Review your Priorities

Just a short little post for today:

Some will complain that they have school or work today and others will rejoice that they don't. And all of us complain that it is yet another Monday. But what kind of attitude is that? It's a lousy one. We should appreciate the fact that we have people fighting for our country on all sorts of levels in all sorts of locations. Today is Veteran's Day. A day that in some houses is an everyday occasion. So thank a veteran today and stop complaining about having a 'Case of the Mondays'. You can do that next week.

Writer's Block.

One would think, that by writing this here post, I would have something to say. Au contraire. I have writer's block. After my last post, everything seemed to dry up. I haven't had any inspiration lately and it's annoying me a bit. I love writing on this blog, but what fun is it if I can't think of anything? I hate forcing words onto here if I don't believe in them. I mean, it's 10:54 on a Sunday night and I am trying to write a meaningful post? Forget it, it'll never happen. I feel like I'm stuck in sea of words and I don't know which ones to pick out. The feeling is only a word I can describe as 'blah'.

I don't like this blah feeling. It's horrible. It sort of feels like I've lost my voice. Not my literal voice because that would entail that something bad happened. But my writing voice. Maybe it's because I'm feeling cooped up, having too much homework. I don't know.

But this is what I do know:
*I am a freshman student in college
*I am working my butt off to get good grades
*I am tired all the time! Everything from having an early start everyday to my symptoms of thalassemia beta minor.
*My brain is working hard

So maybe it's not really the true authentic writer's block. Maybe I just have a different version that hasn't gotten a name yet. Who knows. But this blog will continue to be written, whether it's something meaningful, or just ramblings like this one. This is my canvas, a place where I can say things that I can't necessarily say to friends or people I know. I'll get a new inspiration some day, I always do! :)

Yeah So...There's This Guy...

There. I said it. There IS a guy that I'm crushin' on pretty hard. He lives in the floor above me in the dorm that we're living in. He's really nice, funny, smart, caring. And he's attractive. Ladies, you can look at hot guys all you want but is he gonna treat you right? No? Then move on. I feel that the guy I like would treat me right, if we were to become a couple. I think he likes me back but I have absolutely no idea. I even took those ridiculous 'does he like me' quizzes; that proves how much of a girl I'm behaving! I really like this guy! I haven't felt this way in a long time, it's quite a nice feeling. But sometimes it isn't because I don't know if he feels the same way about me that I do him. So in order to stop my mind from humming, I wrote this poem. I then realized it would be a cute little number for the character Gunnar Scott from Nashville to sing. I think it's cute. Here it is! Sidenote: My crush has not a clue about this blog or the contents of this poem. Thank God.

Title: Darling, Are You the One?
Age: 18

Every time I look into your eyes I smile,

it feels like I could stay there awhile,
you make me feel as warm as the sun,
darling, are you the one?

I know for sure now that you're my friend,
and I really don't want that to end,
when I'm with you I have so much fun,
darling, are you the one?

In my head I'm screaming 'I really like you',
I can't deny it because it's all very true,
I hope you don't bolt and run,
darling, are you the one?

I'm debating on whether or not to tell you,
honestly I hope you like me too,
sometimes the decision feels like it weighs a ton,
darling, are you the one?

I know I'm behaving like a girl,
but you make me so happy I want to twirl,
there is no truer string I could've spun,
darling, are you the one?

Timeline of Pictures: May-September 2013

I thought I'd do a post with only pictures in it. It's a timeline from May to September of the year 2013. Events will include prom and my various weekend trips and such. Enjoy!

Prom; May 2013

My corsage! Prom; May 2013

Curly hair! Prom; May 2013

Me and my dog! Graduation; June 2013



Ohme Gardens; Wenatchee, Wa; July 2013

Fort Spokane; August 2013

Fort Spokane; August 2013

Duck! Post Falls, Id; August 2013

Aspen the captains dog; Post Falls, Id; August 2013

The Amway House!!!!! Post Falls, Id; August 2013

Right outside Deer Park, Wa; August 2013

August 2013

August 2013

Cowboy Café; Davenport, Wa; September 2013

Cowboy Café; Davenport, Wa; September 2013

Davenport, Wa; September 2013

Angelina Jolie and her Breasts: Opinion Piece Part 2

Here are two similar but different scenarios about breast cancer.

