Life In Many Different Forms...

Spread the word to END the word

2012-03-08T20:00:00.001-07:00

How many of you have been called a retard? I know I have. How many of you have called someone retarded? I know I have. How many of you have used the phrase, “what, are you mental or something?” I know I have. How many of you have thought twice about saying or calling someone a retard before actually saying it? . . .

The Special Olympics and Best Buddies organizations amongst other disability organizations have teamed up to combat this “R” word. Both organizations believe that this word is hurtful, and I fully agree with them.

How is this word hurtful? Number one, it was offensive. It is offensive to those people who have an intellectual disability. It makes them feel bad and makes them feel apart and different from society. Being classified as an individual with an intellectual disability sets them apart from the world, they are their own little group. When you called someone a “retard” you are throwing them into this group. What these organizations are trying to say is that these people do not want to be thought of as a separate group in society, they want to feel a part of society.

Number two, using the “R” word is considered hate speech. Why? Because by calling someone who does not have an intellectual disability you are throwing them into a category in which they are not, in other words you are degrading people into something that they are not. In addition to this, you make the people who do have intellectual abilities feel more apart from the world and different. They just want to be people.

The term mental retardation was originally used by medical doctors as a classification. It has now broadened into society as an insult towards people who have intellectual disabilities. Society has begun to use the “R” word in place of calling people dumb or stupid. Using the “R” word is more derogatory and hurtful.

In 2004, the Special Olympics International Board of Directors adopted the phrase “intellectual disabilities” and no longer uses the phrase “mental retardation”. On October 5, 2010, President Barak Obama singed into law via Senate Bill 2781 Rosa’s Law. This law removes the phrases “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from all federal health policies. Federal Health organizations are now required to use “people first language”. People-first language is using the phrase “intellectual disability”. By using people-first language we acknowledge that those people who do have a disability are truly people, just like an other person in the world. Just because they have a disability does not mean that they are impaired from being a fully functional individual.

The goal of the Special Olympics and Best Buddies as well as other disability organizations is to focus on the positive. Do not call those who have intellectual disabilities retarded or a retard, instead call them brave, call them brilliant, call them a leader, call them a captain, call them an artist, and call them a hero. Let them know that they are not let out of this world and that they are truly special human beings.

I invite you to join me in combating this “R” word. Get the message out there how hurtful it is to call someone retarded or a retard. Honestly, if your intention is to let someone know how unintelligent that they are being, call them stupid or dumb, for stupid and dumb are the correct terms to be used in this situation. Actually, how about we begin to learn from our mistakes and not make it known how unintelligent someone is being, but instead try to help them become a better individual. I do not think that people realize how hurtful this word is. This word effects all of those people with intellectual disabilities. These disabilities include: ADD, ADHD, Asperger Syndrome, Autism, Down’s Syndrome, Dyslexia, Epilepsy, Trisomy, and Tourette’s Syndrome amongst others.

Visit: http://www.r-word.org/r-word-take-action.aspx to sign the pledge to combat the “R” word. I know that I am going to do my best to refrain this word from my vocabulary. People say that actions speak louder than words, however in some instances words can speak louder than one’s actions.

☮ ~ ♥

KONY 2012

2012-03-07T17:51:00.003-07:00

Alright so this KONY 2012 movement has recently heightened due to the fact that this is the last year that the president of the United States will do anything about it. After having read some mixed feelings on Facebook about the said “legit-ness” of this movement, I decided to go out and do a little research. I mean... yes I will admit, I jumped on this KONY bandwagon, merely because of its message... but after having jumped I began to think to myself, “okay why am I suddenly on this wagon, yet have no idea what it is about or what is going on.” Now many Facebook users (adults, teens, tweens, and the like) honestly know nothing about this movement. I can say that with full belief because after having done my research I understood that even I didn’t know what on earth was going on. So for all the people that are taking the time to read this right now, here is an overlook on what the situation has been and is about.

Let’s just start out by saying that it is obvious to note that the Ugandan government has partaken in violence throughout the nation’s history. So yes, they have not only exhibited violence and killing civilians, but a lot has changed (government displaying violence wise) since the beginning.

The beginning of the Ugandan crisis stems from the fighting Ugandan People’s Democratic Army (UPDA) against the National Resistance Army (NRA). Now, the NRA was created in 1986 by a man named Museveni and gained its power via a military coup that ended the decades of dictators in Uganda. Seems like an okay army right? Not so much. This army violated peace treaties and inserted violence into the Ugandan nation. Because of all of this “back stabbing” the people decided to create the UPDA to defend the northern Ugandan’s against NRA. However, the UPDA did not last long and ended up signing a peace treaty with the NRA, and it prevailed once again.

Next came to rise of the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM) led by Lakwena. Lakwena’s goal was to purify the Acholi society (people of Sudan) and to liberate the northern people away from the NRA. However, once again the NRA found its way into defeating the HSM.

Now here comes the important information that is relevant to this whole KONY movement. Joseph Kony formed UPDA member and Catholic preacher, founded the Uganda Christian Democratic Army in 1988 (later renamed Lord’s Resistance Army in 1991). This army attacked local civilians that got in his way of trying to purify and marginalize the Acholi people. In essence he felt that he was supposed to take on the work of Lakwena. And if you really want to make a comparison... let’s take a look at Hitler, did he not want to get rid of people who interfered with his vision of an Arian society? Kony’s army proceeded to lose members of his army due to the lack of support and feelings of forced enlistment. So what did Kony do? He turned towards the children of Uganda. He began to abduct them from their homes and proceeded to force them into his army. How did he use this? It was the skilled use of psychological warfare that Kony was able to turn some of the children against their families to feel as if being abducted was okay. As if this wasn’t horrible enough, he turned the girls that he abducted into sex slaves and made them become the wives of some of his commanders. Furthermore, he made the children mutilate their own families using weapons such as machetes and other kinds of blunt objects.

In 1996, the Ugandan government finally opened its eyes and saw that there was a problem going on within its society and created “protected villages” that people could escape to in order to be protected from the LRA. These villages failed, and it prevailed to be a nightmare for the Ugandan people. In the year 2004, the Ugandan government tried to institute safe camps for the children to escape to. About 1.7 million people came to these camps. Due to the “horrible-ness” of these camps, later in 2005 it was reported that almost 1,000 people were dying each week due to the poor conditions. These conditions being starvation, poor sanitation, trauma, and diseases (highly HIV/AIDS).

After refusing to negotiate in peace talks, Joseph Kony was cited by the International Criminal Court as a criminal on charges of war crimes and humanity crimes. The citing has caused him to become the number ONE person on their list. Unbelievable. In 2008, there was another failed peace attempt, mainly because Kony did not show up and decided to proceed to kidnap and harm children instead.

In December of 2008, with the help of the United States troops, the Ugandan Army tried to launch and operation (Operation Lightening Thunder) in order to surprise the rebel leaders who were ordering attacks on civilians and also an attempt to find the location Kony. However, Kony learned of the plan and moved his location and hasn’t been sighted or heard of since.

Invisible Children is an organization that was founded by 3 men after their visit to Uganda in 2003. In 2005, they released a video Invisible Children: Rough Cut which displayed the horrors that they encountered during their visit. This is real footage, it has not been fabricated, it has not been made up. They have been tracking the situation of the LRA and the abductions of children in Ugandan, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They have met a young boy, Jacob, and they know his story and they know how horrible the situation actually is. Their main concern: freeing the children from a horrible situation.

