This year has definitely been filled with loss. Two lives lost within 2 months, yet each were accepted differently the way the lives were lost differently. First it was someone I didn't really know. The second, someone I did know. The first loss was made into a big deal. The second, hardly anyone knows. To me, there shouldn't be such a huge difference. In the end, two lives were taken, and two families lost a child. Why should the attention given to them be different?
I understand that the first life took some time, she was in a coma for a few days and that gave everyone hope. There were several prayer sessions, candles were lit, and posters were made. There wasn't a day that went by where you didn't see a post including RIP. My news feed was flooded by posts and pictures. All this time brings me to notice, the family and the friends had time to cope with the idea that maybe she wasn't going to pull through. After the first sign, I was already prepared for the loss. Yes, everyone experiences sorrow differently, but at least everyone was given time.
The recent loss, I was informed, happened just this past Friday, February 1, 2013. A friend of mine, a senior, was riding his Moped, suddenly, he crashed into a truck... he died. During this time I was in the lock-in, I didn't find out until Saturday night. How sudden. One day I was wondering why I hadn't seen him in a while, the next day I find out he's dead. His parents didn't get the opportunity to prepare, and his friends sure as hell didn't.
Yet, I show up to school Monday morning and no one has a clue of what happened. Still, 2 days later, there is really no idea of the loss. Why? Because no one thought it should be as big of a deal as the first loss. I'm not saying that the last loss was meaningless, I'm saying that this loss should not go unnoticed if everyone made a HUGE deal about the last one. No parent deserves to lose a child, especially if those children were so close to graduating. No friend should feel the loss of another friend, especially if they were anxious to continue being their friend. I hardly knew this guy but I knew him better than the girl who died.
I want to make this death a big deal but I'm not ready, and I'm sure no one else is. However, I wish to say, please pray for his family as well as the other girl's. Thank you, and please value your life as well as others'.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Geocaching
Hello my fellow readers! It's been a while since I've written because I've been extremely busy, but I'm writing now and I want to share my experience with Geocaching. Geocaching is basically a modern treasure hunt. First you download the app, either free or $10, then pick a place where you want to find the treasure. Pretty simple right? Sometimes, it all depends on the hints and how good you are at finding the treasure.
For the past 2 Sundays I have gone Geocaching with the youth ministry of my church. It's been a good experience because I got to spend with my friends, get exercise, and find hidden treasure. You don't always have to go on foot, most people like to go by car, but once we went walking because it was nearby.
Not only is Geocaching about finding treasure, it's also a team effort. One person navigates and reads the hints. It's up to the team to figure out where the Geocach is hidden. Trust me, it's gets frustrating trying to figure out the hints, but usually it's worth it.
However, sometimes you can't find team work. For instance, this past Sunday my team and I went on 2 Geocaches. The first one took us a while because the hints were confusing but we found it eventually! The second Geocach is a bit of a different story.The team ended up splitting up. Most of the girls stayed behind while the boys ventured up into the underbrush. We waited 20 minutes before calling them to check up on their progress. They hadn't found it.
Another 10 minutes and we called again. They still hadn't found it. We were sure the Geocach was much closer to where we were, but we didn't have the hints to know for sure and the boys refused to come back down. As much as we wanted to find the Geocach, it would be lost forever because their was a huge lack of team work. Maybe if we had stuck together we could have found the Geocach. It's a lesson well learned and hopefully we don't do it again.
The victory of finding a Geocach is the best feeling ever, but the fact that I got to do with my friends made the experience even better. I suggest going Geocaching because you get to learn teamwork and enjoy yourself in the process! My challenge to you: Try Geocaching at least once with a group of enthusiastic friends and find some hidden treasure!
For the past 2 Sundays I have gone Geocaching with the youth ministry of my church. It's been a good experience because I got to spend with my friends, get exercise, and find hidden treasure. You don't always have to go on foot, most people like to go by car, but once we went walking because it was nearby.
Not only is Geocaching about finding treasure, it's also a team effort. One person navigates and reads the hints. It's up to the team to figure out where the Geocach is hidden. Trust me, it's gets frustrating trying to figure out the hints, but usually it's worth it.
However, sometimes you can't find team work. For instance, this past Sunday my team and I went on 2 Geocaches. The first one took us a while because the hints were confusing but we found it eventually! The second Geocach is a bit of a different story.The team ended up splitting up. Most of the girls stayed behind while the boys ventured up into the underbrush. We waited 20 minutes before calling them to check up on their progress. They hadn't found it.
