New Thing!!

     So because I'm bored I'm going to try this new thing where I expound upon a quote from my Goodreads quote of the day emails. So... the first one:

You don't have anything if you don't have the stories.

This was said (Mind you this is what Goodreads said. I only research the supposed speaker, not who said it.) by Leslie Marmon Silko, who, according to Goodreads, is a Native American authoress.

     I love this quote, especially as I am in high school where everyone gossips about everything. Without verifying facts. Which I don't understand, because, first of all, how hypocritical is that? You can spread rumors about me, but I can't spread rumors about you? What gives one person the right to spread a rumor they heard and decided is true, but also gives them the right to be upset if someone else did the same thing? Facts, people!! Both sides of the story are important.

     And also, think about value. You may value your possessions, but they matter more if you know where they came from. If your mother gave you a scarf(and yes it is a stupid example) at the exact same time that you purchased an identical one, you would value yours more. Yes, your mother took the time to buy it for you, and you did the same. But you remember how you got the money. Your mother knows the story behind her paycheck. You don't. But you do know the story behind yours; you remember walking the dog for $10, doing chores for $15, (and yes this is an expensive scarf with seemingly high value) and mowing the lawn over and over for $20. You remember denying yourself other things to get this scarf. You know the story.

     Other objects may have higher value, not just because of the monetary price. A Fair Trade (look them up here: http://www.crsfairtrade.org/) ornament has more value than that 'thing' you got at Target because it was on sale. The thing? You have no idea who made it, or why. But the ornament? By buying that, you are helping someone work his or her way up in the world, who might not otherwise have the chance.

     So, take the time. Take the time to know the story. Know why someone is laughing, or why they're upset. Take the time to think about value. Is this story more important than someone else's good day? Is the two extra dollars on a cup of coffee to support cancer research less important than buying a bag of chips later? Everything has value. Take the time and find it.

What Exactly Is a Child?

     So I found this crazy game (http://www.playtheend.com/game) that is a little odd (the world has ended and you are making your way to the END), but also has a series of questions you can answer, and it tells you what kind of person you are. Now, I don't mean they say that you're a hippie because your favorite color is rainbow. No, these are real questions, thinking questions. Questions like:

Is there such a thing as a cause worth dying for?
Should it be possible to laugh at death?
Would you still be yourself if your mind was put into another body?

Your yes or no answers would then help the game to put you in a profile with some famous people.

     So, being me, I decided to just scroll down to the questions and skip the game levels once i completed the mandatory first level. And I was just going along, clicking yes, no, yes, no, periodically checking the four-part image that shows your "location" relative to the four profiles. Then I hit one question, which I answered after some thought, but kept going.

The question? "Is it important to have children?"

     At first, I said no. After all, plenty of people have mad a difference in the world without having kids. However, I came to the conclusion that having children is important: not literally, but figuratively. A child doesn't have to be of your blood; after all, an adopted girl is still someone's daughter. So with that in mind, think of what you do with your child, for your child. You want to help them, to pass things down to them, be it a beloved teddy bear or a few words of wisdom. If those actions, can be considered the acts of parents, then yes, it is important to have children.

     Mother Teresa made an enormous difference in the world; she helped thousands, and taught even more the importance of kindness. She called them her children, and shared no blood with any of them. And what about the man you say is like a son to you? You treat him as such, therefore he is, blood relation or not.

     I suppose what I'm really saying is that family isn't just made of people blood or marriage wise. You have your "sisters" and your Aunt-Mary-who-isn't-actually-related-to-you. Why not your children who you don't treat like your own and hardly see outside of school/work/insert place here but instead just try to impart wisdom into in the hopes that they have decent lives?

     So. Final conclusion.... Children: anyone who you spend long (or short) amounts of time with in order to change their lives, and therefore change the world.

No Matter the Magnitude

     Hello!! Long time no see. So, this is going to be kind of a (hopefully) deep post, even though I don't really know if it will affect the world or not. But the whole affecting the world thing is what this is going to be about, so.... yeah.

    Now, I don't know how many of you watch the crime show, "Bones." If you do, leave an invisible comment (and yes that was a jab at all my viewers who never tell me what they thought of what they read). Anyway, last night's episode, "The Doll in the Derby," had a little side plot involving one of the protagonists, Agent Booth. The result of this side plot was an increased awareness (at least on my part) of a disease called neurofibromatosis. What that long word represents is a disease where tumors can suddenly grow anywhere there are nerves. As you can imagine, that leaves a lot of places open for tumors. This disease, and at this point all my facts are coming from the show last night, occurs in 1 in every 3,000 people in the United States. And while I don't recall what other diseases/disorders/whatever you may call them were mentioned, I can tell you that NF occurs more frequently than some other much more well known health issues. However, and I know others are like this too, NF has no cure and no treatment. It is difficult to study, as every case is highly unique. This is just a summary, as I didn't want to explain the technicalities and potentially mess up some medical jargon. For more information, check out The Children's Tumor Foundation.

     So.... to explain how all of that is connected to affecting the world. Neurofibromatosis is a fairly unknown condition. So naturally, I was curious as to how the writers of "Bones" chose that particular issue. And that is where the lovely world of Facebook comes in. The "Bones" Facebook page explained everything; one of the writers has a daughter with NF. And that is where my little thing about affecting the world comes in. This man took an issue that was important enough to him that he wanted the rest of the world to know about it. So what does he do? He incorporates it into his work.

     THAT is the point I am trying to get across here. You want change? Make it. You want something done? Do it. You think something is wrong? Speak out. Never say that you cannot make a difference. You can always make a difference, no matter the magnitude.