What is the reason of KONY 2012 hype now? The reason is because after taking their concern to Washington D.C. and President Obama okaying the deployment of U.S. Troops to help Ugandan Army with the situation, he told them that this was the last year that the troops would be in Uganda. Why? There has been no foreseen movement of Kony since 2008 and therefore they are getting no where and are no longer seeing this as an important need for Americans to be paying attention to. The founders of Invisible Children see this as an important need for Americans to see, which is why they are urging everyone to become aware of the situation, for the CHILDREN’S SAKE. Think about it... would you want your sons, daughters, brothers, or sisters to be in a situation like this? “Well were not in that situation so I do not have to think about it” many of you may be thinking, however we need to think outside of the box and think about what really matters. What do you think we could have done with the tools and resources that we have today that we could have done to help the victims of the Holocaust? Would you sit around and do nothing or would you try to do something to know that you were trying to help a good cause?

As for the whole bandwagon crap going around. You know what... band wagons need to happen. It really irks me when people say “get lost all you band wagon people” or something of that nature. For example, this past Super Bowl between the Patriots and the Giants obviously the nation is going to have band wagon people because for starters their team is either out and rooting for one or they are simply just rooting for one team because they are rivals to their or something of the like. Now this band wagon is different than that of sports, but this band wagon needs to get rolling and it is for a good thing. America has been so critical lately, of everything. It does not hurt for someone to suddenly become moved or motivated by a situation for a day. Honestly.

Why the sudden blow up? The fact that new technology has come to rise since the release of the Invisible Children video in 2005. I think the thing right now is that they are utilizing the fact that social networking is a lot bigger than it was 20 years ago and even from 6 years ago when the documentary was first released. I think they are reintroducing the message and what is happening to the new generations and to the new users of YouTube and Facebook and Twitter. They are showing how effective the media is and are demonstrating how people can move together and let their voices be heard. It's how policies happen, they can't go unignored.

What do you think the point of a 30 minute video is? To un-educate people or to educate them... To re-educate the people who of have known about the issue and to educate those who have no idea about it... They educate and then they invite. They do not beg and plead for donation or for people to partake in this movement. They are asking and letting people know how they can do something whether it's putting up posters, sharing the video, making a donation, talking about it or writing about it. They are informing people of how not to be a bystander. People may not know the in depth nature about the situation, but from the video they learn enough to act and make a choice to help these people have their voices be heard.

I think a lot people know and understand that it has been an issue for a while, a least the policy makers. The Invisible Children organization is just trying to make sure that it doesn't get forgotten because it is a real and serious issue. And honestly people can print their own posters and what not they do not necessarily need to pay. And some people if they feel impassioned to do so can donate a one time amount. I think the people buying these kits are schools and other organizations. I do not think its individuals who are buying it, but then again may be they are...

The job that the organization hopes for people all over the world to do is this: BLOW IT UP.... teens, college students, adults, and they like. Watch this video because some generations missed out on what was happening in 2005 and prior and some were too young to understand and realize what's going on. It is important to blow it up to get it to the policy makers and bring it back with strength.

For all of those who say that the LRA has been inactive... yes they have been inactive in Uganda since 2006, however they are carrying out their mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Sudan. This issue is still current and it is still relevant, and unless it can be stopped and noted around the world, it will continue to go on.

This is all just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt. Interpret it with what you will.

Facts stem from:

www.invisiblechildren.com/history-of-the-war

www.theresolve.org/history

☮ ~ ♥

A True Athlete...

2011-02-17T01:29:00.002-07:00

I know this is REALLY long...but it is my definition essay for my ENG 102 class. I thought it would be interesting to share with all of you.

Athletes can be found all over the world, but what makes up a true athlete? Are they those who put in hours and hours of practice a week or are they the ones who play a sport for fun? Some people believe that a true athlete is more than just a typical athlete. In order for a person to be a true athlete, the definition is rooted deeply within the person. A true athlete cannot be fabricated, it is something that is born innately within the person. A true athlete is an athlete who gives 110%, who has a love, passion, and a desire to play the game, and who is more mentally smart than physically smart.

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary an athlete is defined as, “a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, and stamina”. Another dictionary definition of an athlete is, “characterized by or involving physical activity or exertion; active; physically strong and well developed; muscular”. Although these definitions are true in describing an athlete, they lack in defining what a true athlete is. Yes, a true athlete encompasses all of these qualities, however the qualities defined above merely describe someone who partakes in an sporting event. For someone to be considered a true athlete there needs to be more qualities than physical qualities. Just like the saying, “there is more to a person than meets the eye”, there is more to an athlete than the physicality of the athlete. Almost anyone can be considered an athlete, however are they true athletes?

A true athlete needs to be able to give 110% in the sport that they play. So often there have been athletes who become lackadaisical in their movements because they have become fatigued from playing. A true athlete will play all quarters of the game if needed be because they want to show that they are there to play the game and not just to gain fame or money. A main reason why true athletes need to give 110% is to show that they are trying to better themselves. They want to become the best that they can be. An example of giving 110% is by practicing different skills and concepts after a practice, or staying an hour after practice to enhance their skills. Another example of giving 110% is going full out in a game. A true athlete will run the extra mile to tackle a running back who is inches away from the goal line. Even though this athlete is tired and sore from the numerous beatings in the game, they will go the extra length to stop the other team from scoring.

In football, one of the main players on defense is the free safety. The free safety is the last line of defense and the last effort to try to prevent the team from scoring. Before the quarterback releases the ball from his hand, the free safety needs to anticipate where he is going to throw the ball. This way, the free safety can either intercept the football or tackle the receiver immediately. This is an example of how a true athlete needs to be more mentally smart than physically smart. A regular athlete will wait on his or her heels before seeing where the ball is being thrown. They might be physically fast enough to reach the player before the goal line, but would it not have been more beneficial if the receiver was tackles 15 yards away from the goal line? An athlete can be the most muscular guy on the team, but that does not necessarily mean that they are the smartest athlete. A great American baseball player, Yogi Berra, once said, “Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical.” While Berra said this about baseball, it can be applied to all sports.

The most important criteria of being a true athlete is that they need to have a love, passion, and a desire to play the game. This is important because this allows the athlete to be unselfish and to play for the betterment of the team. Many professional athletes today just care about playing for money. Meaning that their professional career becomes all about money versus being the best that they can be and wanting to help the good of the team. When athletes play having a love, passion, and a desire to play, they never become tired of the sport, nor do they give up if their teams sucks or if their become injured. It is amazing to see how many professional athletes waste away their true talent just to receive large amounts of money. A true athlete is not in it for the money, they are in it for the love of the game and because it makes them happy and feel good to get out there and do something that they love to do.

A person whom exemplifies a true athlete is Patrick Tillman. Pat Tillman grew up considered too little to play football. He attended Arizona State University and signed into the National Football League with the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals believed in Pat’s potential to be a great athlete and to succeed in the sport. They were right. Tillman thoroughly enjoyed playing football because he loved the sports, he was passionate about it, and he desired to play it no matter what anybody thought about him. Tillman has always been a team player and is one of the most unselfish football players of all time. Pat Tillman gave up millions of dollars to stay with the Cardinals versus signing with a different football team. He chose to stick with the Cardinals because they believed in him from the beginning of his career and gave him a chance to show the world how great of an athlete he was. In the end, Tillman made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up what he loved most to go and defend his country in war.

