Assignment #6 - Steve Jobs' Talk

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die
https://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die

1. Commencement (noun): a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred on university or high-school students.
2. Devastating (adj): causing severe shock, distress, or grief.
3. Renaissance (noun): a revival or renewed interest in something.
4. Intuition (noun): the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning
5. Hitch-hike (verb): travel by getting free lifts in passing vehicles.


Steve Jobs' commencement speech for the 2005's Stanford graduates is a highly admirable speech for a lot of people in the world. According to Forbes Magazine, Jobs' commencement speech still remains inspirational even though it occurred eleven ten years ago because the speech touches the soul. It is indeed a deep, powerful, and motivational speech with lots of important life lessons beneath.
There are three things that I learned from his speech.
1. Follow your heart.
- I believe all of us are constantly under situations where there is a mental battle between our brain, and our heart. Sometimes, the only thing that we have to do is to follow our heart, and trust that it knows where it is going.
2. Do what you love. Do not give up. The worst thing that happened might not be the "worst thing"
- Steve Jobs was fired from Apple (his own company) at the age of 30. He said, "what has been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. But something slowly began to dawn on me - I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit."
Jobs didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple took a huge change in his life because 5 years later, he built a company named NeXT and Pixar, and that is when he met Laurene, a woman who would become his wife. Apple then bought NeXT, and Jobs return to Apple.
There are so many unpredictable things in life, and sometimes, the worst thing that could happen might turn out to be the best thing that could happen.
3. Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
- Jobs wished that for the Stanford graduating students, he added, just as he'd always wished it for himself. I learned that in life, we should never be satisfied (in a good way), keep on pushing ourselves, and always be eager to learn.

Assignment #5 - English song

David Cook - "Always Be My Baby" (2008)
(Original song by Mariah Carey)

David Roland Cook, or better known as David Cook, was born on December 20, 1982. He is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of American Idol on May 21, 2008, receiving 56 percent of the votes. 
Maria Carey released "Always Be My Baby" song back in 1995 and it was so popular that she was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Female  R&B Vocal Performance.
David Cook's version of "Always Be My Baby" is one of the most famous and best covers of this song. He arranged a different version of the song and performed it in front of Mariah Carey in "American Idol" in 2008.

David Cook performing "Always Be My Baby" in the 2008 American Idol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vJZtIxUDJ4

David Cook - "Always Be My Baby" studio version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDYIoyYoHnc

"Always Be My Baby"

We were as one babe
For a moment in time
And it seemed everlasting
That you would always be mine
Now you wanna be free
So I'll let you fly
'Cause I know in my heart babe
Our love will never die

[Chorus:]
You'll always be a part of me
I'm part of you indefinitely
Girl don't you know you can't escape me
Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby
And we'll linger on
Time can't erase a feeling this strong
No way you're never gonna shake me
Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby

I ain't gonna cry no
And I won't beg you to stay
If you're determined to leave boy
I will not stand in your way
But inevitably
You'll be back again
'Cause you know in your heart babe
Our love will never end

[Chorus]

I know that you'll be back girl
When your days and your nights get a little bit colder
I know that you'll be right back baby
Oh baby believe me it's only a matter of time

[Chorus]

I listened to this song for the first time when I was in Junior High School, and listening back to it now brings back lots of good memories. I love the melodies of this song, and I actually like David Cook's version better than the original one. Old songs have this special feel that makes you have an indescribable feeling every time you listen to them.
Another reason why I choose this song is that because this song reminds me of someone that used to be a huge part of my life. "Always Be My Baby" makes me recall of the things and memories that we had. People change, but life goes on.
Last but not least, I had a Valentine's dance performance in 2015 (my last year in Senior High School) and my class agreed to used "Always Be My Baby" for our background song. Now, every time I listened to this song, the memories of me and my classmates practicing of performances always came up into my mind, and it is very precious and meaningful to me.

Vocabulary list

• Everlasting (adjective): lasting forever or a very long time.

Example: There is nothing in this world that everlasting.

• Indefinitely (adverb): for an unlimited or unspecified period of time.

Example: The celebrity goes on an indefinite hiatus after the scandal.

• Linger (verb): stay in a place longer than necessary because of a reluctance to leave. 

Example: She lingered in the yard, enjoying the warm sunshine.