Scenario One: Imagine that you're a well respected woman, with a great career, a wonderful family, and a lot of money to give back to those who need it more than you do (aka philanthropy). Now imagine that you go in for your annual mammogram and the results come back and say that you have a lump in your breast. Now it's time for a biopsy to see if it's benign or malignant (cancerous). You wait for however long biopsies take and get that phone call. Your heart plummets. You have cancer. But it was caught early and you are able to take preventative measures. So you opt for a double mastectomy instead of chemotherapy or radiation. You have the procedure and it goes smoothly. It clears up the cancer as said by the next test you have.

Scenario Two: Here's where things are a little different. You're just like the women above, but instead of being diagnosed with breast cancer, you get genetic testing results that say that you have a high chance of getting breast cancer. And as a preventative measure, you get a double mastectomy as well.

In these two different scenarios, the women that make these decisions are very brave and deserve recognition. But they don't. So far the only woman that has gotten recognition for doing scenario two is Angelina Jolie. It's unfair and the news story went on far too long. First it was announced that she got a double mastectomy. Fine, she did it to be healthy. Should've lasted for maybe a week. But no. Because then it went on to interviews with her doctors and other medical people that were in charge of her care. The story broke in May of '13 and continued into early September as a touch and go. I found it highly ridiculous. Four months of reporting on ONE woman, an actress no less, and regular everyday woman get nothing? It's times like these when I sometimes lose faith in humanity and the people that live on this planet.

Regular everyday victims, and survivors, of any type of cancer deserve our care, passion, and attention; not just one actress woman. It's a shame to see four months go by and all that gets talked about is Angelina Jolie and her breasts. (Using extreme emphasis to try and make a point).

Wake me up when September Ends...

There was a friend of mine who committed suicide and yesterday was the second year anniversary of his passing. I always get a bit emotional around this time of the month because of that date. I will never forget him. And in honor, this is a letter that I wrote to him, pretty much on the spot.

Dear Travis,

Whenever I hear your name, I think of you and all those classes we had together in school. Especially our eighth grade year; that was, and always will be, my favorite year. Not only because you were so nice to everyone, and gave the absolute best hugs, but because you were the first guy I liked. Like I had huge crush on you. And here I am, five years later, saying it to the world, and essentially, your spirit. I don't know if you ever found out about that, maybe you did through a mutual friend. I know for sure that I didn't tell you. But yes, you were the first. As we got into high school our friendship grew distant, but never stopped completely. Towards the end of freshman year, you wrote in my yearbook. And you said to me "F-- I have known you for a long time now, and it has gone by so fast, but what's important is our friendship and I hope it stays that way. It has been great going to middle and high school with you. I have really enjoyed it and I hope you have too, and have a wonderful summer! --Travis C."

I will always treasure what you wrote that day Travis. And I don't know what caused you to take your life, and I don't need to know. But know this. I will always keep you in my memories and I will always think of you. You were an important person, I hope you realize that. I will always love you my friend, and if you are here in spirit, just know that everyone else loves you too!

"I miss you, I miss your smile
And I still shed a tear every once and a while
And even though it's different now
You're still here somehow..."

Rest in Paradise,

F.M

First day of College!

Today I started college. I guess you could technically say that I started on the 20th of September, but as far as my classes go, today was my first day. And just like every first day of school, no matter what grade you're in, is an overview day. So that was how my first day of school went. Here is a very dry and boring routine that I will follow mostly everyday for the next ten weeks.

First class was Discovering Geology or Geology 100. We went over the syllabus (which tells us the overview of what we're going to study), the grading scale, and what time the lab is open to do our labs. The teacher is funny and nice and the class has about 35 people. Not used to that size yet but I will be. And this is my homework: Copy notes into 5 subject notebook, download a special browser to take online midterms with, and sign into my canvas account to learn how to navigate it.

Second class I went to was Anthropology 101. It was such full, packed room! At least 40 or more people all squished into one room. I felt like a sardine and I was a bit overwhelmed. I got there as fast as I could in ten minutes and almost every seat was full already. Not how I wanted to start my first day of school haha. The teacher is nice, just not like energetic I guess that's the word I'm looking for. But it shouldn't be like that everyday. Here's the homework I had: Look over syllabus and hole-punch it and make a heading in my 5 subject notebook.

