Another Christmas #20

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. (Coolidge, Calvin)”

Harmony woke up as if it were any normal day. She looked at her calendar next to her bed and realized it was Christmas Eve. When she had first moved in with the Parker's' she used to bounce off the walls. They had adopted her about exactly 1 year ago after she had been in several foster homes. When they adopted her she couldn't contain her excitement, she knew deep down in her heart that they were the family she had been waiting for years.

When she was a day old she had been dropped off at the orphanage. It had been the day after Christmas. When the woman who ran the orphanage had found her she had decided to name the nameless baby, Harmony. The reason why was because while she lay in her bassinet on the steps, she didn't make a sound. Even though earlier it had been snowing and it was pitch black. Harmony seemed to have a glowing aura around her that gave her a piece of mind.

When she was about two months old she was adopted by a nice couple. The couple had had three other adopted children. A week before she turned a year old, which happened to be Christmas, the couple died brutally in a car crash. She doesn't remember them, but she knew that while she lived with them that they tried their best to give her a loving, caring atmosphere. So she ended up spending her first Christmas and birthday in the orphanage. Later on she would come to believe of it as an omen for birthdays and Christmases to come.

Six months after that horrific incident she was adopted by another couple. Although, she was young she knew that this couple was bad news. They had a total of five adopted children. Once she got older, and went through more foster homes, she began to understand that they only became foster parents to collect money. She lived with them for four years. That happened to be the worst four years of her life.

She knew that they were both shady people, who always seemed to have bloodshot eyes. For the next couple of years, she thought that the couple would at least try to make an effort during the holiday season, but she knew that she was only being hopeful. She tried her best to not to let that get her down. At the beginning of December of that fourth year, both of the adopted parents were arrested for dealing drugs. She was then put back into foster care. Once again she got to spend another birthday in foster care.

As she got older she went through another four foster homes. She always seemed to be moving through the foster care during Christmas. At first she thought it was just a coincidence, but the time she was 12 she stopped believing in the holiday miracles. She felt as though that all hope had been lost. She felt as though she was cursed. At school she would hear from kids all around about the traditions, family, and the love that was shared throughout the holidays. She always felt jealous because she thought she was missing out on the gifts that she could never have. She wished that life had been different; she didn’t know what she’d done wrong to deserve that kind of life.

When she turned 15 she had once again been put back into foster care. Within a week a couple had begun to show interest in her. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, so she decided to not show to how much she cared. The Parkers instantly took a liking to her and knew she would be a good match for their family. They would later tell her that they saw the potential in her, and the harmonious glow that surrounded her. They adopted her that September and all she could think about was what would happen in the next couple of months before Christmas.

It came to her in surprise when she spent her first Christmas with them. They included her in all of their family traditions with welcoming, loving arms. She started to get this feeling that these emotions she was feeling wouldn’t be the last. When she woke up on Christmas day, she braced herself for the day ahead. She walked down the stairs and she looked around to see the family waiting for her.

As soon as she sat down she was wished a happy birthday and merry Christmas. Her adopted-mother brought out a birthday cake. Once they were done singing they let her open her gifts first. She opened it to see a brand new iPod. She was shaken with happiness. At that moment she began to cry. She stood up and hugged her new parents and siblings. Harmony saw that each one of them showed happiness in their eyes. She realized at that moment what Christmas truly meant.

It didn’t matter if you had the most expensive gifts, if you didn’t have people around you who cared about you then it meant next to nothing. No matter how corny that sounded. She knew from that point on that she wasn’t cursed.

My Short Story #19

The girl new that at that point in her life, that she had lost all hope in life and that there would never be a chance to gain that back.

It had just started the way any story started. There was a girl named Charlotte and boy named Henry. They grew up as next door neighbors since they were both 3. In the summer as children, they played in their backyards thinking of any game they could from morning to sundown. They told shared jokes, laughs and deep dark secrets.

When they got older their relationship was still the best of friends. They were attached at the hip. They still seemed to share jokes, laughs and secrets, well except one. The most important one. That they both were obliviously in love with each other. Both didn’t want to ruin their great friendship. Because without the other, they really didn’t know who they were. They each decided that they would hold that one secret to their selves.

After high school they each went their separate ways. Charlotte moved half way across the country to attend the college of her dreams. While Henry decided to stay in state and attend college their. Charlotte discussed with Henry the possibility of going to college together, but he told her blankly that she had so much potential and not to waste it on a small college.

During college they still remained their relationship. They still shared laughs and jokes. Although secrets remained a thing of the past. Neither Charlotte wanted to admit that she had to cry herself to sleep from being so apart from Henry nor did he want to admit that he hadn’t gone out without anyone because he felt that he would betray Charlotte.

After they both graduated from college Henry became a successful business man and met a decent enough girl who he thought he could marry. She couldn’t bare children so it was just them. He felt that that was just fine. Charlotte traveled the world as a photographer. While she was in Fiji, she met another photographer who was from the states. They eventually became engaged. She seemed to feel that he was good enough person to be her husband.

A month before Charlotte was going to get married she happened to be in London. There in a small café she saw a man similar to one that was a major part in her life. The man looked up at here and she seemed to know that smile from apart from everyone. She came up to Henry’s table and they talked for what seemed to be hours. Just alone in their own world. They talked about how their lives were. She shared she was to be married soon. While he talked about his wife and the business trip he was on. She knew that she was comfortable with him and having a conversation was just as easy as breathing. She knew that was what was missing in her life. The feeling of being comfortable and secure.

