Inception Review

I love movies that have you on the edge of your seat and keep you guessing. I like twists that you would never expect at the end of the movie, even though sometimes it can tick you off. One movie that I saw not too long ago that had just that effect was Inception. Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page are not my favorite actors. They are probably two of my least favorites, but that did not ruin this movie for me at all. The movie is based in a world where technology has the ability to enter the human mind and invade dreams. Leonardo DiCaprio of course plays the leading role, who plays a thief and goes into the minds of people and steals ideas and information from their dreams. He also has a team of specialists to help him along the way. Cobb (DiCaprio), is very skilled at the art of extraction, and has also become known as a fugitive. He needs to complete one last job for a chance at redemption, except this time instead of stealing an idea, he will have to plant one. The movie is really weird and kind of hard to explain. But when I say weird, I mean weird in a good way. It was just so interesting to see how they went about going into somebody's dream. They would put an IV type thing in their arms, and then they would just fall asleep. All of the IVs were attached to the same box-like machine, that way when they all went under, they would all be in the same dream. Eventually at the end of the movie you find out that Leonardo DiCaprio's character Cobb is pretty much insane and is stuck in a state called Limbo. In the movie, you have different levels in your dreams, and the deeper you go, the longer it takes for you to wake up. Cobb went one too many levels than he should have, and became trapped in that level of "limbo" forever.

Practice Makes Perfect!...hopefully..

So i just got done practicing my math like crazy for the past 3 hours or so. I had been struggling a little in class so I decided I'd go through my book and do all of the exercise sets for each section. I did all the odd numbers that way I could check the answers in the back to know if I'm doing them right. I am not finished with all of tye sections, but I have done pretty good on the sections that I did do. My instructor keeps telling us that grades take a dive after Chapter 2, which has me all worried. You would think your instructor would be positive, but she keeps saying it like she expects us all to fail this next test. But I hope all of my practice pays off. I am not as good in math as I would like to be, so I have to work a little harder.

Calm Down People

So I think it's pretty hilarious when you see people on FB or youtube having arguments about something, and then they start to discriminate people's spelling, as if they ran out of things to argue about and just want to keep mess going. Who cares how somebody types on the computer. Not everybody has to be grammatically correct. It's like when people text. Example: Why sit there and take the extra time to say the word "people" or "tomorrow" when you can just say "ppl" and "tmrw". I won't lie, sometimes my "texting language" comes off the keyboard onto the computer when I post comments or statuses or whatever. But I think it's stupid and rediculous how people actually get into arguments about people's grammar on comment boards. But sometimes it can be pretty funny when the person judging someone elses' grammar has poor grammar themself. It makes them look ignorant. I mean if I see somebody misspell something and I know it wasn't on purpose, I will correct it, but that's just because it's one of my "pet peeves" I guess you could say. Sometimes I can't stand bad grammar, but I don't get into arguments with people about it. If I do correct someone's grammar, I do it in a joking way because I don't want to seem like an ass. Not that I'm trying to be one by correcting grammar, some people just take a little offense.

Uniforms

I think uniforms are disgusting, and they keep people from being able to express themselves. I had to wear uniforms in elementary and the little bit of time I did go to GW. I hated having to tuck my shirt in, because it was so uncomfortable. And my shirts would sometimes shrink in the wash, so it was hard to tuck them in. I also hated only having the choice of being able to wear 3 different colored shirts (white, red, and navy), and two different colors of pants( khaki and navy). You would walk around school matching with about 100 different kids. I understand that schools want kids to wear uniforms because they have more of a control on what the kids wear. Kids these days like to show everything, and sometimes dress sloppy I guess. But even with uniforms, kids found a way to make them "un-uniformly." The only thing about uniforms that I liked was the fact that I didn't have to sit there and worry about what I was going to wear that day, seeing as I only had a few choices. Other than that, I think uniforms are terrible. I would rather just stick to dress codes, where you can pretty much wear whatever you want, it just has to be modest. That's what I enjoyed about my junior high, and high school years at LCA. We did not have uniforms, but we had a dress code, which really wasn't a problem.