Then I had a two and a half hour break where I went all the way back to my dorm and took out the books and things that I didn't need. Then I played some Microsoft Mahjong for a bit before I went to lunch.

The third and final class of the day that I went to was English 101. The teacher is really nice and the classroom had maybe 20 people in it. The smallest yet! And my only homework for the class tonight is to hole-punch the syllabus.


This first week will go by fast. Then I get to go home on Friday! I'm so excited for that!


This is my schedule pretty much for fall quarter. Then it's three totally new and different classes for winter quarter, and the same for spring. College here I come!

Well. I've moved into my college dorm. Now what?

Instead of doing Opinion Piece Friday, this will be all about college. I moved into my college dorm today and it'll probably be around 10 pm-ish by the time this posts itself. I will more than likely be tired from all the activities going on around me. But most importantly, I can now call myself a college student. I find it highly terrifying. It's like, what the heck am I gonna do for the rest of my life? That's the question that everybody wants an answer to, but people, I ain't got no answer! (**Poor grammar for emphasis, I normally don't talk like this). The stories that I write are just that, stories. They are not books. But if I were to put my stories into an anthology type, and publish it, would I earn money from that? If I were to become a fiction writer and actually crank out a whole book, would I make a living doing that for the rest of my life? And if I were to become a photographer, whether freelance or not, would I make money from that? I honestly have no idea. I'm not going to tell people lies or half truths just to get them to stop asking me. College people say that we have two-ish years to decide your major and possible career once in college. But really, it feels like they want you to figure it out before you even get out of your mother's womb. It's pressuring and I hate the feeling.

This morning the car became packed with all my boxes and other things for my dorm room. After we arrived at the building my parents and I started to unload all of the boxes. It took me a little over two hours two unpack everything and by that time I was super tired and hungry. Perfect time for dinner. I went to a Bon Voyage dinner with my parents and after that, they walked me back to my dorm area and we said goodbye. It was hard for me but I will see them next Friday. And I text them a lot. My classes start on the 25th so I will probably do a post then. I really hope I can survive the next nine months haha. I'm already counting down to when my winter break is and it's 21.5 days; way longer than my high school's!

On a hopefully happier note, if anyone sees this post, it means I survived move-in day. Now I must sleep. I've got a long few days of 'Welcome Week' before classes start next Wednesday.

Not Goodbye, but 'See you Later'

Even though I'll be living thirty-ish minutes away from my home town and have the privilege to come home nearly every weekend, today is still a tough day for me. I am busy packing clothes and other last minute things. I am looking at all my childhood stuff and trying not to get emotional. Tomorrow will be a different story. Tomorrow I'll be living in a strange building that I will soon call home, sharing a room with someone (which is something I've never done before), and having more freedom than ever. It's a lot to take in. Tomorrow I move into my dorm and will be experiencing these things for the next nine months. It'll be uncomfortable at first, but that's okay. I'll overcome it and turn out just fine in the end. Going home on weekends will be a great help though, so I don't go completely off my rocker. Haha. But tomorrow will also be filled with tears, from me and my parents. I'm not denying it. It means I actually care. I will miss my parents like crazy and I'm not ashamed of that. Other kids who say that they won't miss their parents, no matter the distance, are lying to themselves. You say you won't miss home, but that's a lie too. Once you come home during the holiday(s), it'll hit you. I'm not saying goodbye, but more like a 'see you later'.

 

I'll be posting about my move in and other things sometime soon after I get settled in with in the next couple of days!

Summer Movies!