True athletes give more than what their body has to give, meaning they give a full 110%. In addition to this, a true athlete should be more mentally smart than physically smart and should want to play the sport because they have a love, passion, and desire for the game. Many people can object to these criteria and say that an athlete is anyone who plays a sport. While this is true, the question in mind is what is a true athlete. True athletes are like diamonds in the rough, they are difficult to find but gleam like the stars when they are found.

Thanks for reading.

☮ ~ ♥

Skills of life...

2011-02-16T00:21:00.001-07:00

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

– Hellen Keller

I find this quote to be incredibly inspiring. Hellen Keller, deaf and blind, realized that even though she cannot do everything she knew that she could still do something. I think that this is important for all of us to remember. We are all individual human beings, yet we are one person. We are not two faced and have split personalities, we are one. Many of us cannot do all of the things that we would like to do. Maybe something hinders us from doing those things. And many of us are not skilled in certain areas where others are. For the things that we do know how to do, we should not refuse to do them. Say, for example, you are a really good writer, yet you do not want to write an essay. You are refusing to use one of your greater talents simply because you do not want to do it.

Do not take life for granted because you only get out of life what you put into life. Live with no regrets and do not refuse the things that you are skilled at.

Peace through Love.

The Picture of Dorian Gray....

2011-02-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

"We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification... Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place also." -The Pictures of Dorian Gray

This quote begins the demise of Dorian Gray. Here was this young beautiful man who didn't have a care in the world, and here with this one quote spoken by a supposed friend, his whole world is turned upside down.

Growing up, I really did not like to read, especially the books that were assigned to us by teachers. However, come Junior year of high school the teachers actually began to pick some what interesting books to read! Amazing! Senior year I read The Picture of Dorian Gray. Yes, I read it front to back. One of the few books I actually read in high school to say the least. Anyway, I found that book dark, eerie, and somewhat intriguing and entertaining to read. Oscar Wilde is known for his flamboyant writing, but yet powerful all the same. Yes, the book is "messed up" and odd, but it is a well written book.

For those of you who have not read this book, or for those of you who have plans to read this book. . . READ IT. You will be amazed at how this book takes a hold of you and will make you want to read (or so in my opinion at least). And once you begin reading it, continue to read, don't just decide to read a few pages and stop. Otherwise you will be lost and confused.

As I do with all my quotes, I am going to analyze.

"We are punished for our refusals." What does Lord Henry mean by this? Well he could mean that the things we refuse to do could come back to haunt us in the end. Or he could mean that by refusing people we are punishing our inner selves. I for one think it is a combination of the two. If we refuse to do something, for example not taking the trash out or cleaning the room when told, there will result a punishment. . . grounded. Another example would be if we were to refuse to do a paper, once you refuse to do that paper, your punishment is obviously a failing grade. Therefore, we become punished by those things that we refuse.

"Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us." By this, I believe that Lord Henry is saying that things that we struggle with in our mind (thoughts, ideas, imagination) never go away. They continually stay within our mind and begin to eat away at our brain. This eating away causes a feeling of poison. This poison being that you cannot get your mind off of it. Now, there are many positive things that can eat away at your brain. For example, wanting to cure a disease or come up with some type of solution to a problem. But then again there are things that come into our imagination that makes us sick to our stomachs that we wish would just go away.

"The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification... Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful." Once the body has sinned there is no taking it back. Now there is something that those of religious affiliation believe in called forgiveness and absolving from sins that makes at conscious effort to take away the feeling of guilt away from our brain, yet does it really take it away from our mind, body, or those with whom we have sinned? If we resist this purification then the act or the sin will just eat away at the mind as well as the body. The mind will continually want and try to commit the sin again, yet it has already been taken away from the body.

"It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place also." There is definitely some truth to this statement. Have you ever thought about a situation and began to freak out about possibilities of this situation? Once you plant a bad seed in your mind it begins to effect how you feel, how you act, and even begins to make you feel anxious. People can make things up in their mind, to the point where the most heinous things are believable. They can stretch the truth, they can make you feel like the worst person in the world, the brain is a very powerful tool.

I recommend that you go and read this book. I wouldn't go as far to say that it is one of my favorites, but it is definitely good for sure. And there is much much more to this book than the quote that I explained. This quote is only the beginning of the mysteries of the book. So, that is all blogging world. I bid you adieu until next time.

Peace through Love.

Drugs...

2011-02-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

"The basic thing nobody asks is why do people take drugs of any sort? Why do we have these accessories to normal living to live? I mean, is there something wrong with society that's making us so pressurized, that we cannot live without guarding ourselves against it?" -John Lennon

I feel that people take drugs to feel better. First off there are many different levels and categories of drugs. So what drugs is John Lennon talking about here? There are prescription drugs and illegal drugs. Within illegal drugs there are: depressants, stimulants, opiates, and hallucinogens. And obviously these can be broken down as well.

When it comes to prescription drugs, people take these to feel better. Meaning, to get over a sickness or to boost their immune system to fight off a disease. In a sense these drugs are okay and that is their reasoning to take them. However, people can come to a point where they can become addicted or dependent on the prescribed drug. For example, even though the person feels better and everything has gone back to normal, they feel as if they still need to continue to take the drug. This is commonly found with those who have colds. For example, some people take Nyquil to help them sleep at night during cold season. Maybe they stop using Nyquil for a while, but begin to find that they cannot sleep or having trouble sleeping. So they soon feel as if Nyquil is the only way for them to sleep through the night.

Then we have the illegal drugs, which are simply...illegal. In most cases, people use these drugs to help them cope with their life. People tend to turn to drugs when things are going downhill or they feel as if their life is in shambles. For example, when someone catches a bad break and loses their job and is suddenly going out of money. They may turn to marijuana or cocaine as a comfort to help them heal through the pain.

In another instance the use of illegal drugs is commonly used amongst young teens and college students. For some reason they feel as if by using these drugs the stress of school and becoming an adult can be lifted off of their shoulders. Does it really? I feel that it should add pressure and scare teens because of the lurking feeling that they are going to get caught by someone. If it were me, I would be completely paranoid all the time.

Let's go back to John Lennon. What are the drugs that John is referring to? I feel that John is referring to the use of illegal drugs. The key word that leads me to think this is the word pressurized. He is saying that people use drugs as an escape from society. He says that people are becoming so pressured by society (maybe jobs, family, relationships, school, etc.) that the only escape they can find is by using these drugs. He questions why they cannot face society.

We do not ask people why they take drugs because there are a multitude of reasons why a person can take drugs, whether it to be to look cool or as an escape from pressure. I don't know why people claim these drugs as accessories to life. I don't know why people carry drugs in their "back pocket" so to speak. It amazes me how many drug addicts there are out in the world and how many drug addicts you walk by on a daily basis.

However, it is an evil evil world out there. Some people just don't know how to face it while others grow and learn how to tackle it head on.

Getting to know...

2011-02-01T23:29:00.001-07:00

"The truth is I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent a character for me. I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't. When they found this out, they would blame me for disillusioning them---and fooling them."