Thoughts on Homeschooling

When I first started out Junior High, I thought homeschooling was a great idea. I hated my first year of Junior High at Georgia Washington. I guess that's why I didn't even make it the whole year, because in the middle of my seventh grade year I transferred to LCA instead of homeschooling. I think homeschooling may be necessary for some people, but I wouldn't recommend a child to be homeschooled unless they absolutely need to be. I think homeschooling ruins a child's ability to communicate and develop social skills. It may hinder them from making friends, and make social activities awkward. Though this is not the case with all homeschoolers, it does have that affect on quite a bit of people. I have known a few people that were homeschooled. One guy that I know of has been homeschooled all his life, and he has no social skills at all what-so-ever. You can tell being out in public with people his age is excruciatingly painful and awkward. Now that he is starting his first year of college, making friends and socializing is not as easy for him as most. I also have a good friend that has been homeschooled for 2 years. This year she just recently started going back to a regular school, but things are not going too great. She is having problems with some guy at her school stalking her. He threatens her and her parents even had to file a restraining order on the guy. Her parents put her in homeschooling to avoid situations like that, and now she is going right back into them. I think homeschooling may be positive when it comes to wanting to protect your child, but not to completely shelter them. Overall, I don't think I would allow my kids to be homeschooled, unless they had some kind of disability where they absolutely needed to be in an environment such as homeschooling. I think going to a regular school is important for kids to learn how to develop social and communicative skills.

Sentence Exercise: Series

(1) Music can give people an identity, a style, and even a way of life.

(2) My southern accent can be embarrassing, charming to some, or something that gives away that I was raised in the south.

(3) Some of my favorite bands include: Pierce The Veil, Isles & Glaciers, and Bring Me The Horizon.

A Sigh of Well Needed Relief (revised)

This past weekend I was absolutely frantic. I knew that I would be having two exams on Monday, so I studied every second that I could. My boyfriend even got irritated at me because I would not put my note cards with my history terms down. I thought that I would never be able to remember all of the terms, but I kept working hard and I finally had them all down. I woke up earlier than normal this morning to do some extra studying, and when it came time to go to class I felt pretty ready for my exam. When I arrived to my history class, I felt so nervous and nauseous. I have bad test anxiety, and I usually forget everything that I studied and blank out, but I didn't this time! Must have been all of that persistent studying! When I received my test, I felt so confident while taking it. I knew all of the material, and even though the essay took some extra time and thinking, I felt confident that I did great. It always feels so good to be able to fly through a test because you know all of the material. I think I made no less than a B, but I'm hoping for an A. I also got 4 bonus points from a quiz we took last week, so that will always help too. I also had a Biology exam today, which I had not even begun to study for since I was so wrapped up in History. I had an hour and a half to study before class, so I started answering questions on the practice tests my instructor recommended us buy at the beginning of the semester. I started to get irritated because it was taking so much time to do and I had a feeling most of those questions wouldn't even be on the test, so I just started reading over my notes. I read over my notes about 3 times, and it turns out that's EXACTLY what I needed to do. The test covered pretty much nothing but note material. I was so worried about failing the test due to lack of studying, but the test was easy and I felt confident. I also got all of the bonus questions right. I may have gotten lucky this time, but next time I have exams I will not wait until the last minute to study. I also learned that I take good notes, so I need to review my notes every day, that way I can have most of the material memorized before the actual exam. Today has been a great day, and a HUGE sigh of relief. I was dreading today because of these tests, but today made me realize I worry WAY too much. I was just fine :)