Remember my Bucket List post awhile back and how one of the things on there was to watch a lot of movies? Well, I officially marked the last one. In total, whether it was going to the theatre or watching on Redbox, I watched 17 movies this summer. That's quite a record considering we normally do two or three during a summer. But this wasn't really a normal summer. So here are the 17 movies:

1) Epic
2) The Croods
3) Monsters University
4) Beautiful Creatures
5) Silver Lining's Playbook
6) Despicable Me 2
7) Identity Thief
8) Safe Haven
9) The Heat (saw this on my birthday, so funny!)
10) We're the Millers
11) Percy Jackson & The Olympians: Sea of Monsters
12) Admission
13) The Host
14) Lee Daniels' The Butler
15) Oz the Great and Powerful
16) Turbo
17) The Big Wedding

I Got Published! :)

I honestly can't remember if I posted my Better Apart poem before, but I would like to now because it got me published! There's a company called Creative Communications and each season they have a contest for both poetry and essays. And there are grade divisions for each section as well. Once you graduate high school, you can't enter anymore, but they are working on a division for people in college and beyond! So for my poem, I entered it for the Spring 2013 contest and weeks later I got an email from the head honcho saying my poem was to be published in their Spring 2013 anthology book of poetry. I said yes, you can publish my poem! I then paid for the book and it was delivered just yesterday! If you want information about Creative Communications, please feel free to visit the website here!

So here is my poem that I entered! I can now say that I'm a published author!

Better Apart
March 12^th, 2013
Age: 17

I’ve had enough,

it’s time for me to go,

stop acting so rough,

it’s my turn to say no.

You can’t control me anymore,

you’re no longer a drug,

you’re not a terrorizing wave pounding a shore,

stop being a thug.

I’m not a pawn in your game,

I’m not allergic to your spores,

I need to reclaim my name,

just take your baggage and go out the double doors.

I’m leaving now,

this is where we must depart,

it’s not a question of how,

It’s that we’re really better apart.

The Bucket List

Ever since the movie 'The Bucket List' came out in 2007 or so, people have been making lists of things they want to accomplish before they die. But I'm not dying. So I made on for things I want to do before I start college in September because we couldn't afford out traditional weeklong west coastal vacation. And what was originally on the list wasn't necessarily all accomplished. Some other things were thrown on it, others were taken off, or because the weather was just too hot. But here is what the list consisted of:

1) Going to this certain coffee shop with my dad *check*
2) Weekend trip to Leavenworth, Wa *check*
3) Seeing a ton of movies *will do separate post*
4) A day in the downtown part of my city *check*
5) Camping with my dad *check*
6) Spending days just reading *continual*
7) Going to a small little cafe with my parents *check*
8) Going places to take pictures *continual*
9) Spending the day in a neighboring city *check*
10) Going to Palouse Falls *check*

This was just the original list. There are many more things that we did that weren't even added. I'll do another post about those activities. There were so many things on the list that we had to start doing some of these before I even got out of high school. Now I have only nineteen days before I move into my dorm room. In fact, I even have to start packing today. Summertime sure has flown by!

A Pet Peeve: High Heels; Opinion Piece Part 1

I'm an eighteen year old girl and I refuse to wear high heels. The only thing cool about them is their abundant colors and styles. What's not cool is this:

-The aches in locations such as feet, legs, low back
-Pinched toes
-Feeling like a weeble-wobble (a kids toy)
-Falling down on your butt
-The small fortune called 'price-tag'


and a whole lot more. High heels are not practical. If I must wear them for a job in the future, then I will suck it up and wear them. But why wear them if I don't have to? I can wear normal shoes and Converse flats. What would make the whole high heel wearing experience worse is that I have no arches in my feet and high heels are made for woman who do have arches. So I suppose the Converse aren't good for my feet either, but I'd much rather be on the ground than four inches above terra firma. And don't get me started on the ladies that are shoe shoppers. You know what I would call that? Shoe hoarding. And most of those pairs would be high heels.

They're even making higher pumped shoes for the younger girls. Good Morning America did a piece on high heels for young girls and about the company, Madden, that is making them. The mom in the piece said "She [her daughter] wanted them so bad so I went ahead and got them. I want to curb her high heel phase, but I can't." This parent may have not said these exact words but it's pretty similar. And the solution to her plight is absurdly simple, that some people will have to think really hard to get the right answer. And the answer is this: If you don't want your daughter to wear these high heels and or higher pumped shoes, then do not buy them for her.

