Here's a scenario that most of you have probably been through but just re-live it for a minute.
It's fall of your senior year in high school. You've had fun, lots of friends and have done fairly well. Now you're excited for this year because you're on top now but at the same time you're tired of high school and just want to be done with it. So you begin to go through the year. There are fun things: Halloween, homecoming, football games, Christmas, New Year's and so on. There are also not so fun things: homework, tests, papers, exams, you know. Now it all starts to go by so quickly.....then you reach March and that means only one thing: Spring Break! You have an awesome time. Then you come back to school and begin to realize how little time you have left in school. You start to see that you might never see some of these people again. Now you're torn: you want school to end because you think if you have to take one more essay test you've spent all your time studying for and still just get a C you'll have a mental breakdown but you also want to stay in school...not for actual school of course....just to be with your friends that much longer. Then you have your final exams...uh-oh...now its getting close. Next, school actually ends....you have had your last day of high school. You're so excited school is over that you don't pay too much attention to the fact that you'll be seeing your friends much less now. Sure you'll see them the next month at senior luncheons, ceremonies and graduation practices but it won't quite be the same again. Then, finally it's here! Graduation! But, oh no! You are SO excited! You're done! But this is it.....you'll still see your very best friends but what about all those friends you just enjoy talking to or hanging out with once in a while? Probably won't see them again.
This is where it begins to hit you....you are going to be around a completely new set of people next year. For some this is a great thing, for others there's nothing worse than having to meet all new people.
Anyway, now it's summer and you're so excited! You've got trips planned and you're going to hang out with your closest friends at all times. Oh and you're working....not so fun but you're making that money. So summer begins. You work, you play, you work, you play.....you're having a great time and then...woah! A whole month has passed and you didn't even notice! Now it's close enough to think of it in weeks....yikes! Six weeks until you move in to college! Now it really hits you....all of your closest friends will be at least 4 hours away.
Now you think about how it will be seeing them from now on. What will they be like? Will they change? Will they hang around different people? Will they be a saint? Will they become a druggie? Anything could happen and they might never be the same as they are now.
Since I'm not to college yet I can't quite finish this scenario completely so if you've already been through this transition from high school to college finish it with your experience. My hope is that everyone who reads this will take my words and turn them into their own experience and re-live this time in their lives. Now if you do this you're not allowed to think shoulda, coulda, woulda. I believe in having no regrets, so whether you were the captain of the football team or a cheerleader or a dork, geek, nerd or all of the above; have no regrets.
The only thing I have left to say is: I hope you had the time of your life.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Ignorance
Need I say more? Probably not, but y'all know I will anyway. If it's possible, ignorance (without trying to become educated) is my pet peeve.
Having said that, let me clarify what I mean when I say ignorance. Now, I do my best not to be an ignorant person and I know the word ignorance means an uneducated or unaware person, but that's not what bothers me. In fact, I don't like it when I hear people say "I don't like ignorant people" because most of the time these people cannot help their ignorance. Sometimes there is no one there to teach them so they don't know any better. All people should be forgiven for their ignorance when they have not been taught what is right or they are taught wrong. For example, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," (Luke 23:34).
There are people (and y'all all know at least one) that try to have educated discussions and arguments without educating themselves about the topic first. This is my pet peeve! Just thinking about it is making my blood pressure rise! We have heated discussions in our Theology class about all sorts of hot topics like immigration, discrimination, abortion (which is a moot point at a Catholic school anyway), capital punishment and lots more. The people in this class make comments and judgements on these topics even when they have no idea what they are talking about. Let me give you an example. We talked about FOCA in our class and there were lots of rumors about it, some said it was worse than it was and some said it was better than it was. As we got deeper into the discussion the teacher said she didn't want to comment because she hadn't read the actual document. Of course, this really got on my nerves because she started the discussion without even reading it first. So that night I went home, found the document online and read it for myself. When I came back to class I felt very educated on the topic and wanted to discuss it but instead of discussing it she just handed out petitions against it for us to sign. I won't say whether i am pro-life or pro-choice because honestly, I just don't want to get into it.
One more example, just to make sure you understand how frustrating it is. The Bishop wrote a letter about immigration to raise people's awareness about the issue and of course, being in a Catholic school, we read it a lot. The first day we read it, one girl was getting defensive and acting like she knew what she was talking about. Then as we went on she seemed to get confused but kept talking about it then finally, she said,"What is this (the letter)? Where is he getting all this stuff (the information)? I've never even heard about all this (the immigration issues)!". That is all I have to say.