Another 10 minutes and we called again. They still hadn't found it. We were sure the Geocach was much closer to where we were, but we didn't have the hints to know for sure and the boys refused to come back down. As much as we wanted to find the Geocach, it would be lost forever because their was a huge lack of team work. Maybe if we had stuck together we could have found the Geocach. It's a lesson well learned and hopefully we don't do it again.
The victory of finding a Geocach is the best feeling ever, but the fact that I got to do with my friends made the experience even better. I suggest going Geocaching because you get to learn teamwork and enjoy yourself in the process! My challenge to you: Try Geocaching at least once with a group of enthusiastic friends and find some hidden treasure!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Time to Think
I'm a church freak. Not to say I'm hard core Catholic, no, I'm far from that. But I do enjoy spending a lot of my time at church helping out. Because I am involved in the youth ministry group (CORE Team) I'm at church a lot. I love being at church. The best part is constantly being surrounded by friends that feel more like family and getting to do some fun stuff while learning more about my religion.
The other night, Friday night, I attended our church Lock-in. This event consists of basically locking in the attendants in the hall for the night. It's been the best experiences ever. We play a lot of games, talk about the Bible but best of all, watch movies all night. Me, personally, I stay up all night, but not watching the movies, by simply talking with my friends. That friend Bobby, is one of my best friends. We normally spend the entire night talking about who knows what?
We're both quite the talker so it helps. We have a lot of debates, most of which I cannot remember. It's very interesting. The point I am trying to get to is the time spent in life is not usually about what you do in it like sky diving or bungee jumping or crossing off everything on your bucket list, though all these experiences would be amazing, the quality of the experience isn't as appealing to me. Moments spent with good company and meaningful conversations are, to me, the best time spent.
Every lock-in, which have been 2 so far, I've spent up all night. Not once do I get to sleep, even if I tried, there's always someone keeping me awake, most of the time, Bobby. These all nighters help me to think a lot more than I usually do. The people in this world no longer take time out of their lives to sit down and think. I'm lucky I have these lock-ins or else I probably wouldn't either. Here's my challenge to you: Take time to simply sit down, no distractions, and think about anything and everything. Relationships, work, school, people, whatever it may be, just think.
The other night, Friday night, I attended our church Lock-in. This event consists of basically locking in the attendants in the hall for the night. It's been the best experiences ever. We play a lot of games, talk about the Bible but best of all, watch movies all night. Me, personally, I stay up all night, but not watching the movies, by simply talking with my friends. That friend Bobby, is one of my best friends. We normally spend the entire night talking about who knows what?
We're both quite the talker so it helps. We have a lot of debates, most of which I cannot remember. It's very interesting. The point I am trying to get to is the time spent in life is not usually about what you do in it like sky diving or bungee jumping or crossing off everything on your bucket list, though all these experiences would be amazing, the quality of the experience isn't as appealing to me. Moments spent with good company and meaningful conversations are, to me, the best time spent.
Every lock-in, which have been 2 so far, I've spent up all night. Not once do I get to sleep, even if I tried, there's always someone keeping me awake, most of the time, Bobby. These all nighters help me to think a lot more than I usually do. The people in this world no longer take time out of their lives to sit down and think. I'm lucky I have these lock-ins or else I probably wouldn't either. Here's my challenge to you: Take time to simply sit down, no distractions, and think about anything and everything. Relationships, work, school, people, whatever it may be, just think.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Give a little something
Last night I realized something. My parents had just picked me up from church and I was feeling hungry so I asked if they would take me to Jack in the Box. I was in the mood for 99 cent tacos. We show up and order. My parents pull out their wallets; my dad hands the cashier his last few dollars and my mom hands them change. 4 tacos, brownies, and a large soda. When we received the food I began to eat and talk to my parents. 2 tacos in I realize how big the tacos are. They've never been like that before. My parents saw me struggling and began to laugh.
My dad explained to me that it must have looked like we ordered 4 tacos to feed the 3 of us. Scraping for money didn't help, it just made us look desperate. As funny as my parents found it, I actually appreciated the gesture. Maybe there are others who are actually poor and can only afford to eat tacos. The people in Jack in the Box truly wanted us to eat, so they probably feed the poor well.
My dad told me that there was a Jack in the Box located near a Home Depot that sell 3 tacos for 99 cents. Normally it's just 2, but there are workers that can only afford to eat tacos, so this Jack in the Box decided to give them more for less. If only the rest of the world could be so generous. If only we could easily give up a little something to give to someone something much bigger than we think. A little gesture to say, "I'm here for you. I am your guardian angel."