Without thinking she blurted out that she had been in love with him since they were little. She then self as if a giant weight had been lifted off her chest. She braced herself for what he would say next. His next words shocked her. He told her that he too was in love with her and had always been. They then once again shared their deep, dark secrets of how they missed each other and that no one seemed to make up for what they sought and could only find in each other.
They decided she would break off her engagement and he would leave his wife. She felt guilty for him having to leave his wife, but he told her that he didn’t love her and it was easier since they had no children. They decided to meet at the café in exactly a week. That was enough time for him to return to the states to leave his wife and her to break up with her fiancé. He gave her his flight number incase of delays, since it was winter.

A week later Charlotte walked in the café, knowing her life was about to change. She had been feeling bad all week, because she couldn’t shake the image of how much misery her fiancé was in when she broke off the engagement. She knew that her life could only move on from there. She sat down and read the newspaper. She found it shocking about how there was a plane crash from there being so much snow. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the plane number was too familiar.

The girl looked at the list of the people who were on the flight. She couldn’t help but freeze when she saw Henry’s name. She seemed to be in a state of shock. There was no way it was true. In her heart the girl knew it was true. She knew in that moment that all hope was lost.

Two months after the plane crashed she took her own life. Realized that she had lived without him for two long and that pain was unbearable. The wife of Henry had become pregnant with his child and had the burden of raising the child on her own.

My Poem #18

I live in a tv.
Is this where you live?
I live here on what I wish street,
My friends live on Reality Avenue.
Do you live here in a perfect world?
With no mistakes,
Falls round me like pennies from the sky,
Picking them up from the street.
A limo as long as the sky,
Fans like somebody has died
And went to heaven.
I got fame where other people have money.
& a personality that comes complete
With a perfect smile and
Pearly white teeth.
I live in a TV.
I live in it,
Dream in it,
I could even stay there for the rest of my life.
Just living life in a glass house.
Money falls so fulla fame,
You could just stay here
And love yourself,
Carrying yourself in a TV.

Moral Teaching From Smock Signals #17

“How do we forgive our fathers? Maybe in a dream? Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often, or forever, when we were little? Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all? Do we forgive our fathers for marrying, or not marrying, our mothers? Or divorcing, or not divorcing, our mothers? And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness? Shall we forgive them for pushing, or leaning? For shutting doors or speaking through walls? For never speaking, or never being silent? Do we forgive our fathers in our age, or in theirs? Or in their deaths, saying it to them or not saying it. If we forgive our fathers, what is left? (Thomas Builds-the Fire, Smoke Signals)”

Forgiveness is a hard thing to do. It takes an immense person to ask for forgiveness, but will take an even immense person to do the forgiving. We most of the time feel that we shouldn’t give people forgiveness. The reason why is because they’ve already messed up to bad to deserve our forgiveness. We think of forgiveness as a right, which only we can give. We only see how forgiving people affect ourselves. If we concede and forgive a person, that did something horrific to us, then we tend to see ourselves as the weak link. We blame the crack in the foundation on ourselves, because maybe we could have prevented it.

We need to realize that forgiving is not a weakness, nor a right. In the end the only thing at stake when forgiving is the relationships. The relationship with that person and whether or not when you forgive that person, if you still want them to be in your life or let them loose. To know that that chapter in your life ended in a resolution because if it didn’t then you will always know that there is unfinished business and the reader will never know what happened.

The next relationship we need to fix is with ourselves. When we don’t forgive, that hate and the other overwhelming feelings that come with holding a grudge will start to eat away at you. It will consume you from the inside out. Starting with your humanity and well-being. I don’t know about you, but I think once you lose those qualities then you can’t rebuild them. Even if you wanted to, the damage would already be done. Life’s short. Do you really want to be wasting it by holding onto the past and never moving on to a newer and better day?

Forgiveness played a major theme in the movie Smoke Signals. Each character seems to portray the difficulty with forgiving someone who has hurt them greatly or just generally forgiving themselves. The character who has a real struggle with it is Victor. He has struggled with his parents being alcoholics as a young child, his dad being abusive and not always getting the attention he needs and wants. The thing that he struggles with the most is that his father left him and his mother with nothing else left to say.

As Victor becomes older, he becomes a bitter and cold person, without a care in the world who he hurts or not. It doesn’t help that his “friend”, Thomas, is there right beside him, telling him a bunch of mumbo jumbo -that makes no absolute sense to him- reminding him of the faults in his life, what he’ll never be and almost the worst thing, what he has become. What makes it a million times worse is that Thomas reminds him of the person his dad isn’t.

This movie seemed to be relatable to real life. I actually picked this movie because it related to something I’ve gone through in life. I seem to understand where Victor is coming from when he can’t seem to forgive his father. Like Victor, my father walked out of my life. At first I too saw him as a coward, who couldn’t deal with something when it got too hard, and that he took the easy way out. The thing that makes Victor and me different is that I learned quickly after my dad left that I can’t blame him for the way things turn out in my life. I learned that he needs to be a chapter in my life, that while didn’t end well, but ended with my understanding that he probably is sorry for what he did. While I haven’t yet given him forgiveness, but something just as great. Understanding. Understanding that it’s not my fault and that maybe it was for the better.

Understanding is probably the next thing best to forgiveness. If we understand why that person did what they did, then we understand the fundamentals of being human. We learn that not everyone’s perfect, because if everyone was then life would be nothing but a haze. The reason why is because “sometimes it's a good day to die, and sometimes it's a good day to forgive”.

Life Flashes By # 15

"The funny thing about life is the best things in life are the ones we don't remember and take advantage."