Y'all please do not be this person. Stop ignorance and educate yourselves!
Having said that, let me clarify what I mean when I say ignorance. Now, I do my best not to be an ignorant person and I know the word ignorance means an uneducated or unaware person, but that's not what bothers me. In fact, I don't like it when I hear people say "I don't like ignorant people" because most of the time these people cannot help their ignorance. Sometimes there is no one there to teach them so they don't know any better. All people should be forgiven for their ignorance when they have not been taught what is right or they are taught wrong. For example, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," (Luke 23:34).
There are people (and y'all all know at least one) that try to have educated discussions and arguments without educating themselves about the topic first. This is my pet peeve! Just thinking about it is making my blood pressure rise! We have heated discussions in our Theology class about all sorts of hot topics like immigration, discrimination, abortion (which is a moot point at a Catholic school anyway), capital punishment and lots more. The people in this class make comments and judgements on these topics even when they have no idea what they are talking about. Let me give you an example. We talked about FOCA in our class and there were lots of rumors about it, some said it was worse than it was and some said it was better than it was. As we got deeper into the discussion the teacher said she didn't want to comment because she hadn't read the actual document. Of course, this really got on my nerves because she started the discussion without even reading it first. So that night I went home, found the document online and read it for myself. When I came back to class I felt very educated on the topic and wanted to discuss it but instead of discussing it she just handed out petitions against it for us to sign. I won't say whether i am pro-life or pro-choice because honestly, I just don't want to get into it.
One more example, just to make sure you understand how frustrating it is. The Bishop wrote a letter about immigration to raise people's awareness about the issue and of course, being in a Catholic school, we read it a lot. The first day we read it, one girl was getting defensive and acting like she knew what she was talking about. Then as we went on she seemed to get confused but kept talking about it then finally, she said,"What is this (the letter)? Where is he getting all this stuff (the information)? I've never even heard about all this (the immigration issues)!". That is all I have to say.
Y'all please do not be this person. Stop ignorance and educate yourselves!
Update: Buckle Up!
If you've read Buckle Up! you know that my friend's mom was in bad shape after their car accident. Well, I am very pleased to inform you that she is doing very well! Her broken bones are healed and all of the blood clots in her brain are gone which means she gets to come home soon. It has been 3 months since she has been home and she can't wait.
As if I need to say it again...BUCKLE UP! See y'all later!
As if I need to say it again...BUCKLE UP! See y'all later!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Am I Crazy or What?!?!
Okay, are y'all ready for a huge surprise? I signed up for track at my highschool!
This is huge! I have never done anything like this before. I haven't done anything other dance or cheerleading in 4 years. I am not even that great at running, good thing there are no try-outs. Also, I don't have to compete if I don't feel like I'm good enough. I guess the reason I'm doing this is to get in shape and stay in shape. If I get in the habit of running, maybe I will keep it up and stay in shape. I am determined to not gain the freshman 15 next year so maybe this will help.
Well, I'm sure you'll be hearing about this much more so I'll keep y'all updated.
This is huge! I have never done anything like this before. I haven't done anything other dance or cheerleading in 4 years. I am not even that great at running, good thing there are no try-outs. Also, I don't have to compete if I don't feel like I'm good enough. I guess the reason I'm doing this is to get in shape and stay in shape. If I get in the habit of running, maybe I will keep it up and stay in shape. I am determined to not gain the freshman 15 next year so maybe this will help.
Well, I'm sure you'll be hearing about this much more so I'll keep y'all updated.
Buckle Up!
I know y'all always hear this phrase, but I cannot tell you the importance of these words. There have been two car accidents with people very close to me that have shown me the absolute necessity of seat belts.
The first accident was my brother's. His 'friend' was driving and the front seats were back so far that he and the girl beside him could not sit correctly in the back seat and were unable to put their seat belts on. They went over a hill going around 100 mph and the car started spinning. The driver jumped out at the last minute so he was fine. My brother and the girl were thrown out of the car. The girl hit a telephone pole and died at the scene. My brother hit a tree. At the hospital, my parents were told to prepare themselves because he probably wouldn't make it. He was in a coma and he had a bad head injury but he came through. He had to re-learn how to do many things, like the ABCs, his address and how to walk. He also could not feel his right arm. Apparentley, as he was being thrown out of the car, he grabbed on with his right arm and the nerves were pulled out of the spine. This has been the biggest hinderance in the long run because he can't use it at all and he was right handed. He has been living with this for about 12 years now and has pretty much gotten used to it but it does cause problems. Not wearing a seat belt for one car ride can cause so many long term difficulties. For instance, he was in college at the time and he tried to go back to school after the wreck but it was too hard to learn after his head injury. He also cannot hold down a decent job for any length of time. If you still aren't convinced on wearing a seat belt, let me give you another example.