- Marilyn Monroe

I have never wanted to be anything more than myself. There are others out there however that want to be someone else. They feel as if they have to transform to some alter person to have people like them or want to like them. Then there are people who put up facades so you never truly understand or fully know who they are. How are we supposed to meet new people and enjoy the company of other people if they do not let you in to who they are or help you understand why they are the way they are?

This quote by Marilyn Monroe speaks a lot to me. I am going to try my best to analyze it sentence by sentence.

"The truth is I never fooled anyone". Not knowing the full story about Marilyn's life or how people felt about her, I am going to assume that Marilyn was trying to be herself during her life and throughout her professional career. I think that it is important to keep in mind that we should live our lives being true to who we are and that we are not trying to trick people into thinking that we are something that we are not. If someone likes drinking and partying excessively should we act that we too enjoy doing that and fooling them to believe that our minds are okay with participating in that? Is that not straying away from who we are? By not fooling people we allow ourselves to stay close to home, but at the same time there is room to become "adventurous" in helping add to who we are.

"I've let people fool themselves". Now, I am not sure as to what to make of this sentence. In the context of Marilyn, I feel as if this sentence if referring to all of those men who in their minds have made Marilyn idols and their ideal woman. She has fooled them into thinking that there are other women out there like her. However, I feel as if people should not fool themselves when coming to know another person. It is important to come to know each other before developing a friendship. It takes a while to truly know who someone is. I think it is important that when making friends, let them in to know who you are, but don't let them fool themselves into thinking that you are someone that you're not.

"They didn't bother to find out who and what I was". I could not agree with this more. People do not take the time to really figure out a person and who they are. Yes this is somewhat hypocritical of me, because I find myself judging people before I have the chance to really get to know them or have the opportunity to meet them a second time. A majority of this world does not take the time to figure out who we are. And with not finding out who people are comes stereotypes, and with stereotypes comes profiling, and with profiling comes discrimination and hate. All of these has the potential to escalate into something violent. The people of the world has scene this, there are examples of this throughout history. We should bother ourselves to want to find out who people are. How are we supposed to make new fresh connections with people and make different friends. I feel that when we were younger it is so much easier to make friends because we have less to hind. We are just little innocent human beings setting out in a new world. However, things get tougher as we grow up. People have hidden personalities, different stories, different things that make them who they are, and even secrets that they do not wish to proclaim.

"Instead they would invent a character for me". Marilyn grew up playing the different roles she was casted to be. She was never really her own person and had to dive into the personality of her role. Isn't that what actors/actresses are supposed to do? Of course. However, perhaps Marilyn felt as if she wanted to prove something to the Hollywood world that she could be her own person and not act like her characters. Maybe Marilyn herself got confused on who she really was and got lost in the multiple personalities of the characters she played. Many people who are picked on and bullied are often given names and depicted as evil characters that other children make fun of. It isn't fair.

"I wouldn't argue with them. They were obviously loving somebody I wasn't." While Marilyn would willing submit to these parts, was she always happy playing them? Movie goers loved the roles that Marilyn played and they loved her acting. I mean who wouldn't? However, it seems that by Marilyn saying this she wasn't always happy in playing the roles that she was casted to play. If it were me, and somebody fell in love with me for someone that I wasn't, would I want them to love me? I would want this person to love me for me not because of the things that I do or the clothes that I wear or the perfume that I put on. There is a person inside of the skin that is shown. For those people who have labeled people, how do they think they feel? I understand, that I really have no where to talk because I too have labeled people, unfortunately, and maybe writing all this is to my own personal healing and eye opening. Do these people welcome the labels, or do they immediately want to tear them off? Those that want to tear them off care what other people think of them, where as those who don't care about the labels, they know that the people who place them on them do not really know them at all.

"When they found this out, they would blame me for disillusioning them---and fooling them". Her Marilyn explains the idea of fooling people. When they found out that she didn't love the characters that she was being asked to play, they didn't believe that she could actually feel that way. I don't really know how this last part fits into all that I have been saying... but this last part however is important to the quote because it is what Marilyn is feeling and gives the readers some light into what her quote really means.

Ladies and gentlemen your interpretation is left up to you. This is how I feel and what thoughts and ideas came to mind as I read this quote. I know I have jumped around a lot and I apologize for it. I just needed to take some time to do a little bit of free writing and let the creative words flow from my finger tips.

Judgements...

2010-10-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. How true is that? Walking on a campus that holds thousands of people I see plenty of people that I would love to judge, but instead I smile and continue on may way. Too many people today judge people without getting to know them. Take the time to get to know the person before making assumptions about them. Now the reason for my writing this blog stems from music, like always. It has come to my attention that my two favorite artists, Taylor Swift and John Mayer, have been in the headlines lately. Not together or anything, but moreover with a song titled, "Dear John", that is soon to be released with Taylor's new album.

Many people are making the judgement that this song is about John Mayer and that Taylor is writing about how John took advantage of her way back when. This taking advantage taking place somewhere along the lines of them recording the song, "Half of My Heart" on John's recently released album "Who Says". Now I know that Taylor is known for writing songs about boys, especially previous experiences and feelings towards boys. For example, it has been inferred that there have been songs written about Joe Jonas and on the new album Taylor Lautner. Taylor has openly admitted that her songs are truly about real people and real experiences, but I find it a little ridiculous that people read so much into WHO the song is about. Not to mention that DEAR JOHN is also known as a break up letter that girls write to break things off with their boyfriend...so again...who is to say that Dear John, is about JOHN MAYER. It could be about John Doe, or John O'Callahan, or John from the movie Dear John.... Shoot I dunno.

Why do we have to judge who the song is about? Can we not just listen to the song and appreciate the message that it holds? Sure Taylor may have made mistakes or her relationships haven't always gone for the best, but do we really need to bash on the boys that the song is about? No, I certainly do not think so. I think that what should be judged here is how well Taylor's song/message is heard by her listeners. I think that who the song about is completely irrelevant. Isn't that getting into people's personal business? Yes yes this is music and people are going to wonder and be curious who the song is about, but common people lets leave the curiosity aside.

Both John Mayer and Taylor Swift are amazing artists. I am well aware of how wacked out John's reputation has been. I have respect for both artists and I love their music. I have not judged them for who they are or what they have done in the past, therefore I have had the ability to love their songs and love them as recording artists.

Maybe I am a little off base here, or maybe it is because this judgement is between 2 of my favorite artists, but I just don't get people some days.

In Your Atmosphere...

2010-09-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

"Wherever I go, whatever I do, I wonder where I am in my relationship to you. Wherever you go, whatever you are, I watch your life play out from pictures from afar ."

- John Mayer

If I were to define a genius, I would define it as John Mayer. Well, that is a musical genius. Have you ever sat down and listened intently to they lyrics of his music? He is a poetic extraordinaire. His lyrics immediately begin to dance around in my head, his words suddenly come to life. They are not just lyrics written on paper, and then transferred to his perfect voice. They are lyrics that can perform plays and scenes in your head once you hear them out loud.

