My Friends are Everything

Since Thanksgiving is coming up, I've really been thinking about what I'm most thankful for. The answer is simple: my friends. My friends mean the world to me and have brought me through times I couldn't get through on my own. I have made so many new friends this year; it's amazing to me. The strongest bonds I've ever had with a person were made in such short time that I don't know how we did it. God has blessed me with the best family of friends I could ever hope to have, and I know they'll always be there for me and love me no matter what I get into. This year has been amazing so far, and it's my friends that made it that way. They're helping me through the hardest time of my life, and I can never thank them enough. I'm so grateful God has put these people in my life. I love every single one of them more than I can ever hope to express.

Finally! An Idea!

I finally have an idea of what I want to do as a career. Today was career day at my school, and we had guest speakers from many professions to come and talk to us about the jobs they have. The sessions I attended were social work/psychotherapy, performing arts, ER medicine, and music. The session I enjoyed most was the social work/psychotherapy. The speaker was very smart and interesting, and that's the career I'm most interested in. She talked about working in mental facilities and how her patients were the funniest and most interesting people she's ever met. I had never heard that point of view on mental patients before, and it struck me today that this is a career I would really enjoy. She had such a passion and love for the mentally ill that it has really inspired me to get involved in this career choice.

Portia's Monologue: My English Project

My English class just finished the reading play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare. It is the story of Roman men who decide to kill their new king because they think his power will go his head and he will destroy Rome. We had to do a project at the end of the unit, and I chose to perform a monologue spoken by the protagonist's wife, Portia. In the monologue, she is begging her husband, Brutus, to tell her why he's been so anxious lately. She doesn't know it's because he's about to betray his best friend, Caesar. It's a very powerful monologue, and even though I did not perform it well in class at all, it is very moving onstage.

You have ungently, Brutus,
stole from my bed, and yesternight at supper
you suddenly arose and walked about
musing and sighing with arms across
and when I asked you what the matter was
you stared upon me with ungentle looks
I urged you further, then you scratched your head
and too impatiently stamped with your foot
yet I insisted, yet you answered not
but with an angry wafture of your hand
gave sign for me to leave you so I did
fearing to strenghten that impatience
which seemed much too enkindled and withal
hoping it was an effect of humor
which sometimes hath his hour with every man
It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep
and could it work so much upon your shape
as it hath prevailed in your condition.
I should not know you, Brutus. Dear my lord,
make me acquainted with your cause of greif.

God's Refining Fire in our Lives

This week was Spiritual Emphasis week at my school. We had an excellent speaker, who made us realize that talking about spirituality didn't have to be boring. He was the most hilarious guy any of us have ever heard speak, and he used some amazing analogies to make sure we got the picture. The comparison he used that stuck out to me the most is that of God's Refining Fire and a silversmith. He said that our sin is like the imperfections that come to the surface when gold or silver is put in a fire. He said that God wants to do this to us. He puts bad things in our lives so the bad things in us will come out and he can "scrape them off." Once we've dealt with a hardship in our lives, we don't have to deal with it again. God wants to make us pure of imperfections- more like Him.

Hunters Hunting in Life?

In the short story "The Most Dangerous Game," which my English class just read, the main character, Rainsford, makes an interesting statement that there are hunters and huntees in real life.  I think this is somewhat true. I think there are leaders and followers in real life, and the followers make themselves vulnerable to the leaders. However, the leaders aren't always out to get the followers. There are some situations of hunting other humans in ways like terrorist attacks and serial killers, however. These aren't as common as the typical animal relationships, and they are harder to recognize. Humans definitely hunt animals, but humans don't typically hunt each other.

My Spiritual and Social Goals for Freshman Year

I've never been a really spiritual person. Jesus is my Lord and Savior, but I'm not a go-to-church-and-sing-about-it kind of person. A lot of people think I'm not a Christian just because I don't talk about it, but I most definitely am. I want to set some goals this year so people don't have to TALK to me about it to know I love God, they'll know just by the way I act. My spiritual goals include trying to be more Christ-like and, I know it sounds cheesy, but trying to think "would Jesus say this?" before I open my mouth. I've said a lot of things that I didn't mean to come out the way they did, and really hurt some people without even knowing it, so this is something I really need to work on. I know I'll fail at this sometimes, but I'll do what I need to do to make it right, then keep trying. My main goal this year is to NOT worry about what people think of me. I'm friends with so many amazing people, and I love them all. They don't care how I look or dress. All they care about is my personality, and they have showed me that it's not what's on the outside, it's SO much more important to let the inside come out and be who you truly are. If people don't like you for THAT, it's not worth it to try to win their approval by acting, dressing, or looking a certain way. I've been doing that for so long, I'm just over it. It's too big a hassle to try and get rid of all my flaws because we all know I have a lot. This picture is a collage of the words in this paragraph. It's the words that stand out to me and make me think about how I can keep to my goals and keeps me motivated to stick to them. 

How A Book's Theme Can Change Us

This picture represents a theme from the novel The Giver, a required summer reading book.The book is about a boy named Jonas who takes on a huge challenge and has to overcome many things.  He has to make the decision of letting his brother die, or risking his own life to save the baby. He chooses to help the boy, so a pretty dominant theme is "Be willing to risk yourself for those you love." This picture is a perfect example of this theme because a man is holding a little girl, probably his daughter, out of the water during a flood. The water is probably very dangerous, with broken glass, nails, animals, and many other things lurking underneath it. He is willing to get hurt so his little girl won't get wet, and should a problem like this come up, we should be willing to sacrifice ourselves for others. Books can help you realize simple changes you can make to really help others.