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.

A Selfish Nation

     I have to say, I have been severely disheartened by this country. Let me preface that by saying my heart goes out to those in Newtown. Now, for the harsh words.
     What are we doing? Are we really so selfish? Those people are suffering, and we're making it worse. If you lost a loved one, lost a child, would you want the press watching your every move? How are you supposed to grieve properly like that? I have never lost anyone that close to me, but for other losses, I sure as heck did not want it shoved in my face every two minutes. I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to relive that with people. I wanted to stay home, and be sad. Go online, and attempt to move on. And I got that luxury. But those poor people, they don't. How can they? America is the nosiest nation. We need our story, need our gossip. We need to "sympathize," when really, we don't, we can't know what those families are going through. We just want to be able to pretend we understand. Unfortunately, there are probably a few people who can sympathize. But the brunt of our country, we can't. We live in our sheltered little bubble,  insensitive to the problems of others as long as we get what we want. And what we want right now is a sensation story, that brings the world's attention to us. Nevermind that the people in the story probably wish they could crawl into a hole and make the past two weeks disappear.
     I believe I have mentioned this before: America is the "fat" nation to the rest of the world. And yeah, I know I should be loyal to my country, but frankly, this is ridiculous. We are fat, we are gluttonous. We work for whatever we want, and don't care who gets in our way, and pitch a fit when we don't. Don't you see yourselves? We are a fat nation, living hand to mouth, want to want, never stopping to stretch that hand out to others, or giving. We do the small stuff, sure, but most people do it for the image, not for the good it causes. We see the Salvation Army on the streets, and maybe put in a dollar so we don't feel guilty. What happened to giving just to give? Just to help, not to look good? Roughly 240 years ago, we began the fight for our independence. We had some dignity then, fighting because we wanted freedom. We earned our help on our merit, not by money or schemes. We fought, we won, we proved we were worth it. Would anyone help us now? We help people by coming to their country and killing people. Yes, in some situations that can be viewed as necessary (I am neutral on the subject of Iraq.), but others? Not so much.
     We are an interfering nation. All we want is power, and attention. America is the spoiled youngest of the world. We have forgotten what decency is. So, America, I challenge you: make a difference. In this holiday season, can you put others first? Can you put them first without needing to know every detail about them? Can you care?

Who Are We and Why Must We Fry Everything?

   NOTE: Looking back at this post, it is really kind of an identity post; a post about being yourself (and about the badness of friedness). You are warned.

  Although I thought I had previously decided this, I am now making it official. I am typing what I want to type, not what I think will get views. I would rather get random views or views for what I write as ME, than get views because I'm catering to the public. This is not a catering company, therefore I don't cater. Anyhoo, continuing on.

     Apparently fried turkey is becoming a big thing now??? Or maybe it's deep-fried... either way I don't get it. I mean, I'm sure it tastes good (if cooked correctly), but aren't we a bit hypocritical in this country? And fyi, this country refers to the lovely overweight and in debt US of A. Back on topic. How can we complain about the fact that everyone thinks we're fat? We're frying a TURKEY, for crying out loud. I can see it now...

"What are you thankful for sweetie?"
"Oh, Mommy, my cholesterol went up again!"
That's great, honey!"

Wouldn't that be so sad? Come on, people! We don't need fried food. Sure, it tastes awesome. So limit yourself, to, I don't know, fast food less than twice a month? Delayed gratification (hahaha I learned that in a finance class but I'm using it for food): it will taste better if you have it less because the taste won't become "normal." God forbid it ever does; we'll be rolling out the door.

I am out of things to say about unhealthiness, so... RANDOM PICTURES!!!

It's a CAMERA. Made of SODA CANS!!!! If this actually worked I would totally buy one.

I love Victoria Justice!! Not a luv love, but more of an OMG YOU'RE AWESOME AND I LOVE YOUR SHOW AND YOUR MUSIC AND THE FACT THAT YOU'RE FAMOUS BUT STILL A DECENT HUMAN BEING kind of love.

Here is another thing that I take issue with. Why are we girls no longer allowed to EAT? I don't get this. Especially since half the time we do it not to stay thin (which is totally healthy), but because we don't want boyfriends or friends who are boys or that guy to see us as pigs. Hello? Practically every "advice for what guys like" article says they are not into sticks. Would you be into a stick? That makes you feel fat. So why put the guy through that?

And so I end with:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

~Steve Jobs

Rain Rain Go Away

     Hello to all my East Coast readers... I just wanted to wish everyone luck with Hurricane Sandy and all the hell she is bringing with her. Be safe, not stupid. This is WORSE than Irene; no one is stronger than a hurricane. Parents, I know (I hope) I'm stating the obvious here but, even if school is open PLEASE don't take your kids out if it doesn't look safe. Missing school because of one of our worst storms ever is FINE.

Good luck everyone!

Awesome Alaska

     First, my sincerest apologies for not posting in TWO MONTHS!!! But after that post I was in Alaska... which is AWESOME!!!! And it actually isn't that cold. I live in New Jersey, so I can say (for any New Jersey readers) that late August in Alaska is like September/October in New Jersey. If you go to Alaska, I recommend Anchorage, a boat into Resurrection Bay down in Seward, and a bus into Denali National Park.

     Anchorage is full of awesome stuff. Especially food. The Glacier Brewhouse has the BEST seafood ever. Likewise, the Moose's Tooth has the BEST pizza ever. No joke. The place seats about 300 people, if I remember correctly, so plan to spend at least 45 minutes waiting. In other words, go at around 4:30, 5ish so that you still eat at a reasonable hour. It is WORTH IT!!!

     The boat company we used was Kenai Fjords Tours. The trip we took also involved an all you can eat salmon dinner. While the captain said that we saw an unusually large selection of animals, the trip would still be fun. Although there is a heated indoor cabin, I would recommend dressing warmly because it is SO much more fun to be outside.I saw seals, a sea otter, sea lions, bald eagles, orcas (they are VERY rare to see), a humpback whale, puffins, seagulls (duh), and probably some other stuff. It was awesome! And yes I know how much I'm using the word awesome. Don't Judge.

     Finally, Denali is beautiful, and no matter what, you will see a ton of wildlife. And yes, there was its first bear mauling in August, but the guy was an idiot (no offense to his family). He disregarded the whole GIVE GRIZZLIES AT LEAST HALF A MILE IF YOU ARE ON FOOT and kept taking pictures as the bear was coming towards him!!!!! Anyhoo, Denali is gorgeous. But I would be selective about how many pictures of mountains you take. Yes, they are all beautiful and different. No, they do not still look that way after you have been sorting through 200 mountain shots.

     And thus ends my little rant about Alaska. So... RANDOM PICTURES!!!


LOVE THIS


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... yes it is THAT funny.


Ok now, be truthful. How many people saw Tangled and then wanted a chameleon?

And that concludes my predicted fit of randomness! I hope you enjoyed it!