Looking at my iTunes now, I can honestly say that I have 51 songs in my library by this amazing artist. A majority of it is because I have both the recorded and live versions of his songs, but nevertheless they are all amazingly good. Believe it or not that is not even all of his songs! Whenever I cannot sleep or I am just having a tough day and I need to calm down, my fingers fly to my iTunes of my iPod and immediately put on John Mayer's music. He is my anti-drug. Some people turn to drinking or drugs or even violence, but I, I turn to music. Yes, many other people turn to music as well. For example, those who love to blast hard rock or mega death metal crazy ear splitting music. John Mayer soothes the soul.

The quote above comes directly from his song, "In Your Atmosphere". I did not realize until recently how beautiful this song was. It came on my iPod and when it was over all I wanted to do was to listen to it again. Obviously this songs is about him staying away from a girl that is in LA. He's staying away because, "he die if he saw her and he would die if he didn't see her there". Basically either way he would feel guilty about setting foot in LA. Her atmosphere just isn't right for him. However, this song after hearing it and looking at the lyrics multiple times semi-reminded me of a parent-child relationship. Perhaps this relationship is not a good relationship and the child has been rebellious and this is a song about the parent reaching out. You know what I'm sayin? Stick with me here.... The child lives in LA. The parent goes to see him/her, but if they are not there then that would just be the end of the parent because they no longer know where they live or where they are or what they are up to.

The last part of the song really moves me and allows me to see the parent-child relationship. "Wherever you are, whatever I do, I wonder where I am in my relationship to you" this line makes the parent wonder whether or not their child is even concerned about them or wants anything to do with them anymore. "Wherever you go, wherever you are, I watch your life play out from pictures of afar" this could very easily be relatable because maybe this son/daughter sends their parents pictures once a year of what is going on. But don't parents who do have good relationships with their kids do anyways? When they are all grown up and live in different states or countries, don't the parents live vicariously through the pictures that they see or that they are sent? I mean that's the only way aside from phone calls that they know how their children's lives are.

I know that that is not what John intended the song to be about or anything, it was just an alternative meaning that came to mind. I love John's songs and I have always enjoyed listening to his music and I think that it is pretty amazing that his songs have made me think of different situations or what different songs could mean to the listeners that hear them.

John Mayer hasn't always had the best reputation, especially when it comes to women. But I have learned to set that all aside and see him for the musician that he is. People think I am crazy weird to say this, but John is also an amazing guitarist. He is up there with the best of them let me tell you. On his live album, "Where The Light Is", he guitar intros and stunning. Plus the guitar rifts in his songs are moving and so enjoyable that I cannot see how anyone could dislike them. Pure genius.

"I don't think I'm gonna go to LA anymore"....

Peace. Love. John Mayer.

Life is too short....

2010-09-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

"We both know that life is too short. Too short to waste one single second with anyone who doesn't appreciate and value you." -The Truth About Forever

The above quote is found in my favorite book, The Truth About Forever. The author, Sarah Dessen, has Wes, a young man who is finally getting his life back on track, say this to Macy, a young girl who is trying to find her place in the world. What I like most about this quote is the fact that Sarah has definitely nailed something on the head here. Life is indeed too short, I think that we can all come to that conclusion. Therefore because life is too short we should not waste a single second with anyone or anything that doesn't appreciate who we are as people or degrades our values. My question is why do people not realize how short life is until something drastic hits them in the head? Or better yet, why do people waste time not appreciate the things that are good in life?

I will say that being away from home is a lot tougher than I imagined. For starters I 100% miss the food that my mom and dad make every night. I almost feel as if I do not eat as much as I should because the food in the cafeteria is barely manageable. Now I know I should not be complaining about the food, because there are people who are much worse off than I am, but still. Then there is the issue of not having a car to drive. Granted that I do not necessarily need it to get from class to class, that is why God gave us two feet, but it would be nice to take the burden off my parents from having to drive and come get me when I want to see my little brother's football, basketball, and baseball games. Furthermore, as I am delving into my freshman year it would be really nice to have a car to drive around to all these places that I would like to volunteer at, you know I cannot walk to every single destination that I would like to be at. Heck I even miss my brother being a pest to me, and having my dog around the house. Things are just different. Anyway, that is besides the point. What I am trying to get at here is to not take the little things for granted, hold onto them and cherish them. Life is too short, and sometimes I am afraid that I will not realize those good things in life until they are gone.

In the book Macy is a young girl who thinks that she has to be perfect, if she strays one inch from being perfect then her world is going to fall apart. This idea was planted in her head because of her father's death earlier on in the book. Macy never took the time to grieve for her father, instead she was worried about taking care of her mother and sister. Macy continued life each day during that summer as a simple routine. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work at the library, study SAT vocabulary word, eat dinner, sleep, the end. Suddenly one day at her mother's dinner party, something chaotic was thrown in her way. Macy met this group of people, Delia's Wish Catering Company. They are so full of life that she cannot even see herself to be amongst them. They represent one word: imperfection.

Now, in the words of Miley Cyrus, "Nobody's Perfect". I don't think that there is a perfect being on this planet because we all have our flaws and we have all made mistakes. The thing that we can strive for is perfection, however long that may be. We can try to correct our wrongs or even try to reach the unthinkable, but no body can be perfect. Macy, as hard as she tries cannot be perfect. By her trying to be perfect she continues to become unsatisfied with her life. Only when chaotic and life living people enter her life does she realize how much she dislikes her life.

I'm not really sure what the point of this entry is, but I am just trying to hammer out thoughts in my head. I have taken a writing hiatus, and look where it has gotten me, just simply rambling on and on and on about nonsense things. I cannot ask each and everyone of you to read this book and to fall in love with the book like I did, but I will say it is a must read, and I hope that one day you will take the time to read it. You will be surprised how much you can connect to it. Maybe not directly to connect, but you can certainly feel what the author was trying to write about and what type of message she was trying to convey.

Life is too short to be living self guarded and scared. Life is meant to be lived being happy, having fun, and finding your purpose in life and to make those around you happy. Life is found in many different forms.... maybe it is found in your studies, your music, your friends/ family, or even your experiences.

Surround yourself by those who truly value you for who you are and by those who appreciate the little things that you do for them and even the little things that they do for you!

Formspring casualty...

2010-08-12T01:20:00.000-07:00

My mom asked me the other day if I knew of an application that runs through Facebook that allows people to ask questions about another person anonymously. At first I had no idea what she was talking about, but then as I began to think about what this application could be, it led me to the thing that I have labeled "stupid". Yes, it's Formspring.

From the very beginning I thought it was the stupidest thing ever. Why on earth would someone ever want to answer such revealing questions about themselves? Did the inventors really think that people were going to ask each other what their favorite color was or what their favorite flower was or something innocent like that? You would think with the adolescent minds of today's era that questions would escalate beyond that. To my knowledge they have. People are asking questions like, "why would you have sex with this person", "why did you break up with so and so", "you looked fat in the outfit you wore today", etc.

What really gets me is how degrading and vindictive people can be. For people who think that Formspring is a good way for people to get to know them, I laugh at them. I laugh because that is the stupidest thing that I have ever heard. Formspring is an excellent way of someone finding out your deepest darkest secret or an excellent way of being bullied by someone that the users don't even know. Yes, I am fully aware of the fact that people can choose what questions to answer and what questions to post, however why do that anyway? The person being questioned still is conscious of the fact that people are asking such questions about them.