Other shoppers that buy high heels only buy them for the fashion regardless of how they make their feet hurt; hence the multiple pairs piling up in the closet. I can just imagine their high pitched voice that says:

"God my feet! These stupid high heels!"
Me: Well why do you wear them, let alone buy them?
Them: "Well just look at this style! It's absolutely adorable! And I got them in red too!"
Me: So you got the same style in two different colors?
Them: "Of course I did! A girl can't have too many shoes!"
Me: *why do I continue talking?*
**Disclaimer: I realize that this is not typical of all woman, just the Barbie like ones


Of course a girl can have too many shoes, it's called hoarding. High heels will never be a part of my shoe attire, they're not practical for my feet. And frankly, the world would be better without them.

New Idea!

I've been mulling over a new idea for a story. Imagine this to be on the back of a book! Let me know what you think!

"Just starting her senior year in high school, Sutton Hollis displays an exterior persona that screams Bitch. From the clothes to her attitude, Sutton is a mean girl at school. But not because she wants to, she has to for her survival.

At home Sutton is plagued by horrible memories as her time as a young girl in foster care. Then she meets new neighbor Dalton Prescott. She feels an immediate connection with him but is too afraid to open herself up to him.

Will Sutton finally be able to trust someone other than herself and her adoptive parents? And if she does, can she shed her mean girl appearance for good?"

If I'm able to find time to actually write this, I think it'll sound pretty good. I already have some scene ideas in my head.

A Letter to my Grampas

I don't know much about the family on my mom's side or me dad's side, so I thought I'd write this letter to both my grampa's:


A Letter to My Grampas
August 1^st, 2013
Age: 17

Grampa number one. All I know about you is your name and that you were my Dad's Dad. Your name, Frank, is probably some Americanized version of Francesco. Your name is the only thing that my Dad knows about you because you chose to leave his Mom when you found out she was pregnant. Or maybe she never told you at all. Or maybe, or maybe, or maybe. There are too many “or maybe's”, but one thing's for sure. You did end up leaving for reasons my Dad will never know; for reasons I'll never know.

But oh my God do I want to know. I want to know everything about you, the good and the bad. Because it'll give me insight on who I am as a person. I want to know who your parents are; I want to know what you were like as a child; as a teen, I want to know why you did end up leaving my Dad's Mom. But most of all I want to know if you would've loved me had you stayed. I know it's foolish, but I will always wonder that. Did you have other children? Did you stay in their lives? For all I know I could have relatives out there stemming from your other offspring. And I don't even know if you're alive, or if you're dead.

All my life I've always had the feeling of someone watching me, following me, and when I turn to look, no one is there. It happens more than I'd like it to, and sometimes it's kind of freaky. But what if it's you Mr. Frank? Checking and looking in on your long- lost granddaughter. Maybe I'm just blowing smoke here, but I really would've liked to have you in my life, in my Dad's life. I would've liked to have met you. Because I don't want just a name anymore.

***

Grampa number two. You're my Mom's Dad. I know more about you than Frank, that's for sure. I know that your name is Marvin, but you went by Marv. I know that you played the saxophone in high school and a few years beyond that. I know that you did something in the war, but I'm not sure what. I know that you smoked and drank. I don't like that but I guess that was a norm back then.

All my “memories” of you are pictures. And guess what? Your only granddaughter caught the photography bug too. Except my camera is digital. And guess what else? I wear your dog tag. Not all the time, but I do wear it. Makes me feel connected to you. I know there should be a second one, but I honestly have no idea what happened to it.

I always ask my Mom if you would've liked me had you lived to see me grow up. She says yes all the time but sometimes it's hard to believe her. Whenever I hear my friends talk about their Grampa's, my face twitches and I know I'll have to rattle off some long explanation when all I really want to do is say “yes”.

It’s true that I know a lot about you, but there really is a lot more that I don’t. Like how you were as a kid growing up. Or who your ancestors are. I must admit. I really wish you hadn’t died. I remember as a little girl crying because I didn’t have any Grampas. Well. Not live ones anyway. I still think of you and get teary eyed every once in awhile. But maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. It means that I think about you even though I don’t know you at all. It means that I have emotions t towards you. Any other kid would shrug in indifference. But not me. I’m different like that.

So in closing this, there’s something I’d really like to say. My name is Faith and I’m your granddaughter. I’m very pleased to meet you both.

