DFFRNT. magazine

dffrnt.

DFFRNT. Magazine presents

autumn//2010

volume i, issue i

Everything relating to & about the thoughts, fashion, life & opinions of Michael Peacock

[WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU A MESS]

[MAKE MESS NIGHT 2K10]

sponsored by

mcguffey

EDITOR’S LETTER

[006]

MY LIFE UP UNTIL NOW

[008]

FAMILIA

[010]

ME & THE BOYS

[012]

FINE DINING

[014]

NEW MUSIC

[018]

ART & DESIGN

[022]

ARCHITECTURE

[026]

ABROAD

[032]

MY FIRST...

[034]

CONTENTS

[EDITOR’S LETTER] I’m really excited about this magazine, since it is not only the first issue, but also my first issue as an editor. Creating this magazine was not nearly as easy as I had first perceived it to be, & now that it’s finished, I can go to sleep five minutes earlier tonight. Anyway, since this magazine is about me, it

006//DFFRNT.

only makes sense that I start it out by talking about me and why I’m different from anybody else you’ll read about. Difference is a point or way in which people or things are not the same. In order to convince anyone that I’m different I first must make a convincing argument that everyone else is the same.

Let me begin by noting that the people you meet are all just a face with a name (aside from those people you meet who simply remain a face because their names aren’t even important enough to be remembered). The next thing to note is the relationship between your friends, enemies,

and the billions of people that you will never meet. The only thing that separates one from the other is your perspective based on life experiences (and whether you actually meet these people or not, of course). One person’s friend is someone else’s enemy as well as being someone someone

else hasn’t met yet. So if everyone is all of these at once, then they must all be the same. So what is it that separates one from another?

Nothing. Now let me take note of why I am different. By realizing that everyone is the same, I become inherently different. There is also the small matter that I have

lived more fully than anyone else has, & am just cooler in general.

Who’s to say otherwise? I don’t see your name on this magazine.

Michael Peacock //Editor In Chief

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MY LIFE UP UNTIL NOW

[shortened version] I was born a missionary kid. My parents were missionaries to Mexico where I spent most of the time in Guadalajara, Jalisco. I always went to bilingual schools where I learned the language, grammar, history & culture of two countries simultaneously.

My brothers & I loved sports and athletics growing up. We played soccer when we were in Mexico & baseball when we came to the United States. When I got to middle school I took up basketball, which I ended up playing through most of junior high & high school. Skateboarding and music became particularly favorite pastimes as well. My older brother & I played in a band at some school events & I went from playing the drums to playing the bass & ending up with the guitar, but singing has always been my favorite instrument.

I moved permanently to the United States in 2004 for my sophomore year of high school. It was a good year for hurricanes in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I don’t remember all of their names, but in the twoyear period we lived there, we went through four major hurricanes. I learned that a bed sheet works like a sail in a hurricane when you’re wearing roller blades.

My junior year I changed schools to a private school my mom was teaching at, & I learned a lot about music there. At the end of that year I went on a class trip to Argentina partnering with Book of Hope.

That summer I moved to Ozark, Missouri for my senior year, when my dad transferred to the Convoy of Hope ministry. The summer after my senior year I took a ten-week internship in El Salvador with Convoy of Hope. Then I came to Drury, where I chose to major in architecture, a decision based mainly on the recommendation of a high school counselor. I 008//DFFRNT.

came to love architecture, but never lost my love for graphic design. The next summer I went on another internship to El Salvador & Nicaragua. The rest of my time here at Drury has been a great learning experience, where I have learned far more than I ever thought I could in such a short period of time.

My Graphic design history begins freshman year in High school, where I spent a year learning how to use Adobe Photoshop. My sophomore year I took generic art classes, & my junior year I took graphic design and advanced drawing. My senior year I took a multimedia class where I was Ozark High’s daily morning news anchor as well as Photoshop specialist.

After High School, a few of my friends became photographers, and they came to me to edit their photos, which was a great learning experience. It wasn’t until my sophomore year at Drury that I started learning to use InDesign & renew my computer designing skills thanks to the rigors of architecture.