Formspring has not been limited to just questions, it has been opened to making public statements. Anybody can post anything to someone's page. Even if someone were to state: "how was sleeping with so and so" and the user were to even reply "nothing I don't know what you're talking about" it would be posted onto their public page leaving it open and vulnerable to interpretation. Why Formspring has allowed anonymous users to post questions is beyond me. People who live all the way in Europe could be asking such slanderous questions.

This is a huge step for cyber bullying, Formspring has taken it to a new level. People's reputations have been injured by this, girls are taking comments about appearance to heart, boys are getting trashed and thrown around about why the dated so and so and why they cheated/ or treated some girl badly. In an article that I read online from the New York Times, a user stopped wearing a her favorite leg warmers because she saw a statement show up in her Formspring box that bothered her. Sure that's nothing harmful, but what happens if it does? I turn back to that article where it explains the death of a 17-year old girl this past March. After receiving so many nasty statements and questions in her Formspring message box, she finally decided to take matters into her own hands and committed suicide. Click on this link for the full story. New York Times, Formspring

I just do not understand what this world is coming to. If it wasn't as if Facebook and Myspace weren't enough. Heck, even if bullying at school weren't enough for some kids. Formspring is on the fast track to becoming a problem for a lot of people. Some of my very close friends have Formspring and yes I do visit the site from time to time, but I never ever engage in anything. I am appalled at the things that I read people posting on their sites and even the questions that they choose to answer. My friends are good people and it hurts me to see the things that people post about them and even the questions that they ask. Some of them are smart and choose to give blatant answers, but still that leaves the door wide open for interpretation.

If bullying, hazing, and harassment were the main leaders of teen suicide, Formspring will sooner or later be right up there with them.

Pain...

2010-08-10T23:03:00.000-07:00

"Pain is just weakness leaving the body."

What is pain? Is pain a just a feeling? Is it an emotion? It is this "something" that is a cause of effect of certain physical activity or emotional activity? Why does pain cause the body hurt? Why can't it cause the body strength...or does it?

According to thefreedictionary.com, pain is a noun that causes "unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury, disease, or emotional disorder." So in other words, pain is a sensation. I find this definition hard to believe because anyone can feel pain whether they have an injury, disease, or an emotional disorder or not. I don't need to be sick and dying or laying up in a hospital bed in order to feel pain.

Pain to my knowledge is a cause and effect feeling of both physical and emotional activity. After a hard work out an athlete is going to feel the pain and tiredness of what practice does to his or her muscles. After a terrible break up the young girl is going to feel the pain that something very important in her life has just been ripped away. After the death of a loved one, the family is going to feel the pain of losing someone so close to them. It is outside sources that cause these feeling to arise within the human body, and the effect of it all is pain itself.

Pain is just weakness leaving the body... I find this statement to be a little contradictory. If pain is just weakness leaving the body then shouldn't football players, gymnast, wrestler, or what have you, be out of pain for the rest of their life? Or do they still have a lot of weakness stored up inside of them? I would think that trained professionals would be done with having the sensation of pain after every workout. They are experts at it, so shouldn't they not be weak anymore? However, this statement holds true because you cannot get rid of weakness without being in pain.

At the same time I think this statement should read something like, "Pain is just improvement building in the body." That makes more sense doesn't it? Throughout our whole lives we are going to be weak. Whether it be when were young, middle aged or old. It's always going to be present. No amount of pain is going to vanish weakness from our bodies. But if pain is the result of improving our bodies, well then we can all use a little bit of pain if you catch my drift. Emotional pain allows us to heal in a different way and allows us to see how to behave, how to be strong, and how to deal with different situations at hand. It allows our bodies to improve our relationships so that we can have the best lives we possibly can. Physical pain improves our bodies so that we can stay physically fit and to be able to perform our best when it comes to the sports we play or the various rolls that we have to take on throughout our life.

Pain is just improvement building in the body.

Talents oh talents...

2010-08-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

So many of us have our special talents right? For example: sports, photography, creative writing, martial arts, drawing, painting, repairing cars, etc. I want to take a time out from what I normally write about and give recognition to a few guys that I went to school with. They are amazing hip hop dancers and this video that I am going to link you all too is simply awesome. It's fun and creative and the boys did such great job choreographing it! :) I hope that you enjoy the video as much as I have.

Know yourself...

2010-08-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

"As human beings we are constantly changing. Knowing yourself is therefore an on-going, never ending process."

There have been countless of times where I wonder who the heck I am. Am I the person who likes to drink and party? Am I the person who likeds to get busted by her parents for doing something stupid? Am I the person who listens to people's stories and tries to help them the best that I can? Am I the person who puts her heart and soul into whatever she is trying to strive for? Am I the person who likes to quit on things at the last minute?

Times are a changing. I think anyone with a brain can tell that they are. For example: the new president has surly issued some changes. Health Care reform, the increased Border Patrol, or delving the economy into a bigger and deeper hole than in was in the first place. Those who come from the younger generation, myself included, are now at the brunt of all the previous government mishaps and mistakes. We are struggling to find jobs just like the older generation before us. Sometimes I think that while we are out searching for jobs, the companies somehow give the older people our jobs because they have "more experience" and deserve it. Well sure....but how are we supposed to pay off student loans if we actually want to spend and live our lives not freaking out if we are going to go bankrupt or not? We need jobs too right? I guess if you can't find a job now then its better that you do something important like volunteer for something that you enjoy or hang out with the people that you love.

Many of us may feel that we know ourselves to the fullest extent. However, something suddenly comes up and we begin to really wonder who we really are. Sometimes people put labels on us that we just do not understand and therefore we begin to search and think about the person that we truly are. Are they wrong? Or have the hit everything right on the nail? If they are wrong, then how do you prove it to them?

Growing up our bodies constantly change, therefore our appearance inner and outer changes as well. For some, we decide to stay a certain way the whole way through life and never really get a wake up call. For this I would like to refer to an example. On the TV show Make It Or Break It, one of the gymnasts, Lauren Tanner, is stuck up and uses her daddy's money to get everything that she wants. She doesn't have respect for any of her teammates and treats them all like crap. In some instances it appears that she is trying to be genuinely nice, but really its just another one of her facades. I can't help but think that there are tons of people out there who act like her and never really take the time to grow up.

Looking back I can safely say that I know who I am now. I know where I belong and I know what type of person that I am. I know that these next few years are going to be tough, but the fact that I know who I am I can help guide myself onto the path of success and to stay on that path and to not fall off. Having an idea of who I am, doesn't not mean that I have casted myself into stone. There is always room for growth, more maturity, kicking bad habits, and forming new connections.

Times are a changing. Hold onto what you love. Let go of regrets and of the things that hurt. Welcome kind changes. Think of what's best. Love with all your heart.

A Strangers Footsteps...

2010-08-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

"But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew, never knew."

~ Pocahontas, Colors of the Wind

Many times we often judge people by their looks. If someone's appearance looks scary, don't we try to stay far away from them? With the appearance of being scary isn't there an inkling that the person is a bad person or has a troubled life. How do we know what that person is going through or why they dress the way that they do? For all that we know a normal dressed person could be going through tougher things than a person who's appearance is scary. Growing up we have always heard the term "stranger danger". Of course that is referencing young children to not talk to adults that they do not know. But don't we carry that sense of "stranger danger" when we meet new people? Do we not guard and protect ourselves from people we do not know, and then only slowly do we begin to reveal parts of ourselves to them? But then again Strangers can becomes our greatest Friends.