This car accident was recently, over this last Christmas break. One of my very best friends went to Mexico for Christmas to celebrate the holiday with her family. This is about 20 hour drive so she and her mom were taking turns driving so they wouldn't have to stop. They had just crossed the border and my friend was driving while the rest of them slept. She was wearing her seat belt and she thought her mother, who was in the passenger's seat was wearing her's too. It turned out that my friend was the only one wearing a seat belt because the rest had taken them off to get comfortable. She can't remember exactly what happened but I 'll tell you what she thinks happened. They were in a SUV that was almost full. They were travelling with her aunt, her aunt's two kids, my friends little brother and her cousin. The road was narrow and the it dropped off to a ditch. She remembers the car's wheel slipping off the road a little so she turned the wheel the other way. It sounds like she over-corrected and this caused the SUV to flip a few times and then land upright. Since she was wearing her seat belt she was okay and as soon as she could she began trying to help the others but to do this she had to crawl out the window because she couldn't get the door open. All but my friend and her mother were thrown out of the car but her cousin, her brother and her aunt's children just had a few bruises. Her mother was in very bad shape and when they got to the hospital, they found she had broken her collar bone and her arm, but those would heal. They are still worried about blood clots that are in her brain. Also, she is being treated for this in a Mexican hospital (not the best) because the doctors say they can't move her (I will update on that when I know more). And still, this is not the worst. Her aunt died in the accident. My friend feels horrible about this and keeps saying she feels like it was her fault and maybe if she hadn't been driving this wouldn't have happened. I try to console her but it doesn't help much. I truly believe that if everyone had been wearing their seat belts they may have been banged up a bit but for the most part they would've been okay.
Please y'all, wear your seat belts. I t doesn't matter if it's a 20 hour road trip or 5 minutes down the road, BUCKLE UP!
The first accident was my brother's. His 'friend' was driving and the front seats were back so far that he and the girl beside him could not sit correctly in the back seat and were unable to put their seat belts on. They went over a hill going around 100 mph and the car started spinning. The driver jumped out at the last minute so he was fine. My brother and the girl were thrown out of the car. The girl hit a telephone pole and died at the scene. My brother hit a tree. At the hospital, my parents were told to prepare themselves because he probably wouldn't make it. He was in a coma and he had a bad head injury but he came through. He had to re-learn how to do many things, like the ABCs, his address and how to walk. He also could not feel his right arm. Apparentley, as he was being thrown out of the car, he grabbed on with his right arm and the nerves were pulled out of the spine. This has been the biggest hinderance in the long run because he can't use it at all and he was right handed. He has been living with this for about 12 years now and has pretty much gotten used to it but it does cause problems. Not wearing a seat belt for one car ride can cause so many long term difficulties. For instance, he was in college at the time and he tried to go back to school after the wreck but it was too hard to learn after his head injury. He also cannot hold down a decent job for any length of time. If you still aren't convinced on wearing a seat belt, let me give you another example.
This car accident was recently, over this last Christmas break. One of my very best friends went to Mexico for Christmas to celebrate the holiday with her family. This is about 20 hour drive so she and her mom were taking turns driving so they wouldn't have to stop. They had just crossed the border and my friend was driving while the rest of them slept. She was wearing her seat belt and she thought her mother, who was in the passenger's seat was wearing her's too. It turned out that my friend was the only one wearing a seat belt because the rest had taken them off to get comfortable. She can't remember exactly what happened but I 'll tell you what she thinks happened. They were in a SUV that was almost full. They were travelling with her aunt, her aunt's two kids, my friends little brother and her cousin. The road was narrow and the it dropped off to a ditch. She remembers the car's wheel slipping off the road a little so she turned the wheel the other way. It sounds like she over-corrected and this caused the SUV to flip a few times and then land upright. Since she was wearing her seat belt she was okay and as soon as she could she began trying to help the others but to do this she had to crawl out the window because she couldn't get the door open. All but my friend and her mother were thrown out of the car but her cousin, her brother and her aunt's children just had a few bruises. Her mother was in very bad shape and when they got to the hospital, they found she had broken her collar bone and her arm, but those would heal. They are still worried about blood clots that are in her brain. Also, she is being treated for this in a Mexican hospital (not the best) because the doctors say they can't move her (I will update on that when I know more). And still, this is not the worst. Her aunt died in the accident. My friend feels horrible about this and keeps saying she feels like it was her fault and maybe if she hadn't been driving this wouldn't have happened. I try to console her but it doesn't help much. I truly believe that if everyone had been wearing their seat belts they may have been banged up a bit but for the most part they would've been okay.
