The Daily Life of McKenzie

School and Mental/Physical Health

2016-03-10T16:11:00.001-08:00

I'm so lucky. I get to go to a great magnet school where I learn a lot and get hands on experience with my art. Unfortunately, my physical and mental health cause me to become very ill and I miss a lot of school. This is something I wish I could stop, but undortinarelt, no matter how many diagnoses I get and how hard I try I never really get all the way better. Recently, this has been a very difficult issue and caused me a lot of hardship with keeping up with school.

I really wish that this was something that people understood more in terms of school. My friends think I skip just because I don't want to go. I literally hate being at my house but if i'm exhausted all the time, depressed and scared, and have migraines that make me unable to get through daily life I would hope people would understand.

A lot of teachers don't get this either. They assume that because I'm a senior I'm just skipping. I know it's as hard as them for me to miss as it is for me, so I just wish it was more understood. I wish society understood health issues and such more. It's very debilitating to try to get through the day. After school I always feel very sick and get nothing done, I can only concentrate at school.

I wish that people weren't penalized so much for their absences in a world that claims to be accomadating. The reality is you can be suspended for absences, and that makes no sense. I wish the attitude toward mental and physical illnesses that can't be seen weren't that people are lazy or that they can just deal with it. I wish it was just more understood and maybe it would help mentally ill or physically ill people to do better in school. There just doesn't seem to be much accomidation for people who aren't neurotypical. I really hope this stigma changes.

Writer's Fest 2016-Breaking Into My Identity

2016-03-05T20:23:00.001-08:00

Franny Choi and I at Douglas Anderson Writer's Fest 2016

Today was my last writer’s fest of my high school career, and it feels as though time is simply slipping away and I still do not know who I am, but I have much more of an idea of what I want to be doing as a writer, even if that idea is beyond unrealistic.

This was my second writer’s fest, and I simply expected it to be like the time before. I love the idea, the thought of writers coming together to teach each other tricks of the trade, and to bet on who’s worthy enough to spend thirty grand on to fly in and out for a day.

The writers this year were all so star studded, seemingly everyone was a fangirl of at least one of them, and I took comfort in having teachers to help me gather information on them before being thrown out into a frenzy of workshop choices and filled rooms. Harrison Scott Key was so funny that his workshop was a stand only one.

But the day was long. A 12 hour or more day for writers just isn’t too realistic to create fantastic material, but appreciated nonetheless. I can hardly get through an hour and a half during my school week. And I stayed behind for a workshop that was cancelled due to flight delays. Unfortunately, I may have also chosen the worst workshops for me, and I really hope I’ll get a chance to see some of these authors again. Some people pushed me to see authors I wasn’t really sure I would enjoy, but perhaps one of them will be my teacher in the future. There is something that I learned through this. Just because someone might enjoy something, doesn’t mean you will.

I think that the event for me this year was a lot about finding my own identity in my writing rather than talking about craft. I feel as though I am always writing for other people, other groups, other people’s oppression, the often difficult trials that a character might face, and nothing of my personal life. I am far too private to be a writer, and it is occurring to me that I am simply scared, a coward in my shell of a body, so stuck in my mind but so unwilling to break out of it. In fact, when I went up to the table to have my books signed by the headlining authors Richard Blanco and Ron Carlson, I was so baffled that after so much practicing in my head, the words didn’t flow the way I wanted them too. This is partially why i’m a writer, and also evidence that I need to learn more on my voice in writing. It’s like i’ve got this idea in my head of what’s cliche and immature to write about, been limited from topics like death and love, and yet I know what I can write and I still limit myself. I need to break out of that shell of comfort and rules, something my teacher told me this year.

But back to identity. In Franny Choi’s workshop on the identity of yourself as a writer and a poet, I was very unsurprised that with my father sitting next to me, I was unwilling to expose certain parts of my identity, and had to compromise it for the sake of the workshop, suffering in my writing so that I didn’t reveal too much about myself. I am so scared to have someone analyze me or judge me beyond the ways I’ve been judged before. I also noticed that I am too scared to share on here, this blog with so few hits, the topic I was so good with writing about, but so reluctant to share. I like to believe that there are some things worth hiding, that telling all is a bit too cliche and millennial, but I know that I am suffering for it. I press on day after day hiding and forcing down an identity of mne that is so taboo in this age, something that is so unheard of and awkward to speak about. I’ll probably continue to be so afraid of myself and my realities that I suppress these parts of myself regardless. Eventually, I hope to become someone that I know can please all sides of a crowd, someone less boring, less strange. Someone who has more to them than that one hidden identity, someone who isn’t a coward. I want to fulfill my dreams, not just deal with them, and I want them to live in me, I want to live my identity, not compromise myself for the sake of family, writing, peers, or to avoid taboos and cliches. In this day and age, it seems like every real world problem is a cliche, so I may as well live mine.

Save a Syrian Indiegogo

2015-11-25T10:50:00.004-08:00

Please click the link below to learn about and help me raise funds for a Syrian refugee!
https://www.generosity.com/fundraisers/save-a-syrian/

If this fundraiser goes well I will be spreading it to help other Syrians.

https://www.generosity.com/fundraisers/save-a-syrian/

https://www.generosity.com/fundraisers/save-a-syrian/

Thank you!

https://www.generosity.com/fundraisers/save-a-syrian/

Bless you and have a wonderful day!!!

https://www.generosity.com/fundraisers/save-a-syrian/

Why Beirut and Paris should be treated on equal footing

2015-11-16T15:33:00.003-08:00

Due to the actions that took place Friday in Paris, France, there has been much of an uproar over foregin policy and refugees, claiming that many are a part of ISIS. There is very little that I can say to this that no one else has said, but I am going to make my best attempt, because in the face of disaster, your best attempt is the best you can do.