Now I play ultimate Frisbee for Drury, & it has become my favorite sport. My little brother is an illustration major at Ringling College of Art & design in Sarasota, Florida. My older brother goes to Evangel, & my parents pastor a church in Houston, Texas.

I’m in my fourth year at Drury University majoring in architecture & design arts with an emphasis in graphic design, & minoring in art history & global studies. For the longer version of my life, just ask me.

One thing I know for sure is that...

I’ve learned a lot,

but I still have a lot to learn.

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His name is Jonathan David Peacock. He is one year & eleven months older than me. He plays the guitar & sings.

He has a tattoo of a peacock/phoenix on his torso. He attends Evangel University studying music & ministry.

[older brother]

His name is Timothy Eric Peacock. He is two years & eight months younger than me. He graduated High School a year early. He is a musician & an art student. He is studying illustration at Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, Florida. He plays the guitar, drums, bass, accordion, ukulele, piano, glockenspiel & sings.

[little brother]

FAMILIA

[dad]

His name is Ernest Eugene Peacock. He is fifty two years old. He has been a national level boxer, a surfer, railroad worker, drug dealer, youth pastor, missionary & now lead pastor. He is my role model. He is unfashionable, has a horrible memory, & sings far too often.

[mom]

Her name is Sandra Leticia Peacock GarcĂ­a. She is forty eight years old. She was born in Mexico & married my dad within a month & a half of meeting him. They have been happily married ever since. She is a teacher when she needs to be, a secretary now, & a mother always.

[family in spanish]

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ME & THE BOYS [mcguffey] The story of McGuffey began back one cool, breezy summer in 2006. My family had been living in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for the past two years & had just made the horrible move to Springfield, Missouri, home of nothing. We actually moved to Ozark, which is even more nothing than Springfield, because it was supposed to be nicer & the schools better.

Our Address was 3211 N. 10th St., Ozark, MO, in the neighborhood McGuffey Phase III. The day my family was moving in, my younger brother & I were greeted by the neighbor’s middle son, Jordan Donaldson. He was the whitest kid you’ve ever met, obviously going through puberty, with an intense case of acne & thin, blonde hair. He’s not so bad anymore, but he’s still one of the most devious people around.

During my encounter with this neighbor, another kid comes walking down the street. Little did I know that this awkward-looking kid with devil eyebrows (they’re pointy) would be the craziest person I would ever know. His name was Mason Mercer. This is where it all got started.

I didn’t meet Cody & Joel until later. Cody Seboldt is the epitome of a man; he likes an unclean, unshaven face, pees wherever he wants, & has no respect for lesser beings like women & minorities.

He owns two shotguns, three rifles, an AK-47, & a few other things that complete a man.

Joel Salmon is the man for any occasion. Need a Lord of the Rings quote for the occasion? never fear.

Also, he has a great sense of humor. He is the PC man in the group, & knows the in’s & out’s of any illegal activity on a computer. Great person to know.

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My little brother & myself finish the equation.

Together we are the McGuffey 6. The Peacock house became the meeting place & bore witness to some of the strangest things creative kids our age could think of. It didn’t matter that we were cheap, because real fun doesn’t require money.

To avoid any kind of condemning stories, McGuffey will remain vague, but we’ve helped start an underground fight club in an abandoned warehouse, been a part of probably eight or so bands around Springfield, stenciled a few of our faces throughout the town, been run down by cars, gotten into street fights, been on national radio stations, toured the nation, placed in national student events, been honored by the state, inspired others in many endeavors, released a few albums & started events like the Milk Challenge, where we had over a hundred people show up in my back yard to drink or watch people drink a gallon of milk in an hour and then throw up.

Those are just a few of the things McGuffey has been a part of in these past few years since its official founding in 2007. Then there was one more member who has been lost to us, not by death, but by corruption. RIP Tyler Maxey. My little brother, Tim, moved to Florida to go to college, but he’s still one of us, & we see him whenever we get the chance. McGuffey was officially disbanded in 2009 the day my brother moved to Florida in June, with the burning of the McGuffey charter, but the spirit lives on in our hearts and our actions.

Remember & never forget...

