My Amendment

If I had a chance to write a constitutional amendment I would write an amendment that says people are not allowed to talk during the National Anthem. I would choose to make this one an amendment because when I see someone who is talking during our Nation's song I consider it extremely rude and disrespectful. There are troops with families fighting for there freedom overseas, going through terrible conditions while they sleep in a warm bed every night and they can't even shut their mouths for two minutes. These people disgust me and don't deserve the freedom they have been given. Freedom is most definetly not free and people take that for granted while people give their lives for a person who can't be respectful to our service men and women for two minutes of their time. I would make this an amendment because Americans who talk during a time to be respectful, need to learn how to grow up and shut their mouths.

I Wish....

I wish I still believed in wishes. Don't get me wrong I still believe in having dreams and goals and chasing them down, but when in your life have you wished on your birthday cake and that wish came true? Or at 11:11 or on a shooting star? As I have grown older I have lost that feeling of hope that when I made that wish it could still come true. I have accepted that simply wishing for something won't get nothing done, you have to work to get it there isn't anything magical behind it. I still pray and believe in Jesus and miracles but talking to my God is different then wishing for a simple thing. So if I could still believe in something from my childhood I would want to believe in the magic, hope and the simple childlike imagination behind a wish.

Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover

In this world many people look at someone's outside appearance and immediately begin to judge them instead of digging deeper into the person's personality and core values. I have known many people who are big on the outside but very little on the inside, and tend to be mean and vicious to others because they are really very insecure. Their outside appearance may not show it but the reason why they prey on hurting others is to boost themselves up from their inside insecurities. I have also known people that are little on the outside but very large on the inside with interests, kindness and love that you just have to look deeper to find. With these people you have to break down those walls to reach the place where they are comfortable with sharing themselves with you. Of course there are also people would are big on the outside and inside, and little on the outside and the inside. Those who are big outside and inside have the deep feelings of secureness but just are easier to find because they share it on the outside with less or no walls. Those who are little inside and out, can be lonely and mean at times and probably very insecure. I think that appearance has some affect on your personality but not all. Sure you will dress striving to be what you want to be but your looks and features are something that you are born with and weren't meant to change, but we were created to be able to change our personalities and values to the way we wanted to be perceived by others, so i truly think that your outside appearance can reflect you personality but it is not a hard fact. I think that if your outside appearance came from your internal beauty a lot of people would change. Perhaps that shy person you never talk to would become beautiful from deep internal thoughts that have been kept to themselves. Or that famous "beautiful" celebrity you always dreamed of being would be the image of their internal wants and desires that may or may not be what you saw before. If outside beauty came from the inside I think people would be more open and less judgmental because the cover of the book has been torn down and now the pages are revealed.

Saver or Spender??

I am a big saver. I hate spending money and barely ever spend it I don't even like spending gift cards. I'm not about making money and I don't have a job but whenever I do get money I put it away and save it. I don't buy anything that won't have real value to me but I will spend money when needed such as for Christmas or new clothes. I agree with the idea presented in the article because I think that even in this economy people still spend money on things they will never use and spend it way to much. Debt is rising and even our country is deep in debt and still spending enormous amounts of money. I think that we need to become more aware of our money problems and our problems with spending and wanting immediate gratification instead of wanting for the better result. We have grown up being impatient and pleased by the simplest things and we need to break this habit and the article presents an option to solve this issue. In my opinion i think our generation has many problems that we will have to overcome but I also think that we have the right people and leaders to push through the issues that will be presented before us. We will have to battle a dying economy, a growing weapons market, growing tensions of foreign powers, technology and many other issues including the judgement of our elders that will both help and hurt us. I still have a great hope and determination that our generation will be as great as the others before it.

The Tribes I Belong To

I belong to many tribes with many different interests. First I am in the Canton South student tribe and the Ohio State fan tribe. My family away from home is my soccer, basketball and softball tribes. I live for my 4-H tribe and enjoy the pizza-lover tribe. I belong to a large family tribe and a blonde hair tribe. Also the converse loving tribe, the sweatpants wearing tribe and the animal loving tribe. The farm girl tribe and the book loving tribe are part of my life. I am in the making mistakes tribe and the imperfect person tribe. And in the tribe of artists and the tribe of band geeks. I am involved with a large amount of tribes, people and interests that make me who I am. From a positive person tribe, to a missing their bestfriend tribe and a shy girl tribe. I love who I am and enjoy being in the tribes I am, utimatly I am in the tribe of people who have a large number of tribes that define them and their life.  