First, I want to begin by saying that the bombing/shooting in Paris was an absolute tragedy. Far over a hundred lives were lost, which is devistating. I also want to say that the attacks in Beirut, Lebanon were a tragedy, and that there should have been an equal uproar between the two events. If we care about the state of Paris, we should care about the state of their formerly occupied territories and those that are effected. I'm sure at some point you've worried about the French that you know, if you know any, and the people who are vaguely French in your circle that is sad because their 1/4th Frenchness is being threatened by ISIS. But if you are going to care about that, you must also care about your Lebanese neighbor, your Lebanese grocer, your vaguely Lebanese friend.

There is nothing that should be normalized about one countrie's suffering versus anothers. There is nothing okay with either attacks and people need to show that. When the Lebanon attacks happened, there were not Lebanese flag Facebook profile pictures. There were no "average Americans" mourning the death of Syrians as France began to bomb them after the attacks. What I'm saying is that in freedom and humanity, there can be no double standards.

Perhaps, when the same amount of people die in Palestine in the frequency that it does, people should care just as much and write lengthy facebook posts about their trips to Palestine that are sadly muddled with sad memories after those tragedies.

I just want to say, that just as much as it is important to condemn ferocious actions against a familiar place, you should also condemn those actions elsewhere and support those victims and let people grieve instead of point fingers. Muslim lives were lost too. In Lebanon Muslim lives were taken and no one shook with anger, or wept on facebook to confront this, no one who did the same for Paris. There are Lebanese citizens suffering, there was an American's life taken in Lebanon, and no one grieved the same way, instead they point fingers at the same Muslims who are suffering.

Going off of that, Muslims are suffering and have been since 9/11, probably way before. They have already been suffering from backlash and misplaced anger from the world, and Muslims who have nothing to do with Daesh are taking the blame, being ripped of their lives because someone felt they needed to blame an entire religion for the actions of some twisted fools parading as though religion has anything to do with murder.

I'm saying this out of the contempt for the savagery reenacted against Muslims, mainly visibly Muslim women, that is misplaced due to a heinous act created by 7 brutish and maniachal deviants, who themselves are going against the principals of Islam. These actions must be met with the same anger. We do not round up the white middle class and tell them to apologize for the stabbings of women in hijab, or the lynching of black men, women, and children by groups that thoroughly approve of these practices the same way we make Muslims apologize for their religion that doesn't preach murdering nonbelievers.

I just want to say, care for France, but also care about you Lebanese neighbor, your Palestinian priest, your local Syrian church members, for all American Muslims and American Arabs that will be facing the backlash and equal grief for actions that they are condemned for without reason.

Reading Americanah (Review)

2015-10-27T23:40:00.003-07:00

I started reading Americanah by Chimamande Ngozi Adichie and for some reason I cannot put it down. I mean I can't really tell if there's a set plot so far, but it's a really good book. Anyway, it got me thinking: I should start blogging in a funny way. I mean I know it's not the same as a blog about universal blackness as I have no way to relate to that as a white girl, but I thought I could share little bits of my day with social commentary, almost like a real blog.

But enough about me. This book has taught me a lot, and not just about race and African relations. As a writer it taught me how to form more believable characters with human qualities, even if those qualities are undesirable. These are what make the character real. Ifemelu and Obinze display their own insecurities and pretentiousness, often regarding themselves in a very self-righteous way. Ifemelu is often found rationalizing her self-sabotaging life decisions. Obinze is obsessive and impulsive. The two are both living in a constant state of discontent.

The author herself uses blog entries and other vehicles as social commentary, which makes this book more than just an interesting read with interesting characters, as it presents common feelings and ideas that are expressed in our normal day to day lives. This is something that greatly influenced me as a writer of both fiction and journalism, which was shown in this book.

I saw a lot of myself in this book. The characters were very convincing that I needed to make a change from just being content to truly living. I am often like Ifemelu, dismissive of my own shortcomings and ego, often indulging my impulses. Seeing it from someone else's point of view makes it all the more real that I should make a change in the way I approach things in life, such as my pressuring everyone to believe what I believe without putting in the work to persuade.

This book is in a way a coming of age. The characters are coming into an age where they should be matre. My only grievences were that the book had little to show for a plot, often jumping around. While the time changes were very visible, the point as to what the plot truly was didn't come until the end. However, this is amazing because the author carried me through the experience so far even without a clear conflict or point.

Also, I wanted the author to know that she ain't slick. "Ngozi Okonkwo." mixing her name and the name of the character of the book Things Fall Apart which she even refers to in the book. 10th grade reading list taught me well.

Showing People What is Right in Front of Them

2015-10-19T19:30:00.002-07:00

There's this issue that has come to my attention about when it comes to people who are willfully ignorant. I know the phrase "ignorance is bliss" tells it best when it refers to ignorance being better to live with. I believe these people who believe ignorance is bliss are just using a common defense mechanism, denial, to rid them of anxieties in their lives. This is really understandable, but also really unreasonable in times of important facts.

For example, an issue took place in which a scheduled show for a fashion designer in aSsouthern town in North Florida took place. The day before everything ran smoothly. The next day's fashion show, however, was another story. The anonymous fashion designer ran into trouble when one of the models didn't have a badge. You would think you just need the badge, right? It's on him. Well, that same fashion show I was supposed to be working. I had no credentials and went up to the desk requesting a badge for the person I was working under. Unfortunately, they were all out of badges for this specific person, but they gave me a random one. They didn't look at my ID, didn't ask my name, didn't do anything. So why is it that when the one model out of the bunch didn't have a badge the whole show had to be stopped? This one model who resulted in the entire show being cancelled. In fact, it was really messy. They wouldn't even let the designer back stage and in fact were threatening to call the cops. This might seem like a coincidence without knowing the full details. The event in question was basically a women's (predominantly white women's) expo in which a specific type of person was expected to be present. The designer was also a specific type of person too. A black gay man, who is an absolute teddy bear, shown to be treated in such an awful and unexpected way. Perhaps someone could suggest that there is a reason he was treated differently?