Living Hell in a Christian School

Don't even get me started on what I would do to change my former High School. Thankfully, I wouldn't have to because my school closed down the High School this year. Lighthouse Christian Academy is probably the worst private school in Montgomery. The people in the office were so rude and would always gossip about the students, and the Principal was never fair. I couldn't stand him. His breath always stunk and smelled like nasty coffee and I always hated when I got stuck talking to him, because he couldn't just stand a respectable distance away from you. He always got right up in your face. He would constantly roam the halls. I don't think he was ever in his office. But him and his wife were always in feuds with each other, and since she works in the office right next to his, I guess he wanted to get away from her. My principal would seriously try to get you in trouble for anything. I know there are rules at schools, but it seemed to be like he just made up his own rules as he went.
As far as the teachers go, I'm not really sure that you could call them teachers. They never gave us any work, and if they did, they practically gave us the answers because everybody would complain until the teacher gave in. And most tests were open-book tests. The only class we even did a little of any work in was English and Typing. But who needs typing. Most of our days consisted of joking around and messing around on our cell phones.
I really regret going to LCA for the 7 years that I did. The first 2 years were decent, only because the vice principal kept everything in order. He was the one that was mainly in charge of the high school, but he and his wife who also worked at the school moved to TN, because he got a good job to preach at a church there.
Going to LCA really screwed me over when it was time for me to take my ACT. Most schools are supposed to prepare you for the ACT and for college...but not mine. My ACT scores were definitely not impressive (a 20, and a 21). I did not make it into Auburn like I had hoped.
All my high school cared about was getting the tuition check. They could've cared less about anything else. I am so glad that they finally shut the high school down. It's like after the vice principal left, the high school just fell by the wayside, and all they were concerned about were the lower grades. My principal is mainly in charge of the lower grades, so that's where the school put their main focus. I mean my senior year was so lame. For Junior/Senior day, they tried to make us go to a church and then go on a trolley ride downtown. As if we didn't already go to chapel EVERY Wednesday. Seriously, who wants to go to a church on Senior day. And for senior trip, which I did not go on either, they sent the seniors to a christian camp in North Carolina. I thought it was going to be so boring, but my classmates said it wasn't that bad.
There are sooo many other things that my school has done, but I would be here all day.Im glad that no other people will have to suffer high school at LCA. If the HS part was still open, I swore I would've done my best to warn anybody hoping to send their child there that it would be the worst mistake they'll make, school-wise.

A Sigh of Well Needed Relief

This past weekend I studied like crazy for my History exam that was today. I thought I would never be able to remember all of the terms, but I kept working hard and I finally had them all down. I woke up earlier this morning to do some extra studying, and when it was time to go to class I felt pretty ready for my exam. When I got to my history class, I felt so nervous and nautious. I have bad test anxiety, and I usually forget everything I studied and blank out, but I didn't this time! Must have been all of that persistent studying. Anyway, when I got my test, I was so confident while taking it. I knew all of the material, and even though the essay took some extra time and thinking, I felt confident that I did great. I think I made no less than a B, but I'm hoping for an A. I also got 4 bonus points from a quiz we took last week, so that will help too. I also had a biology exam today, which I had not even begun to study for since I was so wrapped up in History. I had an hour and a half to study, so I started answering questions on the practice test handout she recommended us buy at the beginning of the semester. I was getting irritated because it was taking so much time to do and I had a feeling most of those questions wouldn't even be on the test, so I just started reading over my notes. I read over them about 3 times, and it turns out that's EXACTLY what I needed to do. The test was pretty much nothing but note material. I was so worried I was going to fail the test due to lack of studying, but the test was easy and I felt confident. I also got all of the bonus questions right. Today has been a great day, and a HUGE sigh of relief. I was dreading today because of these tests, but today made me realize I worry WAY too much. I was just fine :)

Stressed!