A long time ago, in a small town lived a girl. Now everyone in this town would say that she was the luckiest girl in the world. She lived in the biggest house for miles around. Her parents owned a corporate business that accessed them endless money. She always had the newest cars, clothes and electronic devices. She had many friends, that she spent endless times with, since her parents traveled for their company a lot. You would think that her life would be complete, but for her it just wasn't enough sometimes.

For the girl it was just never enough. She always wanted more. She always took things for granted. She never appreciated what it took for her parents to provide her with the lifestyle she always knew. Instead of spending Friday night dinners' with her parents, which her parents made sure they were always home for, she go to the mall or hang out with friends. Instead of going to church with her mom on Sunday morning, as she did as a little girl, she would whine and complain until her mom let her sleep in. The thought in the back of the girl's mind is, if she's done it once, there's no need to do it again.

About a month after the girl had turned 17, she was at home alone on a dark evening. Her parents had wanted to go out for the Friday night dinner with her, but she insisted she wanted to stay home and relax. She looked out the window, and thought about when she was a child and look at the sky with her parents. Thinking about her parents, she wondered where they were. It was almost 11 o'clock at night, and she was starting to get worried about them. Usually they would call to say that they were running late. She never really cared what time they came home, but that night, at that moment, she knew something was wrong.

Finally, at about midnight the phone rang. When she picked up it was the hospital, calling to say that her parents were in a deadly car crash. In that moment, she was in utter shock. She couldn't seem to hear the person on the other end of the line. All she could see was the night sky in front of her. She thought to herself that she would never look at the moon and the stars with them again. She wouldn't get to have weekly Friday night dinner anymore. She wouldn't wake up early on Sunday mornings to go to church. She had all those years to and in that moment she wouldn't ever get a chance to do that with her parents again.

You know the expression "That in life we don't know what we have until it's gone." The truth about that expression is that it's scary true. We go through life in a blink of the eye. Through that time there are so many moments to count, that it's hard to remember them all. The memories we do remember are the ones that stand out. Sometimes that's bad and sometimes that's good.

We could remember the day someone die or the day someone came into our lives. Those are the memories we should hold on tight to. Then there's those memories when we think about the day we got our first cell phone, iPod, or car. While those are okay moments in our lives, there's a wrong reason for remembering them. We think of those memories because something that's materialistic and replaceable was brought into our lives. The reasons behind remembering those memories is the wrong incentive. We should remember who brought those things into our lives, instead of what was brought into our lives.

The reason why is because life's way to quick to not appreciate the simple things in life. Life flashes by like houses on the side of the freeway. Blink and it'll be gone. So, and as cheesy as it sounds, don't take life for granted. The reason why is because one day it's here and the next moment it's gone.

Uniforms #14

"You have got to be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for? (Peters, Bernadette)"

Uniforms. They represent one thing and one thing only, unity. While unity is a great way to bring people together, it stunts the growth of inspiration. The ability to be anyone you want to be. To stand out in a crowd that will always be there, no matter what. When you wear a uniform you start to blend in. Blending into your surroundings is such an animal characteristic. I thought the point of the human species was about becoming a more modernized civilization. For us to survive on our own, but also to grow up in a different environment. Not to hide behind the trees and bushes and buildings. 

We should just leave uniforms to the military. The reason why is because who do we have to hide from? The real people in the world? When you get to be in the real world, there may be a dress code, but not uniforms. As you grow, your clothes start to represent who you are. What you stand for. Who you see yourself as. Not some cookie cutter person, who has no idea what it means to be true to themselves.

All our lives, people tell us that with the right set of mind you can grow up to be anything you dream of. Be a police officer, a doctor, or a teacher, the list is endless. The only thing that we have to figure out before we choose one of these careers is the most important question. Who are we really? 

Are we a leader or a follower? Are we well put together? Do we long for inspiration? Do we see the world in colors or in black and white? Is our mind infinitive or stuck in the present? Are we bold enough to be whoever we want to be? Can there be more to what we are seeing? Is there more to than what I'm seeing?Once we answer some of those questions we start to shape ourselves. With that we shape our personalities and wardrobe. 

School uniforms eventually start to add up in costs. The reason why is because parents have to buy various sets of uniforms. The uniforms have to be appropriate colors, lengths, and brands. This starts to become a great amount of time wasted, on clothes children only wear for only eight hours. Then parents have to buy home clothes so the children don’t rip their school clothes. Considering most families are middle and lower class. This starts to become a daily hassle and a struggle to make sure that their kids have uniforms that don’t look like they came from Goodwill.

I think that when you put on a uniform it gives a wrong impression. It shows children that everyone’s equal. While they may be the case sometimes, it’s not always true. You can put the wolf in a sheep costume, but underneath the wolf is still the wolf. No matter how hard he tries not to be. The uniforms are hiding the true person underneath. Uniforms are causing looks to be deceiving. Children everywhere are going to be in a big shock when they learn that the world they were taught to live in was just a figment of someone’s authority.

In the end uniforms cost money, confusion and eventually the stunt of growth in our imaginations. We should start letting kids express themselves. If they don’t start now then they may never be able to learn whom they really are. Were we not taught to always tell the truth? Then answer this. Why are we hiding the real us underneath these clothes?

The True Halloween Night #13

Be very attentive as you walk the dark night of all Hallows Eve
For if you don’t, you may miss the real event of Halloween night,
Where the dead spirits of the past connect and walk among the living dead.

A Concrete Rose #11

"Conquering any difficulty always gives one a secret joy, for it means pushing back a boundary-line and adding to one's liberty." (Henri Frederic Amiel)

To overcome something takes a lot of strength. When you overcome an obstacle we've defied a sort of gravity. In the poem "The Concrete Rose" Tupac is trying to say how that even in the worst of situations, that you can break out of the seal and become your own being. No one in life is going to push you to any limit, unless you want them to. It's up to ourselves, and only ourselves, if we want to become something more.