In fact, when my mother suggested this rudeness was due to race and sexuality to my grandmother, she had a fit. My grandmother is one of those people who believes that if they don't see something it didn't/doesn't happen, and that even IF they saw it, it doesn't mean it was for the very clear and plausible reasons that are suggested. She is also a FOX news watcher, but I degress. This is the type of situation where people refuse to see any other reasoning. To elaborate, I saw another fashion show group go on into the dressing room afterward badge free. No issues or complaints from management then. But if you said this to someone like my grandmother, it would be very shocking to even think that social standing was the reason behind the absurd thing that took place.

I think it's a real problem when people refuse to hear facts in order to boost their own egos or show people they aren't a bad person, that everyone else is misguided or sensitive. When you show facts about things like murders made by police on people who commit petty crimes, they still defend the murderer because they believe that racism is no longer a reality despite countless comparisons and amounts of data. These people also believe that "political correctness," otherwise known to some as human decency, is a bad thing that's going to transport us into the stone ages. I wish people wouldn't just constantly be on the defense all the time about protecting outdated beliefs or shielding themselves from something they see as harmful to their own comfort. People who refuse to believe that their child is telling the truth about being molested is another example of this.

In the future I hope we as a people move past the intense denial that we naturally cling to when we don't want to be wrong about something. Being wrong doesn't mean you can't learn, nor does it mean that things have to end that way. There is always room for improvement for everyone. So why not try to put aside personal beliefs to understand the world?

Enough Space to Last a Lifetime: The Martian Review

2015-10-18T19:35:00.002-07:00

So today I went to see "The Martian" with my parents, and for the most part it was an entertaining movie, ignoring the fact that it was about space. Actually, when my sister saw the preview she was like "ugh do we really need a prequel to 'Interstellar,'" to which i was like...it's not...but then I realized it's literally Matt Damon, but not a villian, playing in ANOTHER stuck on a planet movie. Riveting.

The movie itself was so...predictable it was literally "Interstellar" wtf. Half of the cast of interstellar was in it tool. You aren't slick. The whole ship not lining up with other attachment thing was the same exact thing too...truly predictable. But it was more funny than anything which I was thankful for but I kept expecting Mathew Mcchonahay (i'm not even going to try to spell that right) to show up.

To be honest, my general dislike for space comes from watching movies like "Alien" and "Promethius" in addition to that one movie I don't know the name of where they're going to space and the crew has to leave Mars and the guy gets stranded from the ship *gasp* and his girlfriend with black hair just watches as she ascends into the moving ship, knowing he won't make it, and in his final moments he commits space suicide by taking off his helmet and imploding, which is shown for childhood me to see. Just like every other space movie ever.

Anyway what was up with the soundtrack change whenever Donald Glover appeared? The script writers were like "Ah yes, this sounds "hip" and "urban" we should put it ONLY when the young black guy shows up." Honestly.

Anyway, since I've been taking anatomy aka Biology 1 2.0, I've been thinking a lot about cells and cell theory. If everything is made up of cells, who's to say this universe isn't just one big cell? I mean Earth would be the best idea of a nucleus with a lot of life on it, the other planets would be organelles, etc. Everything is a cell that's expanding. Also lysosomes. I just like that word.

Anyway this was going nowhere from the beginning. Don't write off the whole movie. Just know that it's basically Interstellar with less mindboggling science and shorter. I think. More plausible rather.

VIXX First Showcase in Orlando Concert (text heavy)

2015-08-21T15:06:00.003-07:00

Earlier this August a couple of friends and I attended a VIXX concert in Orlando at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. We were shopping when I brought it up that it was coming up,she was more than interested, and so we bought tickets as soon as we could. Unfortunately, the highest level of VIP tickets were sold out. We did get high touch tickets though.

The concert started with individual videos of the members and a lot of waiting and screeming every time there was a hint of the members coming out. The venue, House of Blues, was nice despite the lack of chairs. We stood toward the back of the second teir of the building by the bar (which proved to be helpful when it came to lining up for the high touch session) and security was pretty tight so we couldn't get any photos of the members.

The performance overall was amazing. The members really put in their best efforts. They were pouring sweat after every song, and the song selection itself was very nice. Gotta love those pants too. The only complaint I had was that the translator during the variety-type speaking part only translating certain things. I respect that his job is difficult but there were moments where large sums of words were spoken and they simply weren't translated.

After the performaces they played a video of the members with personalized messages to the concert attendees. While it was clearly prerecorded and scripted, it was really cute and thoughtful. I think the overall concert aimed to be more catering to the audience and fans than any other concert i've been to. In fact, my friend said the concert's performance value was better than Lady Gaga's at Art Rave and Ed Sheeran's (which was in the same venue). It really shows how hard the members all work and how they appreciate what they do. I hope that in the future they can go on to even better things.

As for the High-Touch session, we were lined up and waited until it began. It went pretty fast. The translator asked us to hold up our left hands (I prefer my right but ok) and when I got up there (my friends shoved me in front of them, traitors) I was taken back by their hight. Not pointing any names but someone (Leo) had clammy hands. I blame it on how hard he gripped the mic in his performance. Basically High Touch went like a blur. I mainly remember seeing Leo, Hongbin, and N (my bias at the end). In the most awkward way possible I got to the end of the line and said "I love you" with a smile to N (in a totally non creepy way, I swear i'm not like that).

Overall the entire concert was a great experience. It was definitely worth the 150, and the night was exhilerating. It was everything I wanted and more. Honestly I'm still in denial that it happened, or that the members exist. This was my first K-pop concert and it was definitely worth it.

P.S. If you want to know, me and two friends were in denim vests with patches with our bias' names on the back (we definitely didn't sew those on the way to the hotel). They were super cute. If you saw us let me know.

