Hello, potatoes! Thanksgiving is upon us, so I guess I thought I had to be a little cheesy and talk about the things I am thankful for. There are many things one can be thankful for, and I think people just need to look a little deeper into their life and find that special something/someone to appreciate. I ended up talking about being thankful for my family and friends to literally Cheetos and Aloe Vera drinks. I am super thankful for all of you listening as well, and thank you for making this such a fun thing to do. :))

"have a great day! wishing you the best as always! cato, rollin' on out!"

Hello, potatoes! During the Thanksgiving Break I have next week, I plan on writing holiday cards to send to all of my friends living back home or other places. I am absolutely obsessed with writing letters and sending cards to those I care about, because I think it is a good time for me to reflect how they have positively affected my life. By being able to write out these emotions, I think it validates not only the recipients' positive input into the world but also acknowledges my humanity in relation to everyone around me. I think forming words to express yourself is super duper important, and I encourage you (yes, you!) to go out, get a card, write out your feelings about a loved one, and mail it to them. :)

"have a great day! wishing you the best as always! cato, rollin' on out!"

Hello, potatoes! With an overloaded week, I wanted to unload a feeling that has been on my mind recently: I have been very jealous. I am very green with envy as far as the success of some of my peers, largely due to the fact that I feel like I would have had the same amount of success if my opportunities were not stripped away from me. I have been creating a pity party for myself, and the best way to stop was to voice these ideas out loud. I have realized that maybe being jealous from comparing something to the past is not necessarily the complete loss. Everyone will be jealous of someone at some point, and it is important to recognize the potential of this innate drive while not being bogged down by it. (Also I talk about my crush, which is also a topic of interest LOL.)

Hello, potatoes! I apologize for being a day late; I was unbelievably busy and was swarmed this week with assignments and emotions that I completely forgot that I had not previously recorded some backup episodes that were ready to go. Yes, I do ramble during this entire episode while taking notes for AP U.S. History because there is a quiz on Monday. (Trust me, my mind was more occupied when I was overloaded with coffee last time. LOL) This episode is my reality as a high school junior, especially since this upcoming Thanksgiving break is forcing all teachers to cram and test right before we break for nine days, meaning that a majority of my tests are next week. :,) I still want to continue doing this podcast to create some sort of routine into my life, and I do not want to give up this baby that I have created, no matter how hard things get. (Some say my grades are my babies, but I should put them up for adoption since I cannot raise them myself. *Ba Dum Tss*)

"have a great day! wishing you the best as always! cato, rollin' on out!"

Hello, potatoes! During a Veteran's Day assembly we had yesterday, my high school's band played a variety of songs as a memorial tribute to all the veterans of the United States. While I was listening to the music, I felt a massive wave of emotions in regards to band and music, which is something I had done for five years. I was very invested in the art of playing my instrument, and even acquired 2 outstanding band awards and 30+ medals for my accomplishments. (Fun fact: I learned to play my friends' instruments in my free time, so now I can technically play every instrument in the band to a certain degree. When my band director was about to present me with an award, he even said, "I have never seen so many instruments in a person's hands.") In today's episode, I walk through some of my past experiences in band as well as covering why I gave it up. Now the question is...should I pick it back up?

"have a great day! wishing you the best as always! cato, rollin' on out!"

Hello, potatoes! I want to make it clear that this is supposed to be from an educational standpoint rather than from a personal POV, and this is in no way trying to invalidate anyone's experiences and hardships. This was just a discussion we had in my AP Lang class and I thought it was a feud for thought. As I mentioned in the segment, I did not talk about points made by other classmates except one person. I either did not want their identities to be revealed, especially if they did not want to be associated with this kind of discussion on a public podcast, or their points simply did not resonate with me as much as the person who talked about the "real world" vs. "fake world." I hope that this was something that gave you a topic to think about for the day and even discuss with the people in your life. Advice comes in different forms, and I think it is important to provide suggestions and thoughts through these types of seminars. Hope you enjoyed!

"have a great day! wishing you the best as always! cato, rollin' on out!"

Hello, potatoes! Inspired by Sarah Kay's TedTalk, I talk about the art of poetry and doing the "3 Things I Know To Be True" activity. I also end up reading one of my old poems from when I was involved in an original poetry contest last year, and I think it was pretty indicative of the emotions and humanity needed for poetry. (Hopefully I conveyed that as much as I wanted to, because I realized I had reached my time limit while talking and had to rush a little bit. This is why I outline my episodes LOL)

"have a great day! wishing you the best as always! cato, rollin' on out!"

Hello, potatoes! I have one teacher who is very...interesting. In this episode, I call them Mx. Glasses, and I share two hilarious stories related to them and their class. Hopefully they bring a smile to your day and you are able to laugh along with me on how ridiculous this class is. (I swear to goodness, every week with Mx. Glasses is like these stories on varying degrees.) I also talk about the idea of swearing, and how there are two variations on the subject of swearing. Is it okay? Is it not? Is it only not cool when you're putting someone down with it or what? Let me know you think!

"have a great day! wishing you the best as always! cato, rollin' on out!"

Hello, potatoes! It is 2 A.M. right now. I am not going to put much effort into today's description because I talked too much about too many different subjects that I can't summarize the episode...enjoy :)

"have a great day! wishing you the best as always! cato, rollin' on out!"

Hello, potatoes! I guess I really suck at not self-contradicting myself, especially since I mentioned that I will constantly try and make the podcast episodes as positive as possible. Yet, here we are about a story of my fainting in the middle of school. (Oopsies?) I have been overloaded recently with a lot of work and stress and expectations, and they all were clearly too much. I ended up neglecting a lot of my physical and mental health, and ultimately everything took a toll when I was unable to manage and balance all of those components. Please make sure that you do not do the same thing I do: always strike that balance between good stress and bad stress. I do not need to find out somehow that one of my potato listeners also fainted, because I will find you and make sure you are getting enough rest and food. :) All that to say to make sure that you are taking care of yourself!

"have a great day! wishing you the best as always! cato, rollin' on out!"