Blake O'Connor

In these troubling times, society depends upon creative outlets to help anchor and secure the social fabric which binds communities together. Music is one of the most powerful and dynamic forces for helping to usher our spirits in the good times and the bad.

At the time of writing this, Virgil Abloh is the most influential person in the world of creatives. His omnipresence and sway in nearly all creative pursuits is rooted in Virgil's unique talents. Born outside of Chicago in 1980, he is an artist, architect, and fashion designer. He received his training as undergraduate in Civil Engineering and a Master’s degree in Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

All great movies, much like art, are made to stir the imagination of the viewer. Skilled directors even have an adept understanding about how genre, setting, characters, and plot can make an audience feel specific emotion. The greatest science fiction movies entice the audience to engage in self reflection both from a larger societal and personal perspective. They do this through the powerful technique of metaphors, getting us to hold the mirror to ourselves and ask the difficult questions.

Like Homer's Odyssey, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a parable that will live on for generations and unearths many philosophical questions. Released in 1968, director Stanley Kubrick, writer Arthur C. Clarke, and actors Gary Lockwood and Keir Dullea brought the sci-fi genre to the general public. Once a fringe genre found in pulp magazines, Kubrick satisfied the dream of fans with a big budget film. Every film fanatic and director of this generation must pay their homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey since it transformed many crucial elements for film making. Despite directors who made their own sci-fi inspired by 2001, they have still yet to surpass their master. Its innovative filming techniques along with its cultural significance, nearly 50 years later, define its lasting legacy. Those are among the reasons why 2001: A Space Odyssey is the best sci-fi movie ever made.

A widening gap between incomes for those with college educations and rising costs of education are forcing more people to question the value of a a college degree. Despite the current robust job market, large portion of wages are stagnating—forcing people to focus on high paying science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors. When the cost of a degree was a mere 10,000 dollars or less, people took out small loans or worked during their summers to pay it off. In the last 30 years, college tuition tripled—causing a total of 44.2 million borrowers to now owe a total of over $1.5 trillion in student debt in 2018. Students must now focus their time in college ebbing away from the concerns of entry-level jobs by learning skills that will help them pay off this new form of economic slavery. When applying to colleges, many people are now focused on the highest paying college majors rather than what they enjoy. A great way not to get stuck paying off student debt for the rest of your life is by selecting one of the college majors that make over $100,000 to study, padding your future bank account for years to come.