Introvert vs. Extrovert

I believe that I'm an introvert person because I value my time alone. I think that there really is no answer to which type of people "have it easier". I enjoy my time alone but I don't feel lonely, I'm not sad that I'm alone like some people would think. Extrovert can talk to others easy then I can but I have very close friends and talk to people when I want to. So necessarily think that one have an easier life then the other, we just enjoy life in our own ways. I think that if the entire world was extrovert there would be a large amount of social ties and more openness but less closer friends. If everyone was introvert there would just be groups of friends and closer people, maybe a little less circulation of ideas but still there would be leadership. I think most of my friends are introvert but one of my close friends are extrovert and I still love them both so I think that I don't differeniate between my introvert or extrovert friends. I think that either can be leaders because extroverts have more social skills but I have always been a leader and enjoy being in charge. I think that introverts may be able to stay on task a little easier without talking as much and may be able to think more clearly. I think the question of which are better writers, teachers, neighbors all depends on your social opinion. Some introverts may consider extroverts to talkative and annoying, while some extrovert may consider introverts snotty and stuck up. I think overall introvert and extrovert is just how large your circle of friends is and how close you become friends with people.

This I Believe

My Road, My Journey, My Life

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

~ Ursula K. Le Guin

My road in life changes constantly as I have grown and matured. I have made choices and decisions that have changed my life and have affected what I do and love. Right now my road is easily traveled where I am surrounded by friends and family, but down the road I know what I want but there are important choices I haven't made yet. I know I want to go to college, have a job I love to do, fall in love, have a family, but I don't know what college I want to go to, I don't know what job I want and this makes my road bumpy and unsettling. Right now my road is simply filled with my prioties, school, sports, friends, family, and church. I am happy with my road and glad I have what I have in life, I know sooner rather then later I will need to make many life decisions that will show me the rest my my journey on this road and how it will end, hopefully me with a family, a house with a big yard, surrounded by people who I love. My road will have many forks that can lead me down the right or wrong path, I want to know that I lived with no regrets and made the right choices, and although I can't see the rest of the road or even where it ends, I am determined to live the way I want to.

"There'll be two dates on your tombstone And all your friends will read 'em But all that's gonna matter is that little dash between 'em. "

~ Kevin Welch

Thought for the Day.... Forgiveness

“Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.”
Suzanne Somers

Many people believe that forgiving someone involves you telling someone you are no longer angry with them or accepting an apology, but in reality forgiveness is much deeper then that. Many people leave anger held up inside them and spend day after day thinking about how angry they are at someone or something and don't see that the anger is consuming their time and life. Forgiveness is freedom from this anger and freedom from spending time on something you don't want to this is why I chose the quote I chose. Forgiving someone is just as much for you as much as it is for them, no one even needs to know that you forgive them but you. Forgiving someone allows you to free yourself from their grasp and get back to loving life and happiness, anger affects all your relationships and forgiveness heals them. Truly forgiving someone takes a burden of anger and resentment off of your back and allows you to be free, and this quote shows that forgiveness isn't a gift to others but a gift that only you can give to yourself.

Thought for the Day: Life Law Six

"Your attitude in life is your choice- and your choice only."

I chose this quote from life law six because i think it portrays a good meaning of how you are responsible for the choices you make and how you act, no one else is. This quote shows that your attitude towards life is your attitude and no one is making you act like that. If you chose to be happy, you'll live a happy life and people will be happy around you, but if you chose to be angry and sad then you won't be happy and others won't want to be around you. This choice to be happy or angry is YOUR choice no one else's and you need to take responsibility for the consequences that come from this attitude. You drive the car in your life and you need to chose which road to take and accept everything, good or bad, that comes from your choices. 

Life Law Five Reflection: Be, Do, Have

"You must be committed, do what it takes, and then you will have what you want."
I take this quote away from the life law five reading because it simply tells you that if you really want something no one is going to just give it to you. To achieve goals or even just to get a date to a dance you have to take action and do something. Goals aren't achieved through laziness but through determination, dedication and perserverance. The only way you are going to get to where you want to be in life is to do what it takes. It won't be easy and it won't come quickly but if you really want something the only way you are going to get it is if you act about your goals and dreams. The only way you are going to hit the ball is to step up to the plate and swing.