Bentonite Clay Review

2015-06-30T08:42:00.003-07:00

So I just tried bentonite, and I mean literally just tried it. I heard good things from people about it so I bought some from Amazon for $9 and I think so far I like it. It's supposed to be deep pore cleansing, so I figured it would help with the acne flareups i've been having. The acne I get is very deep into my skin it feels like so getting something to deep clean my pores has been a trouble for me.

I tried the bentonite clay as a masque and mixed it with a teaspoon of clay and some water, however, I think it was too much clay and too little water, so next time I will mix it more.

It turned out looking like a Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque on my face, which is a masque i've always used and find helps my skin.

While the masque was drying I could really feel the "pulsating" feeling that the pack was advertising and it dried pretty well and felt like it was penetrating my pores. However, when the masque was drying toward the end of having it on it felt a bit itchy. At that point I couldn't stand it. I took it off with a washcloth and warm water and basically scrubbed it away. However I don't think I'm allergic to it or anything that this was just one small side effect.

The clay really helped with some pimples that were showing up for me and i'm glad that it worked for my money's worth. I think i'm going to start using this on a weekly basis, or when I have break outs, and try it with apple cider vinegar next time.

Before

After

You can tell In this photo that the pimples I had went down. There's some slight redness from taking off the masque but I was expecting that. Overall my skin looks much more bright and less oily and pimply. All that's left over is some scarring that I had previously.

There are plenty more uses for the bentonite clay that I found from YouTube. One video I watched was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQi9XPx58o4 and it was really helpful to getting moneys worth from this product.

Birdman Review

2014-12-30T07:33:00.001-08:00

Birdman was intense. That's the best way to summarize it. From one scene to the next it was thrilling. The way they depict New York and the theatre business is rocky and emitional at every step. The director did well. The main actor was fantastic. I'm a sixteen year old girl not a movie critic but wow. I had so many feelings. And the score just did beautifully with the camera angles, however I did feel like I was sick when I left the theatre. Maybe those shots were just too much? But anyway, the ending was a bit questionable. I wish there was more time the ex wife had in the hospital room, but again I understand the artistic intent as a writer. However when the daughter goes to the window it's a bit confusing. Mostly because I was hoping he would just off himself if that's any way to put it. I don't like an optomistic ending (my favorite movie when I was little was Bridge to Tarabithia). Anyway five stars from me. Had me hanging on every moment.

Peshawar Attack

2014-12-16T09:52:00.001-08:00

My heart goes out to the families of those killed and injured in the tragic attack in Peshawar Pakistan. They were taken from this life too soon. They did not deserve that. No one deserves that. And no one deserves to have their religion manipulated and used for something wrong and completely against the religion. As someone with a close friend in Pakistan I know how this affects everyone there. Keep the people in your thoughts and prayers.

Have I found the cure?

2014-12-09T17:28:00.001-08:00

I've been far better lately in terms of depression. Maybe not all the way there on the anxiety thing but my current medications have basically been matched to where it's a good balance. Yay!

Goals for Fall and Winter

2014-07-21T21:16:00.001-07:00

I spent the majority of this summer lazing about at home, and while that wasn't technically my fault due to my inability to drive, I realize that I need to work on my goals instead of giving up.

Short Term Goals:
As short term goals, I would say from now to the next month would be my window. Or a full month or 21 days, seeing as 21 days is how long it takes to break a bad habit. These are goals that seem easier for me, and therefore I am more inclined to take part in reaching these goals.

Get my haircut -I have been trying to get my hair cut for months, and I have a style in mind and everything, however I have been unable to go because my salon is across town. I will have my hair cut soon, hopefully with more flare.

This is a very close image of a hairstyle I want. Truly I didn't just chose this image because of Jessica, but rather her hair has inspired me as I have been watching Onstyle's Jessica and Krystal. My hair is very straight and just past my shoulders, so it will look different. I just need the slight layers and slight side bangs to add.

Another example of a hair style I want is this one below. It is almost like the previous one, but more what I would look like. Less bangs though, but the part is the main focus as I currently have a more middle type part.

Start Blogging once a week

I have had an alarm and everything set for weeks, and yet I have been unsuccessful in my desire to work on posts due to my lack of laptop. When I was using my mother's, the google chrome quit working and has led me to trying and trying to fix it for days, with no results. Clearly, I am not so tech savvy. With making more posts, I also intend to create more accounts in social media to promote my posts.

Do yoga once or twice a week

I have been trying to get into yoga for a while. My parents and friends have tried yoga, but unfortunately, I cannot get into it because it bores me...I much prefer weight lifting or endurance exercise, but I will try to get into the groove of yoga.

Do kettlebell exercises twice a week

Love kettlebells. Only have one. The weight I use is 10 pounds. I picked my kettlebell up from Walmart for a cheap price.

Stretch every day

Doing better with this. I get tight hamstrings because I am naturally flexible. Quitting dance really brought on the loss of flexibility. I do the blogilates Stretching for Flexibility video which really helps. I do this twice; once before I exercise and once after. Make sure you warm up before stretching the first time by running a minute or doing jumping jacks so your muscles aren't cold.

Clear up acne

If there's anything I want to do most it's this. I feel that professionally, having clear skin will not just give me a better palette for makeup and confidence, but that it will give me a better reputation of how I take care of myself and give me a more professional look.

Get permit

I cannot stress how important this is to me. Getting my permit would help me a lot, and as I am already legal age to drive, I feel very behind everyone else. Having a permit would help my family immensely as well as take care of the first stretch before I can get a license.

Long Term Goals

Bring erg score down

I haven't rowed in a year, so I'm bound to have a high erg score. More info on why I was on rowing hiatus in a future post. I have no idea how my score was last.

Look professional

I really like to look professional, but some clothes I have don't do the job because they are too casual. By professional, I just mean the quality of what I wear and a bit of the style. I don't want to dress dull and old ladyish, but add pieces to my closet that are nice and presentable that I could wear to juries or something. There are tons of other ways to get professional that don't include clothing.