McGuffey!

[ME, TIM, MASON]

[JOEL, CODY, JORDAN]

There are few things in life as enjoyable as good meals. I pride myself in my good taste in food, and knowing the hidden gems around Springfield. The finding process came over a period of years and a few good friends, whom I appreciate . What takes a restaurant beyond that line of good, and into great, is more than just the quality of the food, but also the atmosphere and the affordability of the prices, all of which have been taken into account as I compiled this list.

Springfield is known by its inhabitants for two

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things: churches & Chinese restaurants. Lucky for me, I love Chinese food & am a Christian. My personal favorite is located in the least likely of places... at a gas station. I know what you’re thinking, but that’s because you haven’t tasted their crab rangoon.

Happy China is located on Battlefield Road, just west of National Avenue, right behind a Route 66 gas station. It was introduced to me by my older brother & I have introduced it to a select few who have all felt the same way.

Sushi is up there in the Asian food category,

but is also a category of its own. In order to enjoy good sushi, you have to go to a restaurant dedicated to sushi. I have two favorites in town: Haruno’s & Kai. Kai is more favorite because of its location, so it’s the one I’m going to talk about. As soon as you walk in you will understand why it’s so amazing. The lights & decorations create an intimate, yet exciting atmosphere. Being on the north end of town, in the middle of the downtown area, it gets a lot more college age visitors, especially on Wednesday nights from 9 to midnight when their College Night special

comes into effect. Although sushi is an expensive food taste in general, Kai’s special night is what pushes it into the category of gem above the other sushi restaurants.

Although I generally don’t like fast food, burgers are not off my list of good food; you just have to know where to get them. If you’re looking for a quick fix, then Whistler’s is the place to get it. The size of their burgers are comparable to White Castle, but the quality of the meat, & the burger in general, is incredible. You can watch them making it all in

FINE DINING

[around springfield]

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[continued]

front of you. The facility is nothing to die for, but sometimes you’re just in the mood for that hole-inthe-wall eatery. Grad School is the other great place to find burgers downtown. Not quite as small as small a place as Whistlers, the atmosphere of Grad School is warm & inviting. Every one of their burgers is phenomenal, & of course everything’s under 9 dollars, which is really what transforms it into a gem.

On those fancy nights out with your girlfriend when you’re in the mood for Italian, Bambino’s is that small restaurant that you’re looking for. It’s not

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too small, to where you wonder if anyone goes there – in fact its usually very full, & even the parking is hard to come by, but its a refreshing restaurant where you sit wherever you want, but the food is inexpensive, high quality, healthy, & fills a large plate, so you never leave hungry.

We now arrive at my favorite sub, sandwich, or even garlic or cheesy bread place in town. Tony’s Famous Spaghetti does more than just spaghetti.

They are actually famous for their garlic bread, which is sweet & flavourful, dipped in their famous meat

sauce. My personal favorite day of the week for eating is there is Tuesdays, for Torpedo Tuesdays where you can get 24 inches of sandwich for $5.84. There is definitely no better deal in town.

Last but not least, you can’t forget about the good ol’ classic BBQ. You know that the midwest has some of the best in the world. Screw Texas. If you’re looking for good BBQ around here you can try Crosstown BBQ on Division just East of National. It’s locally owned, and their food is definitely the best of its kind anywhere in the area.

Aside from just restaurants there are key aspects to a meal such as coffee & desserts. So far I have only recently found a dessert place & that is the cupcake bakery downtown called The Cup. They have different varieties of cupcakes for sale on a regular basis & once again the atmosphere makes me feel like Springfield is finally becoming a bigger town. Luckily its right down the street from the faithful Mudhouse Coffee Shoppe, which stays open until midnight during the week serving delicious coffee, chai, & other pastries.

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NEW MUSIC

[a music history] There are a lot of people out there who feel as though they are well informed in the happenings of music, yet when asked the question, what kind of music do you listen to, they inevitably answer,

“I like all kinds of music” at which point i generally lose interest, because this person has probably never acquired their own music without having heard it somewhere first, or blindly from one of their friends.