When we're born we start learning right away. We learn right and wrong; up and down; left and right. The most important lesson that we will learn is love and how it makes us grow. The love that we receive from other people is like fertilizer, which helps us grow tall and proud. When there's a lot of love, we feel as if the sky's the limit.

When we're older we learn that love can grow to be just another word. Just another emotion or another person who say it as if they're saying hello. It starts to mean nothing when it's thrown around too often. We start to learn that any one person can simply be nonchalant about that word. When that happens it can tear us down. It moves in on us like a cold, harsh, winter storm, while we have no protection and leaves us bear without any flowers and leaves. It can make us grow weak and brittle. But we do have the choice to move beyond that and to overcome those awful heartaches, and reflect on the positive things in life.

In the poem "The Concrete Rose" I think Tupac is trying to make us understand that no one said life would be easy. It will come with hardships, sadness and major losses, but that's part of life. Through all of that mud and dirt will be a greater life beyond that. Although, it will take a lot of determination from yourself. No one will truly care in a couple of years if you failed or succeeded, but you will and that's what will truly count. To be something more it's up to whether or not you can at least attempt moving on to something more. If you fail, then you learn a lesson of what you can do better next time. The most important lesson to learn from this poem is that the only one person who is going to push you is yourself. If you never push yourself then all you can be is the plain, cracked, boring concrete instead of the tall, vibrant rose.

Once we learn those lessons and realize that they are the hardships that come along with life, then we can grow to bigger and better things. Bask in the knowledge from that simple hardship. Create a stronger relationship with ourselves. Then we can truly stand by ourselves. The reason why is because in life, we must realize that we may be part of this huge world, but it will mean nothing without ourselves being there. Because one person makes the whole difference.

Take A Stand #10

Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke. (Disreali, Benjamin)

We've all been there at one point in our lives. A time where we have felt scared, small, defeated; as if no one cares. The many scars that these traumatic events leave. Some are just superficial, that heals and goes away with time, but, there are those scars that will leave lasting impressions and will never truly go away. The scariest part of bullying is no one says anything about it. If we want to, we're threaten that worse things could happen. When will we learn that enough is enough? What does it take? An injury? A trip to the hospital? Your grave? We need to learn that the first time should be the last time.

Towards the middle of eighth grade I started to be bullied. At first it was small things, such as like punching me in the arm and being insulted by her. It really didn't bother me because I'm one of those people who don't let people get under their skin. I had already realized that not everyone in life is going to like you, so I didn't let it affect me. I also didn't let it bother me because that was my friend's friend and I didn't want to offend her by saying I didn't like her friend, so I let it pass. I took the high road and made sure that she knew I was there for my friends and she didn't have to like me, but just tolerate me.

Towards the last couple of months eighth grade she started making sure I knew how much she didn't like me. One day she came up behind me and hit me in the back of the head. At first I was in awe, because that had really hurt. She started laughing so I didn't understand if she was trying to pick a fight or think of it as a joke. Since she didn't seem like she was going to do anything else, I let it slide. Since I was still trying to be the bigger person, I felt like she was not a major threat and she was trying to get a rise out of me. That was my first mistake.

Then towards the last month of school, she started to become even more aggravated because I would not respond to her actions. So since they say words are like daggers she started using my words against me. She told one of my oldest friends that I had been saying nasty things about her behind her back. That friend became angry with me and when I had asked her what it was I said she told me. I then realized that the bully had took my words and twisted the statement. I became mad with both the bully for saying that, but also my friend seeing as she believed this person more than me. I tried telling my friend that what I said was something totally different and that I hadn't said those hurtful words. Then all of sudden my friends started to ignore me and give me dirty looks. I honestly didn't know what to do, so I hung around my other friends until this situation blew over. That was mistake number two.

One day my friends started to get super mad at me. I had to ask other people why they were mad and they told me it was because I said "again" some mean, nasty things again. I knew then that the girl really didn't like me and she was trying to isolate me from my long time friends. That day at lunch it was made clear that I should just stay clear of that bully until I got a handle on things. I hung out with friends who didn't believe those things, seeing as they didn't trust the bully. But the bully wouldn't let it go. Supposedly there was a rumor going around that, that girl was going to get into a fight with me. At first I thought that was outrageous, seeing as I hadn't done anything wrong. Second she was going to ruin my opportunities of going on a field trip and going to the dance for the end of the year, because if we got into any trouble, whether we started or not, then we would not get to do anything.

Then towards the end of lunch, I saw that she was there waiting at the door of my class. I was so scared because, not only have I never been in a fight, I didn't want to. So I went in through another door, because I had class in the gym and there were two entrances, by then I was crying. As I walked through the door there stood two of my teachers and the campus police officer. They had asked me why I was crying and I realized at that point that the bully had took it too far and I would not let her threaten me. I told them all about what had happened, with my friends by my side to back me up. The police officer said that he understood what was going on and would make sure that nothing would happen and that he would try to prevent the situation.

Once that happened I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my chest. I knew there were still problems that I had to deal with, but in that moment I felt like I was on top of the world. I didn't succumb to violence, but instead told a trusted adult about the problem. I realized that, that was all it took and that words are stronger than actions.

Is That Your True Self #8

In the story The Necklace the character is fantasized with the conception of how society perceives you based on your social class. She strongly believes that money buys you everything and without money you can't live your life to the fullest. She's convinced that her life is a disaster simply because she has no money. She's not living the life she could be if she had simply married a rich man. When her husband is invited to a fancy dinner she's more concerned about what people will say since she knows that she can't afford the fanciest clothes. Then since you can't complete an outfit without accessories she borrows a necklace that she ends up losing.