Another way to look professional is to get a following on my blogger and twitter to give myself a better look of professionalism on social media. I also wish to buy a domain and create a custom website once I get a higher number of subscribers. Before I do this, I will be making a YouTube account to vlog and talk, review products, etc.

What are some of your goals? Leave a comment and inspire someone else.

Thanks for reading, hope your day is wonderful!

The Kendall Jones Backlash Backlash-Very sloppy I'm Sorry

2014-07-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

It's not about the hunting of animals that Kendall Jones is doing entirely, it's the fact that she "thinks" she's conserving animals, as a backlash to her . And the whole thing about Teddy Roosevelt-as though we should take examples from a time before people cared for the rights of animals and foreign land that does not belong to them (though that hasn't changed still). The late 1800s were a time of slavery, assassination, lead poisoning, over grazing buffalo, political bribery, and a less than advanced understanding of our natural world compared to today. Just because a president killed a rhino in the 1800s, does not mean you should kill for sport today as advanced species. The point of humanity is to learn from our mistakes, not repeat them, for that is the definition of stupidity and insanity. At a time of lynching humans do you think the abuse of animals was even thought of? Killing the elephant was the most ridiculous of the photos. African elephants are, in fact, highly vulnerable to becoming endangered because of poaching such as she was doing.

While there are more important things happening in the world, I cannot speak on the behalf of the other people who signed the petition for the banning of the photos.

While this is true that there are other important things happening in the world, the animals do not belong to Americans. They belong to native people as a means for survival, etc. not for game or American walls as a decoration and trophy. You are right that there are important things going on in the world as well, but our ecosystem is failing after centuries of not understanding how to treat nature. It is a fact of life that when an animal goes extinct, the local ecosystem collapses, and with it, those who actually suffer with the animals. As a person in a foreign land to go and hunt the animals that do not belong to you, it is wrong. There are plenty of animals she could safely hunt within America, such as wild boar, dear, and many more that are actually affecting our local ecosystems due to overpopulation. Animal lives have value to humanity, I'm not spouting liberal nonsense as I have been raised extremely conservatively. There is factual evidence that the African Elephant is being driven to extinction, and we should be supporting the reproduction of them, not the death, as that is harmful to people actually affected by foreigners hunting on their land. There's this thing called imperialism, which has already stripped African land of its resources enough. In addition to that, who are we as 21st century people to take advice from someone from the late 1800s just because he killed a rhino before? Lest I remind you that those times were ridden with issues, including the overgrazing of buffalo and prominent destruction of the population of buffalo in a country, that may I remind you, was not ours to take in a massacre of indigenous people. In conclusion, this is about the banning of photos from a social media website, not for her arrest or something equally melodramatic. The most that could happen would probably be some kind of suspension of her hunting permit. In addition to all of this, Jones failed to source any evidence of her statements.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt

http://www.mrvanduyne.com/homework/Unit3b/PEHomeworkReading.pdf

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-elephant/
While this is true that there are other important things happening in the world, the animals do not belong to Americans. They belong to native people as a means for survival, etc. not for game or American walls as a decoration and trophy. You are right that there are important things going on in the world as well, but our ecosystem is failing after centuries of not understanding how to treat nature. It is a fact of life that when an animal goes extinct, the local ecosystem collapses, and with it, those who actually suffer with the animals. As a person in a foreign land to go and hunt the animals that do not belong to you, it is wrong. There are plenty of animals she could safely hunt within America, such as wild boar, dear, and many more that are actually affecting our local ecosystems due to overpopulation. Animal lives have value to humanity, I'm not spouting liberal nonsense as I have been raised extremely conservatively. There is factual evidence that the African Elephant is being driven to extinction, and we should be supporting the reproduction of them, not the death, as that is harmful to people actually affected by foreigners hunting on their land. There's this thing called imperialism, which has already stripped African land of its resources enough. In addition to that, who are we as 21st century people to take advice from someone from the late 1800s just because he killed a rhino before? Lest I remind you that those times were ridden with issues, including the overgrazing of buffalo and prominent destruction of the population of buffalo in a country, that may I remind you, was not ours to take in a massacre of indigenous people. In conclusion, this is about the banning of photos from a social media website, not for her arrest or something equally melodramatic. The most that could happen would probably be some kind of suspension of her hunting permit. In addition to all of this, Jones failed to source any evidence of her statements.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt

http://www.mrvanduyne.com/homework/Unit3b/PEHomeworkReading.pdf

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-elephant/

This is not, for me as I cannot speak for others, about what "offends." It is about the fact that she has killed animals that are not hers to kill, are not a part of her local ecosystem, and possibly inspiring others to kill into extinction. But you don't care because it doesn't affect your life as you are not living in the environment being affected. My father being a Navy commander, and the rest of my qualified military family members, would be smart enough to understand science and how ecosystems work. When you eliminate one species, you eliminate more and the cycle continues until the earth is a barren wasteland. This is common knowledge for those who are educated, such as my own conservative family, including my highly educated father who, as I already stated, is a Commander promoting to Captain. However, I will excuse your lack of information as I don't know what education level you are at, which I presume would be that of a high school graduate /maybe/.

My final question is: why do /you/ care so much?

To those not convinced that big game hunting is pure bloodlust, the same that you condemn those like the taliban for engaging in, consider reading "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell.

Another problem is that there are truly those animals in America which NEED to be put down or relocated because they are invasive, and there are already shows about this which she could become a part of if she would like to.