My goal in this article is to illuminate an entirely different view to music. I will also provide a description of a person-type associated with each of the musical genres that I name, just to provide a more inclusive sense of the music. It’s ok to appreciate & understand a wide variety of music, but you can’t say you like all music unless you’ve exposed yourself to more than what’s on the radio.

My path to music began with straight Worship music, nothing else existed. Then Christian Rock became acceptable. It was the way to be a cool christian. Then I realized that you can be a christian & listen to non-christian music at the same time.

Nirvana opened the floodgate to Grunge rock & Pop-punk music. These people usually wear sweat or wristbands on their arms as well as old t-shirts & reasonably baggy pants. Probably worn skate shoes as well. Hair either shaved or long. These genres of music was prevalent in my life during my late middle school years through the majority of high school.

It wasn’t until my junior year in High School 018//DFFRNT.

that I took the next step in music. Alternative rock with a solid mix of Screamo. Let me define screamo, because this genre is one most people get wrong.

Screamo is music where the main vocals are tonal, with occasional screaming to accentuate certain parts of the song, with melodic instrumentals. Out of Screamo came the fashion called “emo”. These people have since been renamed “scenesters” or simply “scene kids”. These kids generally have longer hair that has been heavily styled & straightened.

They also wear tight band shirts & skinny girl jeans & are a contemporary version of what used to be the Pop-punk scene that died out for the most part.

This music then brought about the musical growth into hardcore music. This is also not quite what most people think it is, but that is mostly due to its much less publicized nature, as it’s one of the most least liked genres by the general public due to its lack of tonality or cohesiveness. It was during this time in my life that I began to go to a lot of concerts. Within the first year of listening to this genre I had probably seen around 400 bands live. It’s a kind of music where you really bond with the people around you & the pit isn’t moshing like it used to be in the old days or still is at most Pop-rock/Screamo shows. Once you learn to dance there is a respect in the pit & among the scene that is something to be proud of.

My sophomore year in college i started fading out in the Springfield hardcore scene, and rarely listened to hardcore music at all anymore. I began to listen to what I only knew as the broader genre of Indie.

Indie music began as music by unsigned independent

TIM PEACOCK [we voyagers vocalist & lead guitar]

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artists. Over the years it has developed into its own musical genre & fashion sense. It’s so hard to describe because it’s such a broad range of styles in music. It can go from very acoustic sounding music to very rough electric with loud vocals. The draw of this style of music is to the people who consider music art, and like unique, different art gets the attention of art collectors, indie music gets the attention of music connoisseurs. The indie fashion allows for very inexpensive clothing, mixing clothes that most people wouldn’t wear together. Indie is a very organic fashion, where thrift stores are golden & old jeans an opportunity to transform into cutoffs.

Towards the end of my sophomore year I began to add to my tastes in music. I began enjoying listening to music with a beat. Electronic, house and industrial techno began to fill the halls of the architecture building while I was there. Its music filled with life & a consistent beat that makes you want to dance. That is why I started liking that music.

Then my third year at Drury up until now I have continued to expand the genres of music even more, even reaching out to hip-hop, rap and R&B music that I never thought I would appreciate.

These genres are ones that most people don’t even know exist, and many people will probably never hear. Dubstep, chillwave, hardcore punk, lo-fi, noise pop, noise rock and even surf rock are genres. Even though each of these genres of music are completely distinct from each other, if you listen to one of them, you are likely at least aware of the rest of them.

Earlier I made an allusion of music to art, and again it seems like once you become an underground music 020//DFFRNT.

fan, you know all of the styles, types and genres associated with that type of life. The general fashion sense for this type of music is called hipster. Hipster is kind of the evolution of indie, since indie has become a popularized style, and everybody knows that something is only truly great if it’s not widely accepted by the general public. I find myself often saying,

“you probably won’t even

like my music.”

Hipster is the epitome of not caring what other people think. The hipster attitude about musical taste as well as fashion is completely carefree. It is also a kind of throwback to old-school. The ideal hipster is very easy to spot in a crowd by most or all of the following traits: cut-off jeans or rolled-up dark skinnys along with an old v-neck or minimalistically designed t-shirt; inverted bill hat, or just any hat with a short bill; a carabiner key chain hanging from the belt loop; a fixed gear bicycle and a messenger bag; a thick beard & thick-rimmed glasses. Hipster city.