In the Disney movie Pocahontas, John Smith is a stranger. He has come from some unknown land and to the Native Americans he is dangerous. The chief warns Pocahontas to stay away from him. But their was something about this stranger that attracted Pocahontas to him. As she began to hang out with John she began to teach him her culture and her likes and dislikes, and in return John began to teach her new things too. Suddenly the tide turns and Pocahontas' dad finds out about their secret meetings and wants start a war between the Native American's and John's people. It was only by walking through John's footsteps for a few days that she began to realize that he really wasn't a stranger at all, he was a friend.

I have this one friend who is definitely out of this world. His views on life simply blow my mind and I really honestly have no idea where the heck he gets the ideas that he puts in his head. Of course by going to a private school nobody can really look scary, because we all look the same. I remember girls complaining about that because there is no way that they could express themselves. Anyway, this one friend in particular scared me. It wasn't by the way that he dressed or by the way that he walked, it was merely by the way that he talked and expressed his views and ideas. I was one of the upper class-men that lead peer discussions with the freshman. During those sessions I would be afraid to call on him because I was worried he was going to say something that I could not handle. I would simply just say, "Hmm interesting, alright now moving on." With that being said, I would avoid calling on him all together.

About two years later, he and I wound up on a Kairos experience together. And it wasn't until then did the lyrics of "Colors of the Wind" really kick in. There were underlying reasons that caused this person to be the way that he is. Reasons that made him a stranger to me and reasons that I did not know until I walked in his footsteps through listening to him talk about all the things that conflicted inside of him. Now, I'm not so scared anymore.

If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you will learn things that you never knew. You will learn things to help you understand a person and will learn things that wil lead you to become a better friend. Take a chance to walk in the footsteps of a person whom you don't know or maybe walk in someone's footsteps to help you get to know them better.

Inception for those who've seen it...

2010-08-02T12:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, I will admit it. When I first saw Inception I was confused within the first couple of scenes. I guess I'm just one of those people who understands things when I talk out loud to someone about the thoughts racing through my head. However, as the film continued on I began to understand it. I think I more began to understand what all was happening as Cobb was explaining the whole dream thing to Elle Page's character, Ariadne. Maybe that was Nolan's idea of trying to get the confused people to understand. I don't know.

But what about the last scene with the top? I don't know about you but I sat in my seat and thought, "Seriously, you're going to end the movie like that!?". If I was confused before the movie then I sure as hell was confused now, is Cobb still dreaming or did he actually make it back to reality. Thinking back. It did show Cobb waking up on the plane with everyone else, it showed Saito making the phone call to allow Cobb to come back into the country, and it showed Cobb successfully passing through security and meeting back up with his father. All of these things led me to believe that Inception ended with a happy ending.

I didn't really pay all the much attention to whether or not the top was wobbling, to me it looked like it was spinning smoothly but the film ended before there was any indication that it could have wobbled. So, walking out of the movie I was thinking, "Well was he in a dream or was he not in a dream? How the hell did it end?" After seeing many pictures, like the one above, it certainly shows that there is a slight a wobble in the top, so Cobb was back in reality. Then a week later I stumbled across a post that one of my friends put up on Facebook. It led me to this link: Inception Spoiler. Go ahead read it. You will soon understand that it all makes sense.

After reading the article, I went back through all the scenes of the movie. If the ring really is Cobb's totem, like I believe it is, then the movie ended with a success in inception and a happy ending for Cobb. Having the ring be Cobb's totem makes perfect sense to me. Did he not tell Ariadne when she first began the dreaming that she needed a totem that was unique to her and different from everyone else's? Therefore I believe that the spinning top was just someway of Cobb holding onto Mal. I don't think that he would have been allowed to use Mal's totem because it wasn't his to begin with. I think that at the end when he spins the top on the table before he goes out to see his kids he just spins it as a way of saying "the job is done".

So there you have it. That's my take on it. Without having read that spoiler, I probably would want to see the movie again to fully understand it. But I decided to save myself some money.

Thanks for reading.

Twinkle Twinkle...

2010-08-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.

How true is this lullaby? I have wondered what stars have been my whole life. Even science class has confused me on what the heck they are. Are they giants, dwarfs, exploding pieces of dust? What are you?! A friend once asked me what stars were. I think I came up with some bogus answer that was science based. Basically I told him what I knew from science class. I knew that some stars in some way shape or form were giants, red dwarfs, white dwarfs, and that when they become too hot they just explode. It is due to their explosions that we can see them in the night sky.

But now as I sit outside underneath this overcast sky, I wonder what stars really are and what their purpose is. I know I can't see the stars right now, and maybe that's why I am wondering about where the heck these stars came from. When I was kid and I was up at a YMCA camp they told us a campfire story that the stars were the cause of the hummingbird poking holes through the sky. When God created the night sky it was just a blanket of darkness over the Earth. He began to realize that the night was too dark for the animals to roam around the Earth with, they needed some kind of light. So God created the Hummingbird to poke holes in the night sky. Their beaks were so tiny that they created the right amount of light to supply the light given by the moon he soon created.

Well...for now that seems like a legit enough answer. I am going to give myself a headache trying to figure out how star produce the immense amount of light that they let out.

Man In The Mirror...

2010-08-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

"Man In The Mirror"

I'm Gonna Make A Change,

For Once In My Life

It's Gonna Feel Real Good,

Gonna Make A Difference

Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I, Turn Up The Collar On My

Favourite Winter Coat

This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind

I See The Kids In The Street,

With Not Enough To Eat

Who Am I, To Be Blind?

Pretending Not To See

Their Needs

A Summer's Disregard,

A Broken Bottle Top

And A One Man's Soul

They Follow Each Other On

The Wind Ya' Know

'Cause They Got Nowhere

To Go

That's Why I Want You To

Know

I'm Starting With The Man In

The Mirror

I'm Asking Him To Change

His Ways

And No Message Could Have

Been Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The World

A Better Place

(If You Wanna Make The

World A Better Place)

Take A Look At Yourself, And

Then Make A Change

(Take A Look At Yourself, And

Then Make A Change)

(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,

Na Nah)

AZ Lyrics

I was just chillin on my bed a few minute ago messin around on Facebook and suddenly the song "Man in the Mirror" came on. I thought to myself, "wow this is such a great motivational song." Then it led me to think back to my Kairos time and when I heard this talk given by one of my really amazing awesome friends. For those reading who don't know what Kairos is, I'm sorry, because it is one of the best things that I have attended in my life. If you want to know more about it...Google it :P. It's an amazing experience.

Michael Jackson is a man that comes with many different labels. Some of them being: pervert, baby dangler, amazing dancer, gerat songwriter, Neverland, and Jackson 5. Having that been said, how many labels do you have on yourself? Honestly, think about it. I know I have plenty. Athlete, sister, friend, writer, brunette, etc. We all have our labels and many of us have labels that we wish we didn't have. Maybe alcoholic, drug abuser, law breaker, cheater, etc. This song reaches out to those who need to make a change in their life, but they just aren't sure how to do it.

