody once again. In other news, I’ve since moved out of my parent’s house (my childhood home), and I’m now living independently with my band’s drummer. I will be reviewing “Fear The Walking Dead” when I get a chance to catch up with the episodes now that I have a reliable internet connection where I’m living.

I’ve also received a promotion at work along with a pay raise, and bought a new car, so overall this year has been wonderful to me. I’ve had some bad moments here and there, but I won’t let that get me down anymore since things have finally turned around for me. I’ll be blogging with more television reviews and commentaries on how supporting Feminism has changed my life, and I won’t be writing Op-eds that contradict the movements I claim to support anymore either. It’s an end to the bad times in my past and the beginning of something better for my future

I don’t expect everything to be sunshine and rainbows, but I will try to not mind the rainy days either as I’m happy with where I am right now. I look forward to continue writing for my WordPress and Twitter Audience for a very long time to come. Thank you all once again for checking out my blog, you’re all the reason I keep writing.

-KCard

Note to Self II

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

Be sure to announce to WordPress that Kevin is coming off of your blogging hiatus, Kevin will be blogging about more local bands, and let WP know that we are going to review Breaking Benjamin’s latest album. PS, find a decent editor for this blog since my last Game of Thrones review sucked. PPS, check with your therapist as to why you are referring to yourself in the third person on the internet.

-KCard

RIP Leonard Nimoy

Posted on by kevinthemusicguy

I learned about the passing of Leonard Nimoy a few hours after it happened when I got off of work yesterday, and I’ve been greatly saddened by his passing ever since. He was a brilliant actor, musician, and poet. He was also a great photographer, philanthropist, and a proper Bostonian. I only learned recently of some of these facts, but it still hits close to home for me because of how his famous character Spock inspired me growing up.

Growing up as a young boy with Autism, I related myself to the plight of characters like Spock and Data from the Star Trek Universe. I related to Spock for his sharp wit and logical nature, and Data for his struggle to cope with emotions and the concept of acting human vs not being human biologically. Some people on the autistic spectrum do not see themselves as human because we think and feel emotions differently than neuro-typical people do. I felt the same way growing up since I was often bullied and had a hard time coping with social situations through out most of my time in school. Fictional characters are a big inspiration for me, as well as the actors who played them. When you feel alone in your struggles, then it helps most to know that you aren’t alone at all.

Nimoy moved me heavily with his final words that the he broadcast on Twitter before he died:

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This quote hits me right in the heart because it reminds me of how I often hunger to relive better moments from my high school and college years. I can’t have those moments back aside from reliving them in memory, but I’m happy to have had those memories all the same. It saddens me to see Nimoy leave us, but I know he lived a full and rich life. It inspires me to live a full and rich life myself while I’m still young.
RIP Leoanard Nimoy, you were among the stars even before your passing.

-KCard