People need to let go of material things and give up one the whole rich guy dream. Be humble and grateful and the world will love you the way you are. My challenge to you: give someone something no matter what the cost, I'm sure they will appreciate it.
My dad explained to me that it must have looked like we ordered 4 tacos to feed the 3 of us. Scraping for money didn't help, it just made us look desperate. As funny as my parents found it, I actually appreciated the gesture. Maybe there are others who are actually poor and can only afford to eat tacos. The people in Jack in the Box truly wanted us to eat, so they probably feed the poor well.
My dad told me that there was a Jack in the Box located near a Home Depot that sell 3 tacos for 99 cents. Normally it's just 2, but there are workers that can only afford to eat tacos, so this Jack in the Box decided to give them more for less. If only the rest of the world could be so generous. If only we could easily give up a little something to give to someone something much bigger than we think. A little gesture to say, "I'm here for you. I am your guardian angel."
People need to let go of material things and give up one the whole rich guy dream. Be humble and grateful and the world will love you the way you are. My challenge to you: give someone something no matter what the cost, I'm sure they will appreciate it.
Nuclear War
Hello, my fellow readers! I apologize for not being so consistent on my posts, I've been pretty busy with school work and getting to bed at a ridiculous hours, but I'm writing now, right before I go on retreat. My topic today was brought to my attention during my AP Rhet class. My teacher played Obama's America 2016. The movie altogether was full of facts and quite interesting, the target, however, was ridiculous. I'm not going to talk about Obama, I'm going to talk about the nuclear weapons.
First of all, I am fully against any kind of war or violence or fighting. I despise it. In the video, they said that Obama is getting rid of a lot of our nuclear weapons "leaving us defenseless." Defenseless? To me, it's more like being the "bigger man." Here's an example I gave my peers in order to agree with me:
It's a Western duel. Two cowboys stand face to face, holding a pistol on each other. One man says, "let's drop our weapons and fight like a man." The two men stare at each other contemplating whether the other man will indeed drop his weapon. Once one man drops the gun it's like he knows that there's a chance he's the bigger man who knows he can win without a gun, and there's also the possibility that the other man is a traitor and wimp and shoots him anyway. Who's the bigger man?
Another scenario:
Everyone in a room is standing. One person decides that their legs hurt and they want to sit down, so they do. Once that one person sits down another sees and thinks that he too wants to sit down. Eventually everyone is sitting and it's all because of that one person.
Honestly, who need nuclear weapons if its only to be like everyone else? What does this teach the younger generation who were told that you should never fall into peer pressure and "just say no." If America is simply keeping these weapons "just in case" another country wants to attack, well, that doesn't comfort me at all. What comforts me is the thought that if someone wants to shoot at me, let them, I'm not afraid to die. The people in this world are just so caught up in living longer when life, once upon a time, had people dying at 30. Everyone is afraid to die.
The army. The army has volunteers willing to die for their country. Good for you volunteers, but if your going to war to protect me, don't! I'd rather be the one to die than have a perfect stranger to take a bullet for me. I've said this so many times to my parents: "if someone is shooting at me, it must be for a good reason."
Go ahead and think that America is defenseless and Obama's an idiot. To me, America is being the "bigger man." We are no longer following the crowd.
First of all, I am fully against any kind of war or violence or fighting. I despise it. In the video, they said that Obama is getting rid of a lot of our nuclear weapons "leaving us defenseless." Defenseless? To me, it's more like being the "bigger man." Here's an example I gave my peers in order to agree with me:
It's a Western duel. Two cowboys stand face to face, holding a pistol on each other. One man says, "let's drop our weapons and fight like a man." The two men stare at each other contemplating whether the other man will indeed drop his weapon. Once one man drops the gun it's like he knows that there's a chance he's the bigger man who knows he can win without a gun, and there's also the possibility that the other man is a traitor and wimp and shoots him anyway. Who's the bigger man?
Another scenario:
Everyone in a room is standing. One person decides that their legs hurt and they want to sit down, so they do. Once that one person sits down another sees and thinks that he too wants to sit down. Eventually everyone is sitting and it's all because of that one person.
Honestly, who need nuclear weapons if its only to be like everyone else? What does this teach the younger generation who were told that you should never fall into peer pressure and "just say no." If America is simply keeping these weapons "just in case" another country wants to attack, well, that doesn't comfort me at all. What comforts me is the thought that if someone wants to shoot at me, let them, I'm not afraid to die. The people in this world are just so caught up in living longer when life, once upon a time, had people dying at 30. Everyone is afraid to die.