My Short Response to TFIOS

2014-06-06T19:24:00.003-07:00

My response is literal. How is he so popular for such an awfully written book? As a creative writer myself, I feel like he was being rushed and just slapped the ending together. There is no emotional response I received at all reading the book.His characters are boring and it’s awfully edited. There are many GREAT authors who would have deserved a movie, etc. TBH, I feel as though people forced themselves into liking the book. It was so predictable and beyond cliche. The ending had no emotional response whatsoever. There was nothing “climactic” about this book. When I finished it I was just like “that’s it? this is what people are raving about?” Honestly the only people who like this are high-schoolers who do not know real literature. For example, yesterday at school this lame “hippy” guy was like “OMG THAT BOOK WAS SO GOOD, IT WAS THE BEST I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE! I CRIED IN CLASS WHEN I FINISHED!” Honestly, I nearly vomited. 1, he did it for female attention (which it actually worked somehow) and 2, if that is the best book you've read in your life, I’m questioning the amount of books you have ever read. Green is so high and mighty with his disgusting, almost fetishizing, romanticizing of cancer, and his comparisons of the “protagonist” (though she shouldn’t be called that, she literally did like nothing in the whole book) Hazel to Anne Frank is disturbing. There is a difference between natural causes of death and genocide, and as a “history buff” you would think John Green would know that.
There are so many more reasons why this book is horrendous, but i’ll just give the obvious ones since no one here has a very high IQ.

This was a comment on a Buzzfeed article that I posted, but I figured I should post it here too, since I didn't feel like further wasting my breath. Indeed, if you want to add your own two-cents, by all means go ahead. Not lying, I do intend to see this movie just to see if directors somehow improved this dull and pretentious book.

URGENT:PSA: A Warning About UF&Shands

2014-05-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

If you or a loved one live in Florida, especially around the Gainesville area, and have experienced trauma, DO NOT go to UF and Shands. They have caused numerous problems for my family and people I know who have also dealt with them. Only a few of the issues include the death of my grandfather, and the double CAT scan they have just performed on a cousin of mine, despite him having already had one at Starke's hospital. It is imperative to know that every exposure to a CAT scan increases your chances of cancer 5 times. His appendix has been ruptured for days due to the neglectful behavior and attitude of the boot camp he was at to join the Navy, and due to their negligence despite him requesting to see the doctor because of the incredible amounts of pain he was experiencing (and still is despite being on morphine) and refusing him to call his mother, he is in so much pain and is possibly septic, which is very difficult to recover from, and painful. He had to wait for his day off, and if he waited any longer, it is VERY possible that he could have died. Now that he has been transferred to UF and Shands, he is of NO priority to them. He has not been put on any antibiotics, and they are only caring for other patients. The best they have done is given him some morphine, which is still not helping with the pain. It has been at least two days that he has been experiencing this, so this is an urgent message.

My mother has had enough of the horrible treatment of patients at UF and Shands, and she would like to sue them, as well as the boot camp.

Now I not only would like to point only a couple of the horrible things the hospital's trauma center has done, but I would like to know how much more evidence would be needed to go against both the boot camp and UF&Shands because of what they have done. Most likely, my cousin's recovery time will be a long and horrible process due to the fact that his surgery has been put on the back burner. My mother has friends who are lawyers, as well as a highly educated nurse, and she would like to help my aunt in case of the worst case which would be his death, or finding him to be septic. This is the last straw for my family, and many other people who have experienced the horrible services this hospital has provided.

If you could at least send your prayers, my family would feel very thankful.

The Beauty of My First Hawker’s Experience

2014-05-13T17:08:00.004-07:00

If you don't know what Hawker's is and you live in Jacksonville (specifically the Riverside and downtown/Springfield area) you are truly missing out on what was one of my most treasured sixteenth birthday memories. Hawker's is a "pan-Asian" street food style restaurant on Park Street around Riverside.

My mother went to a friend's birthday party which is where she heard of this treasure. At the party they had an arrangement of favorites from the restaurant, and so when I awoke on my 16th birthday my mother suggested we eat out there that evening. I was so set on eating there, that I begged my mom to allow me to eat there.

As we went to find what there was online on their facebook page, since they don't have a website for the Jacksonville location (there is also one in Orlando), my mother and I were a bit baffled at the choices. Despite drooling, the menu did not give an idea of price. This wasn't really as big of a problem as we had suspected, considering their prices are low and similar unless of course you order their catering menu (which even then wasn't that much). I would suggest, however, going to their Yelp page for more details. The manager may even be welcome to emailing the menu directly to you.

*Photo not mine, credit to Yelp user Kerrah M.

As that was the biggest problem we had ordering from them (which we did via phone) the service was amazing. The service was so wonderful that the manager, Timothy Noble, even went as far as to almost give us the food $20 off and to just pay him back (we lost our card as we were ordering). He almost went to do just that before we eventually found the card. This was only one of the many wonderful things the manager did. While on the phone ordering, my mother mentioned something about how it was my 16th birthday, and they proceeded to give me a free ginger cake. When we received the bags of food, Noble's card was attached with a smudged message in blue ink reading "Happy 16th Bday!" which made my mood light up instantaneously. We picked up our food, and as we were walking to our car, Timothy was there carrying a Publix bag. "I knew you guys wanted to have a picnic in the park, so I brought you guys some paper plates," he said (the plates were not of the cheap variety, and this was all after he got off work). He even checked to see if the park was still open. My mother hugged him and they chatted very shortly. He then walked from our car, saying with a joyful smile "Happy Birthday."

*Photo not mine. Credit to Yelp user Ryan K.

Other than the incredible service, which the Yelp comments do not give justice to, the food itself was absolutely incredible. We got a serving of Korean bulgogi skewers with kimchi, Udon, Pad Thai, Singapore Mei Fun, Papaya Salad, a catering order of Pot Stickers, a Catering Order of Roti, Canton Noodles, and the on the house Ginger Cheesecake. The food was so good. Honestly I could live off of it. The only thing that could have been improved was the Bulgogi Skewers as they were a bit charred, though still delicious. The food was packed nicely for our picnic that we had by the St. John's River at the park, and the utensils were all placed neatly with napkins and sauce packets along with chopsticks and other utensils, which I thought was adorable.