As a teenager in the 21st Century we are so hung tightly to each other’s opinions of how people perceive us. We are obsessed with the newest trends, clothes, makeup, hairstyles and hair colors. It doesn’t even stop there. We read and watch t.v. which only promotes what a “perfect girl” looks like, which in turn gives us low-self esteem, body and weight issues, and attempts to diet. Do we care? No, not at all. We will still buy all of that useless junk so that we can be “happy” and be just like any one else.

The truth is each and every single one of us is not alike. We come in all different shapes and sizes. Have different hair and eye color. We’re rich and poor and everything else in between. That is what truly makes everyone unique, but we wouldn’t know it if it hit us in our faces at 500 mph. Instead we hid behind our insecurities. We cover it with a bunch of makeup and uncomfortable clothes and let that mask the true beauty. Unlike the woman in the story we have the choice to break out of the façade and become brave, fearless person that is within us all. Will that ever happen? Probably not everyone at one but as an individual that stands as a statement all on its own. We have the choice to be an individual. A leader and not a follower. When that happens we will become our own person. That becomes the true question in this life long battle of standing by ourselves. Don’t be afraid to be alone because soon others will join you when they see your courage.

When the woman lost that necklace she had to step up and take the responsibility of replacing it. The cost you ask? 10 years of hard indebted labor to pay for it back. The lesson learned was you should show people the real you and not some fantasized version of you. Guess what? It’s what on the inside that counts, not the outside. No matter what anyone tells you.

An Cosuming Emotion, Envy #7

"Jealousy is simply and clearly the fear that you do not have value. Jealousy scans for evidence to prove the point - that others will be preferred and rewarded more than you. There is only one alternative - self-value. If you cannot love yourself, you will not believe that you are loved. You will always think it's a mistake or luck. Take your eyes off others and turn the scanner within. Find the seeds of your jealousy, clear the old voices and experiences. Put all the energy into building your personal and emotional security. Then you will be the one others envy, and you can remember the pain and reach out to them. (Jennifer James)"


Jealousy is a powerful emotion, that when used, can consume your whole personality. You become an envious person, which makes you become someone you're not. You lust after something you can't have or something that you want just because someone else has it.

Jealousy is also a controlling emotion. It makes you feel insecure, or fearful, or have anxiety over something so meaningless at times. The truth of the matter is we sometimes don't realize that we are jealous. I think that there are two types of jealousy. One is a physical jealousy, which can roll off of you in green, lusty waves. It's more obvious when you start to express this emotion out loud to others' around you. This type of jealousy is similar to greed. Always wanting more, even when it's not in your possible reach at times. The second type of jealousy is one that is sometimes hard to see. That one is the jealousy that is formed in the mind. At times it's just a minor thought in your head. It's still there. For example, you see someone has a brand new phone. You start to think "Oh. I wish my parents would buy me a new phone." Those thoughts can be brief, but they're still a form of jealousy.

Jealousy can be very unnecessary at times. We as people are such ungrateful human beings, who don't know what we have until it's gone. We let this prevailing emotion consume us, which makes us past on the great and bountiful opportunities that we do have in life. Do we care? Who knows. Sometimes we may not even realize what we could of had.

When jealosy starts to take over we should ask ourselves why. Why do I feel this way? Is there something more I want? Do I really want that, or is something just missing from my life? If more people asked these questions then there would be less crimes and could be the answer to the question of world peace.

In return jealousy can give you nothing. Well, I mean it can give you a greedy and lusty feeling the overpowers you, with no control of how you feel and act. If we truly want something we should do it for ourselves and not because of someone else. It's like President Obama said "Be proud of friends' successes. Ask "What are they doing right?"" Don't make people feel bad because they have something you don't. It's not right and it's not fair when we do it.

I Dream A World

"I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn.
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom's way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind--
Of such I dream, my world! -Langston Hughes"

This poem is outstandingly a vision of the future. Although this future seems so far away, it's truly not. The meaning being Langston Hughes' words may seem complex but it's not. The premise of his poem can easily be understood with the knowledge of his background.

Langston Hughes grew up in the Burroughs of New York, or what is called Harlem, during the time where racism was as common as speaking and dreams for a brighter future, for people of color, were just an imaginative idea in your head. He grew up right in the middle of New York, where white people surrounded the whole perimeter. Back then no one, and I mean no one, wanted people of color anywhere near the new and rich upcoming of New York. Although we try to imagine what it's like to experience racism, we truly haven't. To experience such a passionate hate that makes you want to cower, to crawl in a hole, to feel like you're less important than dirt.

Our generation can only begin to ponder what that's really like. Maybe even more if you're considered different, whether that's determined religiously in a community or standard wise in school. To be honest we're all different, and that's what makes us the individual people we are. That's the point that Langston Hughes is trying to make that it doesn't matter what your race, religion, gender, sexuality that we're all after just one goal in life. That is to live this life as best as we can and hope at the end of it we made a change.

My dream for the world is that we can all make peace. I know that sounds so cliché, but it's honest. I mean we all define ourselves on who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. Did anyone think that we all seem to believe in a god. It may not be your god or their god, but we all seem to have this general idea of god. We all want to end up in peaceful place at the end of our lives. Just like Langston Hughes my dream is a world we can come together and try to live with others' differences. To make this dream come true will take a lot, but it's not impossible. The small differences we can make will make this dream come a little bit closer.