The army. The army has volunteers willing to die for their country. Good for you volunteers, but if your going to war to protect me, don't! I'd rather be the one to die than have a perfect stranger to take a bullet for me. I've said this so many times to my parents: "if someone is shooting at me, it must be for a good reason."
Go ahead and think that America is defenseless and Obama's an idiot. To me, America is being the "bigger man." We are no longer following the crowd.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Relationships
Everyone knows a cute couple that have been together for a long time. Usually they're grandparents. And I tend to wonder how they stayed together for so long. My grandparents will be celebrating their 50th anniversary. However, they fight so much! I wonder how they've been together for so long, but then I look at my grandpa. He's adorable. He likes to hold on to my grandma and kiss her, and try to be funny. It's like he's not giving up.
My parents have been married for 26 years. They recently renewed their vows but it was the wedding they never got to have. They too fight a lot, but my dad is a lot like my grandpa. He's sweet with my mom, trying to make her laugh, doing and getting for her what she likes. I want something like that.
I've been with my boyfriend for a year and a half. We're comfortable with each other, he makes me laugh, and says the cutest things, but at times I feel like he doesn't try. It saddens me. I hear this a lot, "you don't know what love is" well, I think that I am in love because we definitely tolerate each other like my grandparents. It's just that when there's an opportunity for him to do something nice for me, he doesn't take the chance. Maybe it's our age and we're restricted by a lot of rules, but who says he can't do what he can.
I found out he was passing through the city I live in. Since he was so close I actually believe he would stop by to say hi. He didn't. I'm very disappointed. He also told me that his friends were coming over. That made sense. He didn't want to waste time saying hi to me, he just wanted to get home and see his friends. Who blames him? I want to see my friends too. Yet, if I could ever have the chance to see my boyfriend I would take that within a heartbeat. He doesn't.
What I'm trying to say, is that I wish sparks would never disappear. I thought he could be sweet with me the way my grandpa is with my grandma or the way my dad is with my mom. Or even the way my sister's boyfriend is with her. He doesn't do much but what he does is special to my sister. It's my only wish. My boyfriend doesn't like to read my blogs, or go to church with me but that all makes sense since he hates reading and is not religious. But when it comes to little things, I thought he was better than how he is. It would only take a few minutes for him to stop by and say hi then leave. It only takes a text message for me to feel happy. One long phone call to make me feel like I matter. He doesn't do that anymore. My challenge to you: if you're in any kind of relationship, do whatever it takes to make your other half feel special. Do it the way they like and you can't go wrong.
My parents have been married for 26 years. They recently renewed their vows but it was the wedding they never got to have. They too fight a lot, but my dad is a lot like my grandpa. He's sweet with my mom, trying to make her laugh, doing and getting for her what she likes. I want something like that.
I've been with my boyfriend for a year and a half. We're comfortable with each other, he makes me laugh, and says the cutest things, but at times I feel like he doesn't try. It saddens me. I hear this a lot, "you don't know what love is" well, I think that I am in love because we definitely tolerate each other like my grandparents. It's just that when there's an opportunity for him to do something nice for me, he doesn't take the chance. Maybe it's our age and we're restricted by a lot of rules, but who says he can't do what he can.
I found out he was passing through the city I live in. Since he was so close I actually believe he would stop by to say hi. He didn't. I'm very disappointed. He also told me that his friends were coming over. That made sense. He didn't want to waste time saying hi to me, he just wanted to get home and see his friends. Who blames him? I want to see my friends too. Yet, if I could ever have the chance to see my boyfriend I would take that within a heartbeat. He doesn't.
What I'm trying to say, is that I wish sparks would never disappear. I thought he could be sweet with me the way my grandpa is with my grandma or the way my dad is with my mom. Or even the way my sister's boyfriend is with her. He doesn't do much but what he does is special to my sister. It's my only wish. My boyfriend doesn't like to read my blogs, or go to church with me but that all makes sense since he hates reading and is not religious. But when it comes to little things, I thought he was better than how he is. It would only take a few minutes for him to stop by and say hi then leave. It only takes a text message for me to feel happy. One long phone call to make me feel like I matter. He doesn't do that anymore. My challenge to you: if you're in any kind of relationship, do whatever it takes to make your other half feel special. Do it the way they like and you can't go wrong.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Music
It's been a while, I realized. There hasn't been much excitement in my life right now. Everything's been going normal, the people who love me still love me. The people that hate me still hate me. There hasn't been any real drama or altercations. No debates. No entertainment. Today, however, I got extremely bored. I cleaned my room, but I was bored again. I sat at the edge of my bed, contemplating what I would do to fill the gap. Writing? Reading? Then something popped into my head. I haven't played my violin in a long time.