The Break-Up Song

On July 28th, 2012 my boyfriend of over a year broke up with me. I was devastated at first, for a long time actually. But then I got inspired and made this little piece of writing up. I combined words from different songs with my own to write The Break-Up Song. And now it's been over a year since that happened and I couldn't be better! So here it is:

Hang on, just hang on for a minute, I have something to say. ¹ I just want to say that you’re a jerk. You’re worse than a jerk, but since I don’t cuss, I won’t say it. A tall drink of water and a pretty little thing, were kissing on the corner in the pouring rain; turned my head to get a better view, oh Lord help me, it was you.² This is why you’re a jerk. Because you cheated on me. You found some other girl, that you don’t even love, to fill the void in your life and to fulfill your needs and desires. So good for you. Way to go. You became a player! Congratulations! You should be so proud of that, to let your favorite person go in favor of your own selfishness. To think that I loved you. Boy that was a mistake, the biggest one ever. But I won’t be making that same mistake again; especially because we are never ever ever getting back together. ³ Big bold words I know. But it’s true that we’re not getting back together because you lie...you lie like a priceless Persian rug on a rich man's floor... it just comes so dang natural to you, the way you lie. ⁴ I want a guy to be the type to say if I was your boyfriend I'd never let you go. ⁵ Now that is a true boyfriend, one that wouldn’t lie or cheat. And to that mystery guy, I know you’re out there, but I just haven't met you yet. ⁶

1) That wasn’t Me—Brandi Carlile

2) Giddy on Up—Laura Bell Bundy

3) We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together—Taylor Swift

4) You Lie—The Band Perry

5) Boyfriend—Justin Bieber

6) Haven’t Met You Yet—Michael Bublé

 

When this publishes the font is going to be so weird and I have no idea how to fix it! So I apologize for the squished words!

Classes and Roommates!

This is a brief and short post but I just wanted to share with you all that I'm happy to announce my Fall Quarter classes for college!:

Discovering Geology--Monday through Thursday
Cultural Anthropology--Monday through Friday
English 101--Monday through Friday
My Living Learning Community (LLC) Arts class--Every Tuesday
*17 credits total; can't go above 18 during any quarter

And I have a roommate assigned to me and we've already been talking and figuring out who is buying what!

I'll be moving into the dorm September 20th, but won't actually start my classes until the 25th, but I'm getting excited and hella nervous all at once!

This I Believe

One of my senior class requirements was one called Current World Affairs (CWA). It was such a wonderful class and I had a lot of fun learning about our world. One of our final, end of the year projects was called 'This I Believe'. My teacher got the material from the National Public Radio and the segments that they were doing. So she wanted us to do our own. The basis of 'This I Believe' was to share your beliefs and what made you believe in them. So this is mine:

I have immigrant ancestors from long ago that came from Italy and made their way through Ellis Island and started their lives anew. I might even be related to the author of Pinocchio, Carlo Lorenzini, pen name C. Collodi, but my family and I haven’t had an opportunity to prove it. I love to read and write; I love listening to music; I love to be by myself sometimes; I love being around nature; I love being a novice photographer. I am shy, but once you get me talking about sci-fi shows or shows from the U.K., you won’t be able to get me to shut up. I am going to college after high school but for right now a major has not been selected; maybe something with my photography or writing.

My beliefs on the other hand do not go in a direct path or pattern. They’re scattered. I believe in marriage equality; for me it is about two people loving each other regardless of their gender. Everyone will come in contact with that one person that they just can’t live without and the relationship should be based on what those two people feel for each other. I believe in being able to communicate with the dead. People say that when we die our souls go to heaven. Well, I think we stick around for a while. I’ve seen and heard about amazing stories of people contacting loved ones through people known as psychic mediums, like John Edwards, Chip Coffey, and Theresa Caputo. The gifts that these people possess are truly amazing.

I believe in giving people second chances. A person can make a stupid mistake that they would normally not do and they get in trouble for it. Those people need second chances to fix what wrong they did and move on with their lives. If a person screws up their second chance then they shouldn't get any more chances. I believe that teachers at school put up with a lot of crap from their students and random kids in the hall that they shouldn't have to. They don’t get enough respect for all the hard work they do and that’s not right. The students should be more polite and courteous to their teachers. Most of these students are underclassmen but I've seen a few upperclassmen act like freshmen.