Overall, I suggest going to Hawker's if you've never been. If you have been, visit them some time soon while they're less busy. The food was amazing, the customer service was out of this world, and it's very convenient. My family and I will definitely be returning.

Flight 370 Opinions

2014-04-07T19:46:00.003-07:00

I hate to seem seriously depressing and apathetic, but I just want to say what I have to about how I feel about the plane missing. I don't think there is anything we can do but prepare for the future. It's sad that the people on the airline are probably dead, but there's nothing we can do now but remember them. All we have to do for safer flying in cases of hijacking or terrorism, which is the opinion of what happened from most people, is to tighten up airport security internationally.

We can't have various airport policies internationally. We must have one strong airport security and safety policy because where do planes go? Around the world! Everyone's airlines should be on par with Israel and Germany's or even beyond. That's all there is to that. For cases of the airplane having malfunctioned, or something else happening mechanically, we just have to prevent airplane factories from cutting corners, and test planes and their parts out more as well as routinely checking up on the planes that are in use. We should be discussing innovative ways to improve the functionality of modern transportation, not sitting around scratching our heads like baboons over something that is over and done with.

Yes people's lives were probably lost but let's just think for a moment that there are other pressing issues we should be looking to. Every time I have to sit through the news, which is awful and depressing, it's all the same thing about planes or death and covering the same thing all day for a month or more will not improve anyone's life. It's all the same thing to be changed, unless however people want to get jet packs and fly around looking for a plane which is what it sounds like people want to me. In my opinion we should leave the grieving families be and not meddle into this like observers, like children studying ants and then singing them with microscopes.

Like I said, the moral will still be the same, and even if there was someone responsible, throwing them in jail or punishing is all we need to do. People need to just plan better for the future. I suggest we not poke and prod and dissect everything and twist it into propaganda. Can we let these people who are affected move on before this turns into another Tom Hanks movie so we no longer have to listen to people who are coming up with scenarios like they're writing bad LOST fan-fiction? These were real people, move on with your own lives please.

Remodel Update

2012-11-05T17:24:00.001-08:00

So my cabinets are almost done, but we still need the granite to come in. We decided on White Springs, a pretty white with grays, reds, and creams. I can't wait until it comes in! Also, we got a sprinkler system put in and we will get sod very soon.

A picture of our yard as of now

My friend's mom actually had to drop me off from practice and I was like "Yeah, my house is the one without any grass." I thought it was funny, but probably not.

Moving on, the Kitchen cabinets are a gorgeous cream with a rope and crown molding. We have about an 8 foot java cherry colored island, smack dab in the middle of the place where we knocked down the wall that was there before. Now we have a column that matches our molding.

Eeek! Ignore the junk on the island.

The cabinets and island are covered in cardboard for some reason. The bricks surrounding the island are the bricks we will use for the floor.

Some pictures of the molding in our entry way and surrounding this general floor

We are having some trouble choosing wallpaper. We decided on this option because the suede paint my mother had in a camel color from Ralph Lauren was discontinued. We added on to the wall of our entry way, adding a huge white space of wall.

In addition to all of this, we have decided on brick floor in the kitchen in a herring bone pattern. We have it, all that needs to happen now is have it put in.

Hi,I'm McKenzie and I'm Addicted to Sweets

2012-10-25T19:46:00.003-07:00

You know how I planned on eating healthier? Well I still don't have a kitchen and my eating habits are not improving. For a while I was having Starbucks everyday, cheese, candies, and lately DQ Blizzards. And I do realize that it's comfort food season and I should feel free to eat this way in my young age, and it's like the saying goes- Y.O.L.O. but to me it means I should be working harder to always eat healthy, and not just sometimes, or certain seasons. But the funny thing is, even though I've been eating this way and limiting my workout routine, I haven't gained any weight that I can see (I don't use a scale for certain reasons). I'm not as happy as I am perplexed. You think I would have gotten my "Just desserts" but not at all. In fact I'm gaining muscle in my abdomen. My hypothesis is that I have not been eating enough calories now or that I wasn't eating enough before (which I highly doubt). But right here and right now I will make a pact that I will try and eat healthier, or at least eat the healthiest of what I'm limited to in my situation. I'm down to a pack of pita bread, olives, labneh, cheerios, and hummus. Not a whole lot of options, wouldn't you agree? I'm thinking of trying my hardest to urge my mother to go grocery shopping instead of doing her usual take out or restaurant routine, but I'm always trying so hard to get her to become fit. The thing is though, my obsession with fitness is hurting our relationship.

Blogs I Love

2012-10-18T11:16:00.003-07:00

I'm Addicted to Blogs

Hello! Long time no post, and it may be due to the fact that I have had a lot of school work, rowing, and family time, but it may also be because I have been reading so many blogs, and I do apologize sincerely to anyone who was looking forward to a post *crickets chirp*. I thought about making this post when I was reading some blogs and I decided that I could share my inspiration. This post doesn't include pictures and that is boring to some people (especially me) and you have been warned. I will have lists below in no particular order (I don't think I could chose my favorite blogs, they are all so wonderful and informative!).

The Blogs

These are the blogs that I read for inspiration in organization and style (to an extent). The majority of them may also be referred to as mom blogs, but I find them to be best for organization tips.