I got off my bed and went to my closet where my violin was buried. The last time I picked up my violin was a while ago, and before that, years. Throughout my middle school years I was lucky enough to join my school orchestra. I had the best teacher in the world. Going into 6th grade I knew next to nothing about violins. When I came out of middle school, I could play effortlessly. I wasn't professional, but it was better than how I started. No lessons. No clue. Best teacher. Best three years of my life.
After another three years I pick up that violin, and prepare myself. Turns out, I suck. That's okay, I thought maybe after playing a few songs I could play the way I use to. That wasn't true at all. I played a few songs, several times in fact, but no matter how many times I played I kept thinking, how the hell did I do this so well before? I played for hours, my arm ached, my back ached, my head hurt, I was frustrated, so I put my violin away, but just hearing the sound of that violin took me back to my middle school years. Those hours spent practicing and playing. The friends I made in orchestra. The performances we had. Inspiring elementary kids to join.
We were a huge orchestra, over 100 kids. One teacher. One amazing teacher who never gave up and pressed us to be as good as we could be, if not better. This teacher didn't take away my love for music, he only made it better. He enhanced my skills. Without any lessons, this man taught me everything I know about violins and music. The orchestra is the best memory I have. When I was going into high school, I didn't want to continue. Selfishly, I refused to audition and have a different teacher. Now, I regret that decision.
The teacher may not be the same but I should have continued in orchestra. It's too late now, but I still appreciate the music we played and what I hear now. String instruments just have a way with my soul like any other instruments. Which reminds me, does anyone want to buy a clarinet? It's in great condition. A Suzuki. Still has a case and everything else needed. Reed isn't included, unless you want to use one that I did, but that's gross.
Anyway, it's hard to appreciate music because it's almost like nothing is special anymore. Everything is about sex, or trying to get laid, or drinking. It's hard to find inspirational music. Classical music helps me release any pain, it helps me focus, and it's just a beautiful mesh of different octaves and types of instruments. My challenge: listen to classical music as much as possible and write down what you feel when you hear it. Who knows? Maybe classical music will bring out a side of you you never thought you had.
I got off my bed and went to my closet where my violin was buried. The last time I picked up my violin was a while ago, and before that, years. Throughout my middle school years I was lucky enough to join my school orchestra. I had the best teacher in the world. Going into 6th grade I knew next to nothing about violins. When I came out of middle school, I could play effortlessly. I wasn't professional, but it was better than how I started. No lessons. No clue. Best teacher. Best three years of my life.
After another three years I pick up that violin, and prepare myself. Turns out, I suck. That's okay, I thought maybe after playing a few songs I could play the way I use to. That wasn't true at all. I played a few songs, several times in fact, but no matter how many times I played I kept thinking, how the hell did I do this so well before? I played for hours, my arm ached, my back ached, my head hurt, I was frustrated, so I put my violin away, but just hearing the sound of that violin took me back to my middle school years. Those hours spent practicing and playing. The friends I made in orchestra. The performances we had. Inspiring elementary kids to join.
We were a huge orchestra, over 100 kids. One teacher. One amazing teacher who never gave up and pressed us to be as good as we could be, if not better. This teacher didn't take away my love for music, he only made it better. He enhanced my skills. Without any lessons, this man taught me everything I know about violins and music. The orchestra is the best memory I have. When I was going into high school, I didn't want to continue. Selfishly, I refused to audition and have a different teacher. Now, I regret that decision.
The teacher may not be the same but I should have continued in orchestra. It's too late now, but I still appreciate the music we played and what I hear now. String instruments just have a way with my soul like any other instruments. Which reminds me, does anyone want to buy a clarinet? It's in great condition. A Suzuki. Still has a case and everything else needed. Reed isn't included, unless you want to use one that I did, but that's gross.
Anyway, it's hard to appreciate music because it's almost like nothing is special anymore. Everything is about sex, or trying to get laid, or drinking. It's hard to find inspirational music. Classical music helps me release any pain, it helps me focus, and it's just a beautiful mesh of different octaves and types of instruments. My challenge: listen to classical music as much as possible and write down what you feel when you hear it. Who knows? Maybe classical music will bring out a side of you you never thought you had.
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