Cultural Underpinnings of Literature

“Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing bad things, but for good people to do bad things, it takes religion. (Weinberg, Steven)"

Religion is a major part of how the world is shaped. Whether you're Catholic, Muslim, or Atheist. Our beliefs or lack thereof, affect the way you live, love, learn, preach, and accept. As a civilization we depend on our religious beliefs to help guide us through life. Through those beliefs we make snap quick decisions; for example, if a person is homosexual, we as a religious civilization believe that "those people" will not go to heaven -- or whatever the equality is in other religions-- that they'll burn in hell and won't be saved. We take that teaching from two thousand year old writings and apply this to present day. I mean we say that we're making all these advances in society, yet we can't and won't change views to a present day living. It's not that we won't try, we feel safer with our teachings and have a hard time accepting new ideas.

Judeo-Christian is a very major effect on Western-Civilization, but more specifically America. While we say that We have the rights to freedom of religion we clearly specify God. On American currency we have "In God We Trust", it's not just any god, it's God with a capital G. We may not force religious views on each other as a country, but we leave hints indicating that our country should believe in God. We're always saying "God Bless America" or "All men... are endowed by their Creator..." how wrong are we to say who we believe in or not. America was founded and created so that anyone who comes here has the equal right to make their own decisions concerning their beliefs. If we tell them what’s right to believe in then we are just as bad as the countries they fled from.

Another way Judeo-Christian affects Western Civilization is it plays a way in the shaping of politics. Up until the 1960's we had never had a Catholic President. Even then it was still difficult for John F. Kennedy to serve in office when he was criticized for his beliefs. Republican-Americans thinking it would shape the way decisions and outcomes were made. Even with our current president, President Barack Obama, first African-American president, is always being ridiculed. He's always being accused of not being a born American citizen or he's a terrorist. We as Americans have lost our teachings.

The most important teaching we have forgotten comes from the Statue of Liberty. Does the Statue of Liberty not state “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!". This meaning we will not judge people who come into our country. Aren’t our ancestors all from another country? Unless you're Native American there is no possible way for us to be a true American. Yes a good half of the American population was born in the United States, but our ancestors were born in Europe, Africa, Spain, China and other countries. Even those who weren't born in America are supposed to be welcomed with opened arms. If our ancestors were, why can’t they?

I mean we block out all of the immigrants from Mexico, yet we let Canadians come and go as they please. When people come from China or Europe or India we have no problem accepting them into our lives. I mean it's not like they'll bring down our reading and math scores. They won't take all of our jobs. Our religious beliefs are a great affects on our moral beliefs. Somewhere along in our lives someone told us that people of color are not as equal as the "white man". That they're ignorant people who we shouldn't give our time of day. Those teachings were taught from our morals. Which most likely come from religion.

The worst that religion has taught us is we don't accept others just because they are different. Specifically people in the gay community. With religion the way it is today they don't think twice about turning them away from the church. Although churches say, "All our welcome in the eyes of God", except gays. There are only five states that allow same-sex marriages and only 5 states that recognize it. To think only 20% of our country accepts or recognizes how people truly are, but to know 80% of our country doesn't is just ridiculous. We can move on in technology and politics but we can't move on in the way we think people are into a modern civilization. We believe what a 2000 year old scripture says. I don't mean any disrespect to those scriptures, but times have changed. What was once considered right, isn't anymore. If God created everyone, then wouldn't he have created the gays. Or are they all created by the devil, and will burn in hell?

Religion is part of our daily lives; whether we like it or not. There's no way to avoid it at all. Religion is what intertwines this complicated world we all live in. If there was no religion, which is impossible, we would all be lost souls searching for some structure in our lives.

The Meaning of Your Life- Haiku

If you die today, and, no one remebers you, did you live at all?
Was your life so forgettable that no one wants to call you a known?
Did it mean that there was no point to move on that path to begin with?

Show And Tell

"All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself. (Dove, Rita)" http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/childhood.html

What can I truly say about what I have to show you? You may just see it as a baby blanket. With baby Mickey Mouse, baby Minnie Mouse and baby Pluto, sleeping peacefully. A childish thing, but to me it is so much more. It was there from almost the very first moments of my life. From when I was brought home from the hospital, to now. When I'm cold it's the blanket that keeps me warm. When I'm crying, it helps wipe away those tears of sadness. When I would here the yelling, it helped block out the loud sounds.

Now as the years go by the colors may fade from being washed, there may be wholes from when I dragged it by my side, and there may be blood stain from when I had a horrible boo-boo. All I know is that the picture on it may be fading, but the memories I have with it are still shinning bright and will never fade away. Not anytime soon do I hope to put this blanket away.

My Sophomore Year

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson (Tom Bodett).”

My sophomore year has been an experience in the making. I felt like this year I've grown up so much. This year I finally realized that I’m going to be an adult soon. It was time to start breaking my stupid, childish habits and to start making responsible decisions. For a while, I’ve been dragging my feet and started to get in a lazy habit. I realized at the beginning of sophomore year that in a few short three years I’m going to be in college. That means that I need to work my but off so that I can get into any college of my dreams.

“Dreams are like stars...you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny (Unknown).”

This year I finally found my calling, the health field. To be more specific my goals are to become a Physician Assistant. So this year, whenever an opportunity presented itself to further help me down the road, I grabbed that opportunity and ran with it. I know that sometimes people are too young to know what to do for the rest of their lives, but I say they’re wrong. If you can dream it, you can achieve it. No matter how dorky that sounds. From the quote above I’ve learned this year that dreams can sometimes so far away they seem impossible. I think that if you can take the right steps that you’re dream can be a long, bumpy road away.