I sent my textual analysis to my boyfriend so he could review it and make any changes that were needed. I thought that I did a pretty good job, and was hoping to get congratulated on the good work...sadly that wasn't the case. He tore my paper to pieces. I think there may have been like one or two paragraphs that were barely touched, but the rest was all in red or blue text(the stuff he changed.) It really puts a downer on me after doing so good on my literacy narrative. There was literally only like 2 or 3 little things wrong with my paper, and I got 57/60 points. I was so excited and it inspired me to get started on the textual analysis paper as soon as it was assigned. I guess maybe I shouldn't have started so soon since it obviously seems like I don't know what I'm doing. On top of that, I was trying to do some homework in math, and got completely lost on all of the problems. I finally got to the last problem, knowing all the others were still wrong, and when I couldn't figure it out I got mad and just said screw it. Monday, I have two exams, with ALOT of material to study. So that adds on to my stress. It sucks coming from a school where you're used to literally doing nothing but goofing around with classmates and texting, (and if we did have a test or quiz, our teachers let us cheat and just handed out answers and let us have open book tests for pretty much every test), to college where you have lots of work and studying in every class. And I plan on transferring to Auburn next year. I didn't make it when I applied last year due to my low ACT score of 21, but my grades at school were As and Bs. How couldnt they be when I had no work, and the teachers just handed out A's. The school screwed me over when it came to the ACT. I am hoping to make it into AU when I apply this year. But if I can't keep my grades up at AUM, how will I ever survive at Auburn? I don't know why I'm so worried though. So far I have made all A's in my classes. But I have only had a quiz here and there, and it's only the beginning of the semester, with another to go. Oh well..Hopefully I'll pass the exams on Monday..

Balance/Appositives

BALANCE
-The weather is cooling down; Fall is on its way

-October is next month; the trick-or-treaters are getting ready

-Fall has arrived; the football fanatics are coming out of their slumber

-The International House Of Pancakes owns the rights to the IHOP acronym; The church named The International House Of Prayer (IHOP), are receiving a lawsuit filed against them

APPOSITIVES
-Dani,having gone through the tragedy of losing her mother and boyfriend within the same year, is a very remarkable girl with admirable strength.

-The boy,hypocrite that he is, became one of the least popular among his friends.

Fall

There's not really much going on that would make me believe fall is on the way, besides the weather getting a tad bit cooler, but that's only during the early morning. Other than that, the weather is still pretty hot to me, or maybe that is just because I have no AC in my car, and I'm riding in a black car with black leather seats. The leaves are not changing colors, but I wouldn't expect them to until a little later. But being in Montgomery, Alabama, the leaves don't really change color anyway, which is one of my favorite things about Fall. I miss when I used to live in Virginia how all of the leaves on every tree would change color. The weather would be cool and breezy and put everyone in the mood to celebrate. As October rolled around, people would start getting ready to decorate for Halloween. You would see pumpkins everywhere and hay-bells in front yards with scarecrows to accompany them. Since I have lived in Montgomery though, people don't really seem too big on celebrating, but I guess that is because you don't really get to "experience" Fall here. Just like winter. It never really snows here, and if it does, it isn't much and the snow only sticks for 2 days at the most. Sure you get the cold weather and the dead trees with your occasional snow flurry, but not the whole "winter experience." When I lived in Virginia, I got to experience my first snow. We woke up one morning to find 3 feet of snow waiting for us to go out and play in. The snow was so deep that we had to dig out paths for our dogs so that they could go outside to do their "business." The snow lasted a good while too. It was so much fun to have our own little winter wonderland right outside of our house. When I graduate college, I plan on moving up closer North, which I hate to say, because for the most part I have lived in the South all of my life. I'm proud to be Southern, so I do not plan on going too far North. I'm thinking about moving to North Carolina. There is also an amazing wildlife center there that I plan to try and work at, since I am majoring in Biology, and later planning to transfer to main campus and and major in Zoology. I think it would be a lot of fun to have a job where I can to work outside, especially during my favorite season-Fall.

3 Years

Yesterday was mine and my boyfriend's 3 year anniversary. Since he goes to school at Auburn University, I was sad because I figured I wasn't going to get to see him, like I didn't last year. But I decided to drive up to Auburn because he got out of lab early. I was so exhausted the whole day, but as soon as I got in the car to go to Auburn, I was wide awake. When I got there, I gave him his copy of Halo REACH that I bought for him, and he was pretty happy about that. But before I gave that to him, I tried to act like I had forgotten it and accidentally left it at home, but he knows me too well. Even though he didn't believe me, he said I did some good acting. After that, we went to go find somewhere to eat. We drove all around and finally just ended up at Wendys, because neither of us were that hungry, and Wendys is just one of our favorite fast food places. I only got to visit for a few hours because I got there around 6, and had to get home by 10 because I did not want to be too tired for classes the next day. Since we didn't get to really celebrate yesterday, we are going to carry it on to this weekend, when he is going to take me to get my first tattoo! I am so excited about that.