As my own style & perspective on life continue to change, so does my taste in music. I don’t know if I’m approaching a final state of evolution in my musical tastes where I’ve heard it all, but honestly who can tell? Electronic music didn’t even exist a few decades ago. Maybe I’ll live to see a new genre of music. Maybe I’ll live tomorrow.

JORDAN DONALDSON, MASON MERCER & TIM PEACOCK [we voyagers]

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ART & DESIGN [design first]

What is art? That’s the question they ask you throughout school to get you to think. In the end, the answer that I have decided that they’re looking for is

Who cares?

If you say something is art, then it’s art, & nobody can tell you otherwise.

That’s what a lifetime of education teaches you, at least theoretically. The only way to actually learn art is by practicing & being around art. I started doing art in kindergarten just like everybody else. But ever since I was a little kid I liked coloring better than anyone else. I’ve won a few coloring competitions at a few retreats & hotel events because of it.

I’ve been in art classes just about every year of my life. I used to fancy myself an artist, even though I was only good at copying other drawings, or creating representative art. My illustration has always been a little shabby. I didn’t really care. My craft was & is better than most people around anyway, so I might as well keep doing it.

In High School my artistic abilities began to expand & flourish a little. I would like to attribute that to the fact that my fashion sense & musical preference grew to be more tasteful. I learned lithography , screen printing & painting, among other things. Junior year I learned more design than art, but I started

022//DFFRNT.

taking both seriously, & even began to consider art as a career. I wasn’t quite sure what I would do as a career artist, since everybody knows that most artists are poor, & that’s not quite my lifestyle.

My senior year I took another leap in learning how to do technical art. I began understanding that to draw a three dimensional shape, it’s easier to start with basic shapes & then work from there. I drew my first drawing that I was immensely proud of. My teacher borrowed it to enter it into an art competition, but when I came back from break it had been stolen. Not the best way to begin an artistic career.

When I graduated from High School I had decided that I loved art enough that I wanted something that involved a lot of drawing, but I was technical enough that I wanted something to do with that as well. I proposed to major in architecture at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. Lucky for me, first year of architecture classes were all art classes. I really expanded my artistic abilities freshman year.

I learned to do effective quick scenery sketches & fashion illustration, using multiple mediums instead of simply using graphite.

My sophomore year I decided that architecture wasn’t enough. There wasn’t enough art in it. That’s when I decided to major in Design Arts as well. I took film photography, since I loved photography anyway & my philosophy is that if you know how people used to do things, you can appreciate & be more effective at using modern technology.

Now art is just a hobby, as I’ve moved on to more computer based art, but like I said, it’s knowing the basics that make you better.

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[art second]

GLOW BONES CONTE [2007] ROSES GRAPHITE [2008]

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BRENNA1 CHALK [2006] BRENNA2 LITHOGRAPHY [2005]

FASHION CHARCOAL [2007] ROSES PEN & INK [2007]

BRENNA1 CHALK [2007] BRENNA2 CHARCOAL [2007]

ROOSTER COFFEE WASH W/PEN & INK [2007] HANDS GRAPHITE [2006]

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ARCHITECTURE [my own]

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Growing up I never had any lofty goals to be an architect, nor really to be a designer. I actually wanted to be an archeologist for some reason. I think it may have had something to do with Jurassic Park.

When I got to High School my brain couldn’t fathom me driving, much less having a career. It wasn’t until Senior year that I truly began to decide what I was going to at least major in when I got to college.

I was pretty good at art, & I liked organization, so I thought graphic designer would be a good fit.

It wasn’t until I went to my counselor so he could talk to me about college that he let me know that statistically graphic designers didn’t make too much money. That’s when architecture came up in conversation. I was taking calculus at the time, so he figured I was pretty good at math & suggested architecture. I decided why not, & he recommended Drury University, just 25 minutes away from home.