I use to think that teachers didn’t know what they were talking about and that there’s no point of tests. I mean seriously how is knowing the radius of a circle going to help me in my future? I think I finally realized that they just teach me and it’s up to me to figure out how I am going to use it in my life. This year I’ve learned patience and I’ve realized that while I’m on my way to my dreams that it won’t hurt me hearing about net ionic compounds in Chemistry.
I can finally see the little picture and the big picture. I can see so much more now that I’ve learned to see outside the small picture I stand in and the big picture I’m walking in to. With the help and support of family and great friends I can achieve anything. The path is bumpy, long, with obstacles in the way but that’s okay. I’ve learned this year that the people in your life don’t get in your way; they’re only trying to help you. I’ve also learned about karma and positive energy. So if my friends and family can help me on my journey there’s no reason that I can’t help them willingly. In the end I feel rewarded just by their presence and their joy that comes from me helping.

This year I’ve not only learned about myself, I’ve also learned about my family. The difficulties it took for them to get here and the work and struggles it took to stay here. When I hear about all of their hardships, and what they’ve suffered, I became aware that my problems were tiny compare to everyone else. It made me realize that just because I’m tired from staying up, I should be grateful that I had somewhere to sleep.

This is a year I’ll never forget. The reason why is because the most important thing I've learned is to become the better person I know I am. I’ve opened myself up to the world and now it’s time to start embracing it. I may be tired and hungry from getting up so early, but that feeling is great. It’s just a little sacrifice I have to make to get to my dreams. I feel with my heart and soul that I’m on the right path. Whether I’ll end up there is up to me. I don’t know where I’m going but I’ve learned from my path that at anytime I can change it.

Who Am I?

Who am I? I am so many things just not one word can describe me. I am a person. I feel. I touch. I learn. I love. I have emotions. I'm the person who does what she is told. I am a daughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin, someone's friend, a student, and a child trying to find her place in this world. I have a life to be grateful for, dreams that I will reach and a family and friends to catch me when I fall. I can be many things also. I could be a doctor, a surgeon, a lawyer, a mom or a wife. I can be or will be so many things if I get a chance.

I try to be very unique. I have a mind that sees the picture of life. I see things more openly than others might. I have a mind that is so intelligent and will use it when no one thinks I will. I have dreams that people think are far out of my reach but I will prove that I can reach them by doing it.

My dreams are dreams that people think are impossible and sometimes silly, but can be reached easily with my hard determination. I dream of knowing my place in this world. I dream of going to the best college and becoming a pediatric nurse or a charge nurse. I dream of having a successful job, complete with a nice car and a large house after paying off medical school loans. I dream of having a faithful husband and respectful children. I dream that my sisters will be successful in life without too many difficulties. I dream that my mother will succeed without anyone's help. I dream that I will have a life without too many difficulties as well. I also dream that I will be loved unconditionally.

I love so many things in life. The one thing I love the most is ME. If I don't love me, then how can I take care of myself or love anyone else? I love my family and my friends because they are my life support. I love music because it can change my mood instantly. I love TV because there are so many great TV shows, such as One Tree Hill, GossipGirl, 90210, All My Children, One Life To Live, and Supernatural. I love food especially hamburgers and french-fries with a Dr. Pepper or a Sunkist. I love California because I was born there. I love the warm air there and especially the beach because you can sit there and let all your worries be released. I love to read books in the sun because you escape to that place that the book is describing. The best books I have read are the Twilight Series, the Gossip Girl Series and the A-List Series. I mainly love life. Although there are many things I hate in life.

Things I hate in life would have to be my father because he could never support our family. I hate war because it is unnecessary and very hurtful to our world. I hate global warming because it causes the temperature to get very hot and very cold. I hate the cold because there's no purpose for the cold. I hate spiders because just like the cold they have no purpose unless you need to scare the hell out of someone or want to have poison injected into your body and be in pain. These things would have to be the top five things I hate mainly in life.

There are many keys to success sometimes they can be right under your nose and not know how it helped you. A main key to success are the people who make up the family you have created. Your education can be a big factor in success because it helps you not be so ignorant to the world out there. The one factor to success that is hidden, is trying to find your purpose in life because once you know your purpose, you can go out of the way to show everybody else.

So that's who I am. I am a person. I feel. I touch. I learn. I love. I have emotions. I'm the person who does what she is told. I am a daughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin, someone’s friend, a student, and a child trying to find her place in this world. I will reach the goals I have set in life to become a successful, happy and loving person that everyone knows I am. Hopefully you know me just a little bit better.

Wisdom Quotation

"If we lie, and the people we lie to lie back to us, what's the truth? (O'Donoghue, Maureen)"

Lying- the deliberate act of deviating from the truth.

As human beings we go through our days telling lies. Whether we realize it or not or whether we want to or not. It sometimes comes out as easily as breathing. We tell lies to cover things up, to tell people what we think we want to hear. You know what's horrible about that. You tell lies to people to get their reactions but what we all forget is that their reactions are just lies that they don't even know that they're telling us.

Most of the time we tell lies to get us through the day. We lie about what we think. We lie to ourselves how we feel. What we think we believe in. We just can't help it because we've gotten so use to it.

How do we even pick up lying? I think it starts with our parents. They tell us so many lies that it clouds our vision. They tell us lies that their parents told them. They tell us how Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy are all real. You know what? When we're older and have children we'll tell them these same lies. Why? Who knows. Maybe it's like we tell them lies because we know deep down as children we were happy when these lies were told to us.

You really want to know something? Lies don't fix anything. At least not in the long run. We say everything's fine. You know what? It's not fine. It's never ever going to be fine. If we can't see that then what are we seeing. From all of the lies we tell and people tell back we might as well be upside down, or on another planet. As long as theirs lies in this world we're so far from the actual truth.