"Viola Lion"

One of my favorite bands is Isles & Glaciers, which include some members from my other favorite band, Pierce The Veil. My favorite song by Isles & Glaciers is called "Viola Lion." The song is absolutely amazing and beautiful. It has been my favorite song by them since I first heard it. The name of the song alone I think is beautiful I guess you could say. I just love the sound of it. The song talks about the struggles of a guy and a girl in their relationship. Though the guy loves the girl, he feels that he has to leave her, but will still wait for her until she is ready to come back. By the lyrics, you can tell that the relationship is troubled, but the guy is willing to stick around no matter what, except this time, he will not be the one running back to her. I feel like I can relate to the song very well when it comes to my own relationship. My boyfriend and I struggle a lot, and I guess I would take the place of the guy in the song. I feel sometimes like I should leave my boyfriend in hopes that he would see that he needs to change. Even if I did leave him, I would still wait for him, but would not run back to him, like I have so many times before. I love this song and the meaning so much, that I have even thought of getting a tattoo of the song title. My relationship is very important to me, and my boyfriend and I do struggle a lot, but no matter what we go through we are still there for each other.

Family

The other night I actually sat in the living room with my dad and we talked for a long time. I usually just do my own thing and stay in my room either watching T.V., doing homework, or listening to music, while other times I am out with friends or my boyfriend. But it was nice to actually sit down and have a conversation with my dad. We started talking about food and different restaurants, and then somehow got onto the topic of when I was born and other family memories. My dad told me some stuff about his mom and dad, who both died when I was at the age of 3, and about my "step" grandfather (my grandma's second husband.) I called him "Poppie", and even though I have no memories of him but of those through my family members, I feel like I know him so well. He also died when I was at the age of 3.
When I was younger, my family and I were close I guess you could say, and actually went on family vacations. But now that my brothers and I are older, we do not really do much family things. My mom and my dad go to work, I and my brother Jake go to school, and we come home each day and talk with each other about our days, or joke and laugh about things sometimes. Sometimes it makes me sad to hear of kids who are my age that still do family things together, like go on vacation, or have family dinners or cookouts, or going to movies with their parents.
My boyfriend's parents are divorced, but both sides of the family are really nice and happy "family" people. Whenever it is someone's birthday, they always go out to eat or have a cookout. Both sides also love going to see movies all the time, and do a lot of other family-oriented things together. Both sides of my boyfriend's family treat me like part of their family. They always include me in any activity that they do, and even though I have known them for 3 years, it is still awkward to me because that is not the family environment I am used to. I remember when it was my birthday once(and they still continue to do this every year), and my boyfriend's mom and step-dad asked me where I wanted to go out to eat. I told them that that was ok, and they did not have to take me out to eat, but they insisted. They even invited all the rest of the family, so Wes' mom, step-dad, brother, and even his step-dad's mom and brother and his brother's kids were there. That many people there from his family just to celebrate my birthday, and I can only imagine how big the tab was! I was thankful that they included me in their thoughts, but at the same time I could not help but to feel awkward. I enjoy being involved with my boyfriend's family, but sometimes I cannot help but to feel guilty, like these are things I should be doing with my own family.
I love my family to death and nothing will change that, I just wish that sometimes we were closer to each other and would have more "family time." So it made me really happy the other night when my dad and I sat and talked for a good while, and I know it made him happy too.

Profanity A Common Language?