When I started at Drury taking architecture classes it still seemed mostly like art, considering I was just taking foundation courses. It wasn’t until the end of my freshman year that I designed my first building. After that, I was hooked. I knew that no matter how hard this major got that I could never quit.

It was a whole new scale of art; instead of simply drawing two dimensionally, or even sculpting three dimensionally, it was creating something tasteful that people would inhabit. I was able to use everything that I had ever learned in art before & apply it to the formal aspects of architecture, whether it be minimalist or contradictory. Even though I knew that what I was designing wasn’t going to be built, I had to convince myself that it was.

Since I started architecture, most of the time it seems like it’s not really work. I find myself enjoying designing so much that I can get carried away for hours just thinking of a concept & sketching out variations over & over. Although a lot of times it gets frustrating how much work we do as a major compared to everyone else in the school I know it’s what I want to do, & hopefully in the end it’ll be worth it.

Someone once told me that there are three things to look for to know you got the right job. He said only two of the three were necessary though.

1. You love what you do

2. You make a good amount of money

3. You have good hours

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BREAKING CAMP [fall 2008]

The goal of this project was to design a space for a high school summer camp with a focus in a particular artistic activity. In the design of our spaces there was an emphasis on effectively using regional aspects of the Ozarks, like sun, wind, and light, to create a more energy-efficient facility. Through the process of this project I learned about the regional sun and wind patterns, as well as the importance of natural lighting.

I chose to design a six-person dormitory for a summer painting camp, & took the aspect of layering from painting as a concept with which to design my building. I began designing from large, simple spaces, to small, intricate ones as you progressed through the dormitory, much like the process in painting where you begin with a simple, light wash & slowly add detail. One of the challenges in this project was working with the contours of the site, since it was fairly steep, but in the end I was able to use the slope of the site to help create my spaces in a progression that followed my concept.

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RUSSIAN BANYA [fall 2009]

This project tought me to incorporate tradition & values into a project. The premise for this project was to choose a foreign culture’s bathhouse or sauna & then design your own in Graydon Springs, Missouri. I chose the Russian culture, which was very interesting, & became the basis for my conceptural model. Their sauna process began in the changing room, where you remove all clothes & belingings, rough from daily wear. Then you enter the hot sauna to cleanse & open your pores, followed by entering a cold pool to quickly reclose the pores already cleansed. My concept model shows that process through size & directions of the orifices in the wood, along with the transitioning texture. This is reflected in the model through qualities of light & openness.

SITE MODEL [1/8in.=1ft.]

SAUNA WALL DETAIL SECTION [3/4in. = 1ft.]

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PRECEDENT STUDY [Agosta House detail wall section 3/4in. = 1ft.]

CONCEPT MODEL [walnut] 031// DFFRNT.

ABROAD [living & traveling] Growing up in a third world country is much like dump cake; some people think that it’s amazing, while there are some people that don’t even want to give it a chance because of the name & appearance.

I guess, also like dump cake, people have different tastes, but my guess is that if they were to give it a chance they would realize that it tastes amazing. Are they all going to taste amazing? By no means. Sometimes you’ll get one at Denny’s & realize that someone may actually have taken a dump in it, that’s how bad it tastes. Depending on who you are, living in a third world country could go amazingly or like poop.

My experience was the former. I grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico, home of the mariachi, Valentina hot sauce, & tortas ahogadas (it’s a sandwich with french bread, or a bolillo, with only pork inside, smothered in special mexican sauce). I lived there a total of twelve years in four-year blocks. I’ve always considered myself both Mexican and an American, since I am Texan by birth, but at the same time I have a lot of Mexican traits, including my personality. I went to bilingual schools in Mexico, having to learn twice the amount of a student learning just one language, history, geography and literature. So many people only experience one culture, but I have had the privilege to know and love both.

The intricacies of other cultures have always interested me, because it’s a lifestyle and perspective, that I will probably never fully understand. It’s overwhelming to try and imagine the thought processes or the lives of the millions of different cultures around the world, but a lot of people never even try.

I firmly believe that everyone should move out of 032//DFFRNT.

their comfort zone at least once in their lives. Like growing up we gain different perspectives on life, & are better for it, you can also grow by gaining different cultural perspectives.