As Jackson says, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror". I believe that our own reflection is our worst critic. I mean we hear all the things that people say about us and choose not either believe them or not, but when it comes down to it and we look in the mirror can we really begin to see all the things that the people say. Or maybe we begin to see things that we dislike. For example how many young girls have looked into the mirror and have seen: A) Overweight. B) Acne. C) Not beautiful. Plenty. They think that this change that has to occur is becoming anorexic or taking a knife to their wrists. But is that really the "change" that Jackson presents in his song? No. The change that comes with the song is much more then just a "quick fix".

"I'm gonna make a change for once in my life. It's gonna feel real good, it's gonna make a difference, gonna make it right." These lines allude to the fact that a person should look deep into themselves and make their bodies realize that what they are doing is just not right. Maybe a troubled teenage boy knows that he's not doing the right thing taking drugs or drinking because he knows deep down that it could mess up his life and screw up his dreams. This change is going to make him a better person and is going to make his life right. Same thing goes with a young girl who is struggling with her image. She needs to learn to accept herself and to love the person that she is. Or maybe this person looking in the mirror is a cheating husband, and he knows that he loves his wife with all of his heart and that he needs to change the way he is dealing with his life.

If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that change.

Eye to Eye...

2010-08-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

"A beautiful eye makes silence eloquent, a kind eye makes contradiction an assent, an enraged eye makes beauty deformed. This little member gives life to every other part about us; and I believe the story of Argus implies no more than that the eye is in every part; that is to say, every other part would be mutilated were not its force represented more by the eye than even by itself."

~Joseph Addison

Look around you...what do you see? How's the sun today? Is it making you happy? How are your eyes? Are they ready to take in the day? Do they hurt? How's your mood? Are you angry, happy, or sad?

Believe it or not, but the eyes have a lot to do with how you take in your surroundings. If you are happy then anything you see, like a bird or a person, will make you feel joy and will make you smile. If you are angry then your eyes are going to see that bird and person in a much different image. You will have negative energy building up and you will simply not want to be around anything or anyone.

Let's refer to the quote above. "A beautiful eye makes silence eloquent." Silence is golden am I right? You can learn many a thing from the noises of silence. Take for example a couple looking into each others eyes. Everything is still and silent. When that man looks into the woman's eyes, the silence suddenly becomes more than just silence. She's beautiful, and her eyes simply sparkle. At the same time how ever, "an enraged eye makes beauty deformed". How many times have we been upset and our favorite things suddenly become our worst enemy? Take an athlete for example and how much they love their sport. They think the mere image of a football or a baseball is simply beautiful because it is what makes them happy. But what happens when they suddenly become enraged, their eyes perceive them differently. The ball is suddenly a thing they hate and they begin to hit the crap out of it and beat it up until it is no longer something that they love.

The eye loves to play tricks on the body. Believe it or not, it's true. "A kind eye makes contradiction an assent". You know all of those famous Optical Illusions? Where there ya have it. We perceive things that aren't really there, it's just your eye contradicting itself. Your eye even allows the body to believe a certain image to believe that it is something that it's not. How many times have we done that to ourselves? I know that I have done it.

Many of us do not see eye to eye... Now I think that I know why. I think that it is because of the state that our bodies are in. If I am happy and another person is not as happy, then we may or may not view things in the same way. Maybe it doesn't all depend on mood, perhaps its just the way we perceive things. Like in the court system. Many legislators read words differently and attach different meanings to words. Life presents itself to us in many different forms....

The Funeral

2010-07-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

"The Funeral"

Band of Horses

I'm coming up only to hold you under

I'm coming up only to show you wrong

And to know you is hard; we wonder

To know you all wrong; we warn.

Really too late to call,

So we wait for morning to wake you

That's all we got

And to know me as hardly golden

Is to know me all wrong, they warn.

At every occasion, I'll be ready for the funeral

At every occasion, once more, is called the funeral

Every occasion, know I'm ready for the funeral

At every occasion, oh, one million day funeral

I'm coming up only to show you down,

For I'm coming up only to show you wrong.

To the outside: the dead leaves, they're on the lawn

For they don't have trees to hang their own.

AZ lyrics

The first time that I heard this song I was watching the movie Stepfather with some of my friends. As weird and messed up as that movie was, I was drawn to the song when I heard it playing in the background of a scene. I love the instrumentals that the Band of Horses put into this song, it makes the lyrics all the more captivating. So, what's the song about? When you hear this song...what did you imagine the song was about?

At first I thought that obvious, that it was just about a funeral and about the emotions that arise during the funeral. But as a continued to hear it play on my itunes I began to think otherwise. I thought that maybe there was something deeper to the title. Then I began to read the lyrics of the song and then ideas came rushing to my head.

The lyrics presented to me the idea that this song is about something that was going to tear people apart to the point that the conclusion of the event was going to be a funeral. The something in this song I thought was a secret. In my mind the secret has presented itself amongst a family, a secret that could potentially tear it apart. Perhaps even a teenager finding out that his parents are leaving each other. This secret is "coming up only to hold you under", to hold you under the amount of emotion that it has forced upon a person. "I'm coming up only to show you wrong", to show you that things really don't look good, there is unhappiness amidst the family. Maybe the father is leaving the teen and his mother, therefore "to know you is hard, we wonder". They no longer know who the father is, and wonder how their family has been torn apart. "To know you all wrong, we warn", the mother didn't know the father that well at all and so know they are warning their family of the situation at hand. "Really too later to call, so we wait for morning to wake you", could be alluding to the fact that the mother wants to get out of the house, so they are waiting to call a loved one with whom they can stay

Maybe I am way off base here...but that was the first image that came to my mind and is something that I always feel strongly when I hear this song. Divorce in a lot of teenagers minds is very much like a funeral. Their family is dead and they are left alone to struggle between what's real and what makes them happy.

Does it make sense...

2010-07-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
~Psalms 84:10

I was reading a post by one of my former teachers on Facebook today about the Bible. He stated, “Why is it that our children can’t read a Bible in school, but they can read it in prison? Why do I have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed outside?”. Does it make sense for our country to be like that? Do they think that the Bible is some sort of repentance for those who have committed crimes, but it cannot serve as a teaching tool to those students in school? In our country’s legal system it is perfectly okay to swear on the Holy Bible, yet once one step out those court doors a Bible isn’t even allowed to be near public property. I honestly don’t believe that it makes any sense at all. Then again the whole separation of Church and State doesn’t really make sense to me either. I think that its kind of strange how much the country does not want to be connected to religion, yet in all of the important things like sending someone to prison or hosting a trial all basically depend on religion alone and the use of a Bible.

Appearance vs. Reality

2010-07-31T14:54:00.000-07:00

There is an objective reality out there, but we view it through the spectacles of our beliefs , attitudes, and values.
~David G. Myers

A sunrise is something that we all perceive to be beautiful. We interpret its meaning through many lenses. Some interpret it by its majestic colors, some interpret it by the time it rises, and some interpret it merely on what type of mood they woke up in. The appearance of the sunset to a person can mean life, the start of a good day, fire, or even some sense of caution. In reality though, it’s the Sun’s way of waking up and saying “good-morning”. Why must we interpret it to say other wise? So many people go on and on about how their horoscope says that something is going to change their life if they don’t do something a proper way. Will people take away the beauty of a sunrise because its colors foreshadow danger. Why can people not see what’s really in front of their eye?