Please y'all, wear your seat belts. I t doesn't matter if it's a 20 hour road trip or 5 minutes down the road, BUCKLE UP!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
9 Muslim Passengers Kicked Off Plane
I'm sure you've all heard about the Muslim family kicked off the plane on New Year's Day. If you haven't, some passengers overheard a Muslim couple (with children) talking about the safest place to sit on a plane. The passengers told someone and the family was removed from the plane. The FBI checked them out and said there was nothing to worry about and the airline, AirTran should re-book them for another flight. Oh, by the way, they were taking their kids to Orlando over the holiday. AirTran wouldn't re-book them, even after the FBI said they should. On Friday, AirTran apoligized for kicking them off and offered to fly them back to Washington for free, but the family had already booked a flight on another plane.
This is ridiculous! If a white mother had been talking about the safest place to sit on a plane, she would not have been kicked off. AirTran released a statement that it "was a misunderstanding, but the steps taken were necessary". I wonder if the steps would be so necessary if the family had been white? Probably not.
Even though I don't like this, it's what I expected. It's human nature, when bad things are done, we stereotype anyone who looks or acts like the bad people. Another example of this was during/after WWII when we shunned the Japanese. Put yourself in their place for a moment. Say there was a group of Christians doing very bad things. People around the world would say "Ugh! Look at those Christians, what horrible people!". Now taht ths tables are turned it doesn't feel good, does it? Wouldn't you rather they say "Look at those bad people! We need to stop them."
Please think about this when you see someone different from you. Someday, you may be the different one and you'll want people to welcome you. Y'all remember the Golden Rule: "Do onto others as you would have done onto you."
This is ridiculous! If a white mother had been talking about the safest place to sit on a plane, she would not have been kicked off. AirTran released a statement that it "was a misunderstanding, but the steps taken were necessary". I wonder if the steps would be so necessary if the family had been white? Probably not.
Even though I don't like this, it's what I expected. It's human nature, when bad things are done, we stereotype anyone who looks or acts like the bad people. Another example of this was during/after WWII when we shunned the Japanese. Put yourself in their place for a moment. Say there was a group of Christians doing very bad things. People around the world would say "Ugh! Look at those Christians, what horrible people!". Now taht ths tables are turned it doesn't feel good, does it? Wouldn't you rather they say "Look at those bad people! We need to stop them."
Please think about this when you see someone different from you. Someday, you may be the different one and you'll want people to welcome you. Y'all remember the Golden Rule: "Do onto others as you would have done onto you."
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Seven Pounds
ONLY READ THIS IF YOU'VE SEEN IT! I WOULD HATE TO RUIN IT FOR YOU!
This movie is very sad and very powerful. Will Smith is at his best. He is definitely one of my favorite actors.
In the movie, he commits suicide, that is what I really want to talk about. Is it a sin or not? Now, if you haven't seen the movie, you will probably say 'Yes, definitely.', but now that I have seen this movie, I am a little baffled by this. Let me explain.
I love the History Channel. All this week has been "7 Deadly Sins Week". (What a coincidence! I just noticed 7 pounds, 7 sins...hmm.) Anyway, they were discussing suicide being a sin and I thought of the movie Seven Pounds. In the movie, after his wreck, he spent his life trying to help people who really deserved it until he met two people that he would have to give his life to help. In his eyes, he had nothing left to live for, so instead of letting these 2 very good people's lives go to waste, he gave his own life. That is huge! He gave his own life, so they could live theirs. When shown this way, it doesn't seem like a sin.
Now let's look at the other side. Our bodies are God's temples and we should not harm them, much less do away with them completely. He made each one of us special for our own special duties. Ah! But now we've come full circle. What if his life's duty was to help people in every way possible, what if that was what he was supposed to do? And, yet another point! I believe everything happens for a reason, so what if he was supposed to do that? Now, an even bigger question that no one wants to hear, ask or answer: If everything happens for a reason, are some people meant to commit suicide? That is a big, bad question, that no one likes, but what an interesting thought!
Now we are left with a bit of a predicament. Since I don't know the answer I want to know what you think.