What's the worst thing that can happen? People see or hear the truth. That blanket that's covering their eyes from all of those lies gets thinner? If we tell the truth today then you get to know the truth and not truth that forms from the lies.

An Animal For A Day

If I could be anyone or anything for a day I would be an animal, a dog to be more specific. They get to do whatever they want for the whole day. They have such an open mind to the world around them. They never seemed to bother at what will happen next to them. They're much like free spirits that touch our lives one way or another.

They see the world in black and white. Since they really are like spirits from another world they see the great in people and they see the faults in people. They are always reliable to people and will be their owners' second mind without a second to waste. They are animals who see right through everyone's souls.

They see the world from down below. They look up to everyone to move along. Most of the time we think we guide them along the path. Although they lead the way whether we want them to or not. They help us make the most minor decisions. Whether it's to walk straight ahead or turn or chase them down the streets. Dog are such great leaders. That is a quality that I admire greatly.

They know how to survive. When they're on their own they know what it takes. If it means that you eat out of the trash so you don't go hungry they will do that. If it means you have to find shelter at night they will. If they have to run away from the dogcatcher when they want to take you to the pound, they will run until their legs won't run no more. They survive anything life has to throw at them. That is a great quality that most of us don't have. We are too much comfortable in our surroundings to be stripped of it then to be expected to survive.

The last reason why I would want to be a dog for a day is because theyare here for just the simple things in life. They look for love and mostly find it. They can give you the puppy dog look and get away with things. Most importantly they get to lay around most of the day and get to ponder in their own thoughts about life around them.

Betrayal

"One should rather die than be betrayed. There is no deceit in death it delivers precisely what it has promised. Betrayal, though... betrayal is the willful slaughter of hope (Deitz, Steven). "



You never think that it will happened to you. You think that you're a nice person and that you only try to please yourself. You think that you respect everyone you know. When it happens you never see it coming. It's the sharpest pain in your back and consumes you. It hurts your soul and you don't know if you'll ever recover. From stories in the Bible or day to day, you just never know when it will happened.


The Elves, by the Brothers Grimm
A Children’s Story of Betrayal and Secrets

A king loves an apple tree so much that he puts a curse on anyone who eats its fruit. His three daughters, believing that the curse will not affect them, eat the apples and sink underground. This marks a descent into the Underworld. We, too, curse ourselves unknowingly when we make bad choices, such as hide our talents or enter bad relationships. This damages the innocent, joyful aspect of our souls, represented by the three princesses, and we spiral down into the underworld of depression, abuse, inertia and self-hatred.

Soon, we notice that joy is missing from our lives. Thus the King decrees that any man who finds the princesses may marry one of them. Three huntsmen join in the quest. They represent the aggressive, courageous element of our psyche.

Encounter with the Trickster
They find an uninhabited but furnished castle with food laid out on a table. On the first day, the eldest stays back to guard the castle. At mid-day, a gnome enters, begging for bread. When the huntsman obliges, the creature drops the food, asking him to pick it up. When the huntsman does so, the gnome beats him. The next day, the second brother suffers the same fate.

Finally, it is the last brother’s turn. When the gnome drops the bread, he refuses to pick it up. When the gnome insists, the huntsman beats him. Thereupon the gnome, revealing himself as a trickster figure, brings the huntsman to an empty well where the princesses are hidden, warning him not to trust his brothers.

Underworld Quest
All three brothers in turn are lowered into the well, but only the youngest reaches the bottom. He finds each princess delousing a many-headed dragon. The horror of the situation reflects the nature of the Underworld, where all the refuse and filth of the psyche, everything we shy away from in terror or disgust, are present, and where our souls’ lost, childlike part is imprisoned. The huntsman frees the princesses and sending them up into the Land of the Living. This, we believe, is where the tale ends.

But it is not so. When it is the huntsman’s turn to be hauled up, his brothers cut the basket’s rope, leaving him underground, and force the princesses into secrecy. It is a different betrayal from the first one; this is a deliberate, malicious act. The brothers’ heinous act represents our own self-destructive impulses. Even after we take steps to extricate ourselves from bad scenarios, we often betray ourselves, by, for instance, returning to a destructive relationship. Hence we remain trapped in the Underworld.

The huntsman finds a flute hanging on a wall. After some time, he plays it, and soon, the room is filled with elves who help him escape. This indicates that even in the most hopeless situations, when we feel most alone, there is still beauty and strength within to be drawn upon.

Breaking Silence
However, the trials are not yet over. When the huntsman reaches the king’s castle, the princesses faint and the king imprisons him. Seeing his daughters weep at this, he asks them what the matter is. They reply that it is a secret. The king suggests that they tell it to a stove. Eavesdropping on their confession, he learns the truth, sentences the evildoers to death and gives the huntsman his due reward. Only then, the story concludes. In the same way, we find closure only when the true story of betrayal and abuse is told, allowing us to move on to a new chapter in our lives.

What I have learned from this story is that even the most trust worthy people in your life will betray you, not just strangers. As you read in the story even in the darkness of the betrayal brought on by his brothers he still finds the light in it all. That betrayal is just one point and that we need to move on. Sometimes betrayal is brought on by other emotions such as jealousy or some other emotion that starts to darken us. It is explained that these our human emotions that we are not proud of, but life moves on after that.

Read more at Suite101: The Elves, by the Brothers Grimm: A Children’s Story of Betrayal and Secrets http://fairytales.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_elves_by_the_brothers_grimm#ixzz0ohxo563I