I believe in climate change, both nature made and human caused. If we want to live on this glorious planet until we die, then we should treat it like it’s living; which it is. The earth is a living creature and should be treated like one. No more dumping garbage in rivers or oceans, no more pollution of any sort. I believe in animal adoption from no-kill animal shelters. A human adopting a pet can improve their own life and the animal’s as well. Going to a breeder with pure bred dogs or cats is really stupid, who would want to pay close to a thousand dollars for a dog. Going to a shelter for adoption is such a great thing because you’d potentially be saving a life and the actual dollar price is much lower than pure bred; the quality time you spend with that animal will be priceless.

I don’t expect anyone to agree with me, but I do expect respect. Which this class has taught me a lot of. I knew nothing about the world unless it was in my house or I heard it on the news. Because of this class, I actually went out looking for news to share and I realized that what happened in the past is affecting right now. And what is happening right now will more than likely affect the future. I will focus more on what is going on and will remember why it’s happening because of this class. I don’t buy into rumors, but this, this I believe.


National Public Radio doesn't do the segments anymore but if you're interested, you can go here to look at other entries or to submit your own! I just might do it with mine!

The Genographic Project 2.0

Dr. Spencer Wells

“National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Spencer Wells and team designed Geno 2.0 based on the new technologies and insights that emerged since the launch of the Genographic Project in 2005. Using an exclusive, custom-built genotyping chip, we test nearly 150,000 DNA markers that have been specifically selected to provide unprecedented ancestry-related information.”

That sounds amazing. Like out of this world technology that I’d love to get my hands on. But the packet costs two hundred dollars and you have to be eighteen or older to purchase. I’m not eighteen. I really want to learn about my ancestry and where I come from. I know I have ancestors from Italy, Germany, Norway, and God knows where else. So I’m assuming that it’s safe to say that I’m mostly of European descent, which makes sense because Italy, Germany, and Norway are in Europe.

The package that you purchase to become part of the project

I don’t want to learn about my ancestors for the sake of knowing. I want to know their names, where they lived, why the migrated the way they did, why they came to Ellis Island (if any of them did). I want to know everything that there is possible to know. It is something that I think about a lot of the time. If I took this test (which is a long cotton q-tip with cheek spit) hypothetically, the results would be surprising. But that is why I want to do this. I want the surprises.

This test would give me the basic answers that I’m looking for: Where do my ancestors come from? Of course, I would need to find out all my other questions at some other place because the cheek spit test doesn’t tell you names, it just tells you where. But for each location that your ancestors belong

ed to, it’ll tell you the percentage. So for example, you could have 25% ancestry from Africa or 6% from Mexico or any percentage from ANYWHERE. That percentage is called your “genome” and with percentages, once you add them up, they’ll equal one hundred, hopefully.

 

 

Learning about my ancestry is a secret passion that I have. And hopefully one day I’ll be able to purchase that package, and my parents will each purchase a packet too. Then I’d embark on a journey of nothing like ever before.

What you'd view on your computer once you get the results back

 

 

I'm a Horrible Blogger

Today is my blogversary. Meaning that this is the day of me having my blog for 5 years. In fact, here's my very first post! In all that time, I've been writing my posts sometimes months apart. And the blogs I go visit, don't get me started! I barely visit any of them anymore and I feel horrible. I always say that I have too much homework or that I'm too busy. Even though there were times I did have too much homework, it was actually laziness that prevented me from being a more active blogger. Being a blogger shouldn't be about how many comments you get on a post or if anyone actually reads them. It should be about putting what you believe, and writing about things that you like to do into this white square and not being afraid of what anyone thinks if a person happens to read the post. Blogging should be about commenting on other people's blog posts to create a friendly neighborhood of bloggers.

So I am going to practice what I preach. I'm going to make a serious, honest to God effort to write more posts this summer (different story for when I get into college) and comment on other people's blog posts. Let the posting and commenting begin!

Summer Vacation 2012 Day 7

The day my family and I left Forks, Wa was the 17th of August. We had to get up early in the morning in order to make it back into town in time; it was nearly a 8 to 9 hour drive (depending on how many times your family has to stop and use the bathroom). So the following pictures are of the cabin we stayed in a forest fire in some city.