A FEW DIFFERENCES [between Mexico & the U.S.] • The United States has ice cream trucks.

• Mexico has old men riding bicycles pushing coolers with homemade ice cream.

• United States fast food is McDonalds & Wendy’s.

• Mexico fast food is taco, quesadilla and torta stands.

• United States has baseball, football, soccer, hockey, basketball, tennis, and every other sport.

• Mexico has soccer.

• The United States is one of the most developed countries in the world, & is proud of it.

• Mexico realizes that it doesn’t really do much in the world & is proud of it.

• The United States is strongly against bribery.

• Mexico sees bribery as a gray area.

I respect each and every one of these points from both countries. I do miss bribery though.

NICARAGUA [2008]

ARGENTINA [2006]

MEXICO [1997]

JAMAICA [2010]

EL SALVADOR [2007] SAN FRANCISCO [2006]

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MY FIRST [and last] MY FIRST CRUSH

[that lasted more than a few days]

MY FIRST HOUSE [that i can remember]

I’ve moved around a lot, & I think I lived in a run down house in some random city in Mexico when I was a baby, but I don’t remember that. So my first house was in Guadalajara, Mexico on Lollola St. I believed my family moved in there when I was 2 years old. I don’t really remember much about the inside other than that it had stairs & I fell down them a couple of times.

The outside of the house was a garden. There were vines & flowers growing up along the clay & brick wall that was about 15 feet tall. We had large wooden gates with iron bracing, much like a castle. I lived there for 4 years.

034//DFFRNT.

I was quite the flirt back then, but there was no one that I could seem to still like after a few days. I MY FIRST DOG was in 8th grade at the American [that didn’t run away] School Foundation of Guadalajara. She had just moved into My parents had a dog before I was town because her dad was the new theater instructor. Her name was born that ran away when I was Chara Krangle & she was from little, so it doesn’t count. I got Vancouver, Canada. my first dog on Easter when I was She was in the same grade as me seven. I was sleeping on the floor & one of the prettiest girls in at my grandma’s house in Houston, Texas & I woke up to a wired- school. I remember a lot of the haired dachshund licking my face. older guys wanted to date her & That was one of the happiest days even asked her out. She turned them all down, waiting for a speof my life. cific someone to ask her out.

We never really got around to I finally got the courage to ask her training him, so he became an out, kinda. I played a game I knew outdoor dog. He was the nicest I would likely lose where if I lost dog ever, & even made friends I would ask her out. Asking a girl with a vagabond cat that decided out for the first time is one of the to make our back yard its home. most embarrassing things in the We fed him quite a bit because world. we loved him so much, & once it even saved his life, when another We dated for about 2 weeks because I was so shy while we dog attacked him & couldn’t get were dating. I just remember that its jaws all the way around him. we held hands & cuddled all the When he was 12 years old we plane ride back from our class trip found out he had heart worms to Cancun. I was most assuredly & decided it was best to put him the happiest person alive. down. I still miss him.

MY LAST GIRLFRIEND [& wife, hopefully]

I met her when I was 15, for about a week. It was my last week in Mexico & her first. Sure I thought she was cute, but she was 12 & I was 15 so that was totally uncool.

I never would have thought that 5 years later I would begin dating her & a year later ask her to marry me.

We didn’t keep in contact at all, because she wasn’t really anyone important. I met her again in September 2009. It took me a while to realize it was her, but I was seeing somebody else at the time so I didn’t really care.

I met her yet again in November after my other relationship had gone sour & we started talking.

After I found out that she had just moved into town not too long ago, I decided to become her friend. It’s tough to stay “just friends” with someone who is extremely beautiful & witty & can sing & play the piano & loves soccer & is extremely humble.

So we started dating on December 13th, 2009. It is now November 4th, 2010 & I have yet to get into any kind of argument with her.

I asked her to marry me about a month ago, and lucky me, she said yes. We’re getting married sometime this summer, but as the amazing planner that I am, I don’t know any of the details yet.

035// DFFRNT.

dffrnt. never settle for the same.....