The World Below the Brine

The World Below the Brine is a poem written by Walt Whitman that portrays an undersea world that comes from his imagination. I like this poem of his because I really like the outdoors and nature and this poem gives a really good description of what he thinks the bottom of the ocean looks like. It really captures my interest as he describes the creatures and the scenery of the ocean floor. He goes through the plants, colors, creatures, feelings and even adds in a part about dumb swimmers trying to understand what they are seeing. Using all the senses Whitman accurately describes his version of a underwater habitat. It's almost changing a way of thinking very calm and full of serenity, here is my favorite line from the poem;

"Passions there, wars, pursuits, tribes, sight in those ocean-depths, breathing that thick-breathing air, as so many do,

The change thence to the sight here, and to the subtle air breathed by beings like us who walk this sphere"


I like this line of the poem because I think he is describing the passions of his undersea world and the passions of our life on the earth what he calls the "Sphere." I also think he is trying to show a different way of thinking calmly and being in a state of peace.

Walt Whitman

Who is Walt Whitman?
Walt Whitman was a celebrated writer of the 1800's. He was born in 1819 and lived in Brooklyn and Long Island. He came into the literary world at the age of twelve in a printing business, and self-taught himself to write. He began working as a teacher, then moved back to the newspaper business as an editor. In 1855 Whitman published the first edition of his poem book Leaves of Grass, in 1856 he released the second edition containing 21 more poems. Throughout his career Whitman continued to publish new editions of Leaves of Grass. Later after the civil war Whitman moved back home with his brother and had trouble making ends meets. He ended up settling in Camden, NJ where he wrote his final volume of poems Good-bye, My Fancy(1891). Whitman died a year later in 1892.

What type of literature did he write?
Walt Whitman wrote poems.

Is he a realist or a romanticist? Why?
Walt Whitman is a realist writer. As one of the first realist writers Whitman captured poetry and linked it into the everyday life of people incorporating realism traditions of church, social and human life. An example of his realist work is the poem I Hear America Singing that portrays his American spirit and shows through poetry the simple facts of real life.

I Hear America Singing- Leaves of Grass

I HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear;
Those of mechanics—each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong;
The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work;
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat—the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck;	5
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench—the hatter singing as he stands;
The wood-cutter’s song—the ploughboy’s, on his way in the morning, or at the noon intermission, or at sundown;
The delicious singing of the mother—or of the young wife at work—or of the girl sewing or washing—Each singing what belongs to her, and to none else;
The day what belongs to the day—At night, the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs.

Priorities, Let's Get Em' Straight

Some people believe that money is the key to happiness, I for one do not. Sure money can buy you jewelry, cars and laptops but you can't buy a true friend. you can't buy the unconditional love a mother has for her child, you can't buy a great life. It's just not possible. When looking for a job you shouldn't be thinking about "Where am I going to earn the most money?" you should be asking yourself one question: "What do I love to do and what do I want to be doing for the rest of my life?" Money is not the most important aspect in a job, loving your job is what's important. Sure a lawyer will make more money then an artist, but do you want to be stuck in a suit and tie for the rest of your life or live your dream and express yourself through your work. Do you want to come home from work unhappy everyday or glad that you have a job you love to do. Money should not be the most important factor when trying to get your dream job, your passion and determination to have the job you want should be enough to convince you pursue that dream no matter how much society puts you down by saying "You won't make much money" or "You won't survive in this economy." I won't claim to know what the key to happiness is but I know for one that money is not it, and money shouldn't be a top priority when trying to chase a job you love.

"Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling."

~ Vincent Van Gogh

Sophomore Year

Sophomore year.....hmmmmm

There are many different words that can describe what expectations I have for this year. All in all is hasn't been much different then I expected, although in many ways it is different from my year as a freshman. First there is bigger workload and more homework then last year but hey, that's school for ya. The teachers are good and I pretty sure it will go pretty well this year. I'm really excited about my art class, I really enjoyed art last year and have very high expectations for this year and so far they have been meant pretty well.  Another thing I thought would be different about this year is our soccer team. Personally I think we are getting better and are improving for the years to come. Hopefully this year will go smoothly as planned and I'll have as much fun this year as last year.