A favorite blog of mine, deliciously organized, is written by Carlee Scanlon, and she is just as the blog states; deliciously organized! She has a great taste in decor and style and gives me so much inspiration for things I would like to do in my house, because let's face it, i'm way more organized than most people I know (my mom). She has a lot of fashion and life posts (she makes me want a leopard jacket). Read her blog at: http://deliciouslyorganized.blogspot.com/
Probably my all time favorite blog would have to be IHeart Organizing. The blog is written by Jen,a mother and a fantastic organizer. I love all of her DIYs, reviews, product suggestions, and she has welcomed me to so many other fantastic blogs just like hers! She's so creative and inspirational, please check her blog out at: http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/
This blogger is practical mother who is very inspirational and has encouraged me to organize all of my childhood memories that I need to let go of, without having to let go of them entirely. I'll admit, I'm a recovering pack rat. I especially love her "Organize your paper party" posts and her product recommendations, I lust after a Mom Agenda, and I'm far from being a mother. Read her blog at: http://spaceforlivingos.com/
I love the blog Buttoned Up. It is a very easy blog to navigate through and the format is cute, something I look for first in a blog (because nobody wants to go back to 2004 with generic tiny formats that are hard to navigate). I really find her downloadable checklists to be extremely helpful. The posts are helpful and straight to the point, overall easy to love in a blog. Read the blog at: http://getbuttonedup.com
I love the blog Simple Organized Living by a woman named Andrea. It is full of things that I love and that are compatible with my family's lifestyle. She also is remodeling herself so we're basically one in the same. She inspired me to post about remodeling. But I do have to say that I don't care for her home page because you have to open any articles you want to read. I acknowledge that some people like that but I don't. Read her blog at: http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/
I absolutely adore Charon from the blog Tidy Mom. Her photo clarity is nice, she posts a variety if topics recipes and tips, and she seems like she's just what her blog says: a tidy mom. Also I think she may very well enjoy fall as much as I do. Read her blog at: http://tidymom.net/
My re-purposed life has many interesting DIY projects that are simple and practical, as well a creative! Read this blog at: http://www.myrepurposedlife.net/
The blog Keeper of the Home is a really good blog for moms and DIY lovers and Christians. There's a variety of different posts. This is a blog directed towards crafty moms. Read the blog at: http://www.keeperofthehome.org/
The blog Unclutterer is really helpful for anyone really.It gives tips for better living and It helps you to be productive however you can, manage time, and make life totally easy for you. Read the blog at: http://unclutterer.com/
Organized Families is by a mother who shows you how to figure out how to organize your life. I don't necessarily like the layout of this blog but it is very helpful. Read at: http://organizedfamilies.com/

Some things that happened this week

2012-09-30T09:06:00.001-07:00

Some things that happened this week.

So I painted my nails with an LA colors Color Craze nail polish in Mega Wat, a very light pearlescent pinkish nude. It was a very cheap nailpolish, and while the first coat doesn't look that opaque, you can build the color well. To top that, I poured glitter onto my nails and then rolled the tips in any excess glitter, creating glittery tips (but not uniform, I will try that another time). Last I put a few coats of clear nailpolish over it all to seal the glitter and the polish itself. It's a very pretty and girly nail design, and very easy.

Don't mind my no makeup face (like literally I had just woken up but my mom said my hair looked good), but I went out Friday night to see the rowing movie Backwards with a large amount of my citie's rowing community. They gave out prizes in a raffle, but sadly I didn't win (actually a girl that used to be on our team won, but I won't get into that). It was really fun and it was a cute movie, though I admit it was heavy on the cliches.

Well that really wasn't that long of a post, but thank you for reading!

Brick House

2012-09-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

Hello yet again! Today has been somewhat hectic. I had to take 3 tests in a row. Math is really not my strong point though so I don't think I got a good grade on my chapter test because I didn't do 3 questions because class had ended. I did well on the quiz I guess (noo results from that yet). I did get a 93 on my English test because I missed one question.

So today when I got picked up from school my mom and grandmother had this massive (and very heavy!) sample of these bricks for our floor in the kitchen. They aren't going to be in this pattern (more diagonal I think?) and maybe not this color, but it's progress.

However, we are getting our garage doors put in very soon and I'm so excited!

You see those? Those, unfortunately, happen to be the shameful (and also very painful to look at) garage doors that we currently have (we have 2 sides). But our new doors are really pretty, and unlike these, they don't look like they're made from an old RV.

The clouds were so pretty today and it also sun showered this morning. The weather has been so nice unlike my first day of school when we got flooded (no exaggeration) ( But, because I'm classy I didn't take off my shoes).

I rocked my Sperrys today like I do most days (AKA I don't own enough shoes). Well, thanks for reading this and have a nice day!

9-24-12

2012-09-24T15:09:00.002-07:00

Today was a nice day, despite a quarrel between a family member and missing breakfast so I wouldn't miss the bus. This morning at school there was a massive spider web. I wanted to get a decent picture of it, but alas the web was out of the sun's way and it was difficult attempting to take a picture.

As you might be able to tell (if you squint) it was a rather large spider web. People kept joking about tearing it down and shoving each other into it, and I disapprove.

I got a lot of nature shots with my camera (I use a Fujifilm Finepix JX) and some turned out better than others.

When I got home from the bus stop I was greeted by some gorgeous butterflies. I'm not sure what type they are, but they remind me of the Painted Ladies I hatched in 1st grade. I think you should prepare for the spam.

I think this is one my sister took. One of my favorites, if not my favorite.

I could only get one picture of one of the butterflies flying and it turned out blurry.

What's going on with home renovations?
Most of what we have gotten done is the kitchen which is still completely bare, but we are making major changes!
We are:
-Remodeling the kitchen
-Remodeling the bathrooms
-Installing new garage doors
-Etc.

This is the progress so far on kitchen/living room. As you can see there was some hideous wallpaper in the kitchen. And we have a new TV cabinet my aunt gave us because her's is too small.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this! Have a wonderful day!

What I've Been Up To - Welcome to My Blog

2012-09-23T22:08:00.003-07:00

Hello there! I am McKenzie, a high school student with aspirations to do grand things. Follow my blog while I tell about current events in my life, and in the world, give organization, fitness, and health tips, and write about many other topics. Right now my house is currently being remodeled and I will often discuss that. Follow me in my journey to becoming a better student, more organized, crafty, and artistic while sharing makeup and fashion tips too!