Is suicide a sin or not? If you comment, please back up your answer. I am very curious as to why you believe the way you do. I am going to put a poll up on my blog, please do it. I want to know what y'all believe.
This movie is very sad and very powerful. Will Smith is at his best. He is definitely one of my favorite actors.
In the movie, he commits suicide, that is what I really want to talk about. Is it a sin or not? Now, if you haven't seen the movie, you will probably say 'Yes, definitely.', but now that I have seen this movie, I am a little baffled by this. Let me explain.
I love the History Channel. All this week has been "7 Deadly Sins Week". (What a coincidence! I just noticed 7 pounds, 7 sins...hmm.) Anyway, they were discussing suicide being a sin and I thought of the movie Seven Pounds. In the movie, after his wreck, he spent his life trying to help people who really deserved it until he met two people that he would have to give his life to help. In his eyes, he had nothing left to live for, so instead of letting these 2 very good people's lives go to waste, he gave his own life. That is huge! He gave his own life, so they could live theirs. When shown this way, it doesn't seem like a sin.
Now let's look at the other side. Our bodies are God's temples and we should not harm them, much less do away with them completely. He made each one of us special for our own special duties. Ah! But now we've come full circle. What if his life's duty was to help people in every way possible, what if that was what he was supposed to do? And, yet another point! I believe everything happens for a reason, so what if he was supposed to do that? Now, an even bigger question that no one wants to hear, ask or answer: If everything happens for a reason, are some people meant to commit suicide? That is a big, bad question, that no one likes, but what an interesting thought!
Now we are left with a bit of a predicament. Since I don't know the answer I want to know what you think.
Is suicide a sin or not? If you comment, please back up your answer. I am very curious as to why you believe the way you do. I am going to put a poll up on my blog, please do it. I want to know what y'all believe.
"It is that which makes us different that brings us together."-Scion commercial
As you know if you have read my other posts, I love differences in people. I love to see someone who doesn't conform just to fit in. There is a new Scion commercial that sums up my beliefs about differences. It says, "It is that which makes us different that brings us together." To me, this quote means you can be purple, blue, green, striped, spotted, or striped and spotted, and by everyone being different, everyone will be brought together. This works because since everyone is different, we are all, in a way, the same. Whew! I am blowing my own mind!
Really, what I am saying is that discrimination, all discrimination, is bad! Just don't do it! If not for the fact that it is mean and hurtful then do it to make yourself look better. That's right, I said it, do whatever it takes, just don't discriminate! Now you're wondering what I mean by 'make yourself look better'. 9 times out of 10 one of the main reasons behind discrimination is that whoever is discriminating usually has some kind of insecurity so they put other people down as if that will raise them up. This is not true! Stop discriminating!
Well, that's all I just wanted to comment on that quote because I really like it. So my challenge for y'all is to go out and be different and don't discriminate, try being open to new, different people.
Doubt
This was a very good movie but I am not going to talk to much about it for 2 reasons.
1) I don't want to ruin the movie for you.
2) This has some very controversial topics and I don't want to offend anyone.
Now, having said that, I love learning and seeing other people's views, so if there is something that you don't agree with, please comment and tell me your side.
Let me start by saying I am a Methodist Christian. I go to a Catholic school but I do not agree with some of their beliefs. A topic this movie touches on, is the role of women in the Catholic church. I believe that a person's sex should not hold them back in any way. In the movie, a problem cannot be solved because the only people who see this problem are nuns and there is no higher authority (man) that they can go to in order to fix the problem. In my eyes, this is wrong. No one should be held down for the differences.
Although, there other things I disagree with, that is the only thing I am going to say because I don't want to ruin it for you. Meryl Streep does an amazing job. Y'all should definitely go see this movie.
1) I don't want to ruin the movie for you.
2) This has some very controversial topics and I don't want to offend anyone.
Now, having said that, I love learning and seeing other people's views, so if there is something that you don't agree with, please comment and tell me your side.
Let me start by saying I am a Methodist Christian. I go to a Catholic school but I do not agree with some of their beliefs. A topic this movie touches on, is the role of women in the Catholic church. I believe that a person's sex should not hold them back in any way. In the movie, a problem cannot be solved because the only people who see this problem are nuns and there is no higher authority (man) that they can go to in order to fix the problem. In my eyes, this is wrong. No one should be held down for the differences.
Although, there other things I disagree with, that is the only thing I am going to say because I don't want to ruin it for you. Meryl Streep does an amazing job. Y'all should definitely go see this movie.
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