The cabin we stayed in at Three Rivers Resort; Forks, Wa

Fire on the mountain; Indian John Hill rest area

Summer Vacation 2012 Day 6

On the 16th, of August 2012 was our second to last day of vacation and we wanted to make it a good one. So after a warm cup of coffee in the morning, we got the car loaded with food and we were ready to go. First we went to Fourth Beach, along the Washington Coast and then we drove a little further down Highway 101 to Kalaloch Beach. Here are pictures from that day!

Sun coming through the trees; Beach 4

Part of the bridge that you need to cross to get to the beach; Beach 4

Wave crashing against the huge rock in the ocean; Beach 4

Gazebo and tree; Kalaloch Beach

Fence making a leading line, and one of my favs; Kalaloch Beach

A corgi chasing a yellow lab chasing a stick; Kalaloch Beach

These might be sandpipers eating bugs in the sand; Kalaloch Beach

Summer Vacation 2012 Day 5

On August 15th, 2012 my family and I took a logging and mill tour up into the mountains surrounding Fork. The ride on the actual road wasn't that bad, but the road leading up to the top of the mountain was very rocky and bumpy. It was not a good ride if you had a full bladder. But unfortunately, I did. So here are some pictures from that tour!

I think they're loading the logs onto the blue truck.

Closer shot of loading logs.

Making sure all the logs are lined up correctly.

This are some other logs that got taken to the mill to get sliced and chopped and whatever else.

Summer Vacation 2012 Day 4

On August 14th, 2012 we went to Second Beach for the day. It was very cool that day which was a great thing because you don't want to hike to a beach in hot weather. The last time that we went to Forks we went to Second Beach but at the very end of the trail, there was a huge pile of logs; big, long logs in the way of our trek. My mom and I were so tired that we just sat down. We couldn't muster enough energy to get over all those logs. But this time, when we made it to the end of the trail, we made it over the logs and it was such a relief! I felt like shouting "VICTORY!!!!" but I didn't. I didn't want to look like a fool. So here are some Second Beach pictures:

This is not smoke, it's fog. A very pretty image.

Another foggy shot.

The view from the inside of the trail.

This is only a small portion of the 200+ steps.

A view of the logs on the inside of the trail.

A view of the logs from the.........outside!

Summer Vacation 2012 Day 3

On the 13th, of August, my family and I went to the Quileute Reservation, Forks, Wa (the sign), Rialto Beach, and LaPush, Wa. Rialto Beach is very pretty and when we were on the reservation, we bought some fresh smoked salmon from a person who lives there!

 

This is the shack that we got the smoked salmon from. Quileute Res.

 

My dad, right, standing with the man we bought the salmon from. Quileute Res.


 

The Forks Sign!

 

 

 

A couple walking on the rocky Rialto Beach.

 

The sun finally came out to play and lit up the tress at Rialto Beach.

 

 

 

High School Confessions

I know that I've been posting vacation pictures lately, but the last time I tried to post pictures the format freaked out on me so I decided to make this post instead:

Just this past Sunday, an anonymous person from my school made a confessions page on Facebook. The posts from people are completely anonymous as well, which is a good thing because some of the confessions are either quite rude, or really deep. Some are sweet, like when a kid posts about a crush that they have. I wanted to confess to that page, but it had a character limit of 300. And my post was over 1000 and I couldn't post it to there. So I have decided to put it here. For security reasons, I will call my school S*****. Here is my confession:

Nobody’s perfect and everybody has flaws. Yes, it sounds like a cliché, but it is true. And those flaws can sometimes cause students to tell an unintentionally rude joke and not realize it. Also, there are many classes of students. Not the physical classes that they’re in, but of income, race, gender orientation. A student, here at S*****, could be hungry at night because their family’s income isn’t large enough to buy all the food that they need. A student, here at S*****, could be wanting to tell a huge something to their friends but can’t because they’d feel embarrassed. I personally have not seen any bullying at S*****, but I’m just one student. I don’t know the inner workings of the lives of students, which is maybe a good thing. But S***** students! If you need to talk to someone, and you don’t want it to be your parents, there are several kids here that would gladly listen and offer any help that they can! And despite what you may think, teachers offer great support as well! Don’t be afraid! It is totally up to you if you want to talk to anyone or not, but S***** kids are here for you if you need them.