I remember back when I was a kid and watched T.V. or movies, when the "alternative" word for "butt" was censored out,and a movie that showed a guy's naked butt was considered Rated R. These days more and more words of profanity are not being censored on television, and I wonder why some words are censored, but others are not. I was watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on Comedy Central yesterday with my boyfriend. I realized that they censored out the "s" word, but did not censor out when a lady used God's name in vain. Now why on earth would they censor out "s***" but not God's name in vain? It really shocked me. And sometimes when I am watching other shows, such as Teen Mom on MTV, and hear the "B" word, it still shocks me. I have to sit there and think for a second, and that's when I realize that things have changed these days-and not for the better, but for the worse. Parents no longer have to wonder where their children are learning these "colorful" new words. A natural thought would be to blame the kind of people their child hangs around. But where would those friends have learned the words from? Sure, some may hear the words from their parents, but children these days probably learn the majority of profanity from their favorite television shows or movies. Just like how they have these violent video games and movies, "glamorizing" what killing someone would be like. Older teens should know better, but you cannot say the same for the younger kids who are still learning what life is really all about. With the way things are now, I can only expect things to get worse. That is why I am considering not even having kids. I want to have a kid or two when I am married, but do I really want to bring a kid into this corrupt world? It seems unfair. And you can parent your kids to the best of your ability, but that does not mean they'll listen, and you cannot supervise them 24/7, so you never know what kind of things they could be exposed to when they are at school or hanging out with their friends. And once they are exposed to things, they may not want to let them go, which can cause behavioral issues. I think what it really is, is that I am terrified to have a kid and to try to raise him/her in this world. I would always have to wonder and worry about what is going on in their lives, and I do not want to become one of those "over-protective" parents.

Shows, Shows, Shows

When my boyfriend and I first started dating we would go to shows all the time. We got to see a lot of really good and cool bands. Bands that are actually big. Not just your local bands trying to make a name for themselves. We would mainly go to shows from ReactionMedia at Off The Wagon on Dexter Avenue. I have had soo many great memories going to shows there. But a while ago, maybe a year, RM stopped arranging shows at Off The Wagon. Guess David thought he was getting "too big" for Montgomery, and started branching out and creating venues in Birmingham and Columbus, GA. I have been to a good number of shows in Birmingham too, which I always enjoyed, because I love a road trip, especially if it's to go see a show. I have also been to shows in Columbus and Atlanta. I went to Taste of Chaos in 2009 to see Bring Me The Horizon and Pierce The Veil. That night I absolutely fell in love with PTV and have been obsessed ever since. I was already obsessed with BMTH though, so I got super excited when Oli Sykes came on stage talking with his British accent. It was so funny to hear him talk. This past year at Warped Tour I got to see both BMTH and PTV again. Pierce The Veil put on an AMAZING show, like always. They had just come out with thier new CD, and of course I already had every song memorized, so I was happy that they decided to play quite a few of the songs off of their newer CD. We saw BMTH last, because they were the closing band. It started storming BAD right after PTV, so everyone had to move into the covered auditorium. We had to sit through some guy who calls himself Never Shout Never, and that was pure torture. He is seriously such a prissy little guy, and did not fit in at all this year at Warped Tour. This year had a majority of more "hardcore" bands. Overall, I enjoyed Warped Tour 2010 alot, despite the extreme heat. I'm already ready for next year. I wish there were some shows actually worth going to around town in the mean time. There are a few shows every now and then, but they are at churches so none of the bands that I like would be going to a church to play. Most of the shows in Montgomery now are lame. I wish ReactionMedia would open up another venue in Montgomery..

Ehhh.

Today in my math class was good. We got our tests from last week back, and I made one of the highest grades (94). After reviewing what I got wrong though, I felt so dumb. I could've had a 99 but I multiplied wrong on 2 different problems. I guess I was just rushing and wasn't paying attention, because let's be honest, I KNOW what 9(3) is. It's 27. But I accidentally put 18. I don't know what I was thinking there...I just hope my instructor doesn't think I'm an idiot..But hey, at least I got an A.
I've always been terrible in math, hence why after my placement test I got placed into Elementary Algebra. Right now we are going over such easy stuff, but they are things that I have not done in so long. I was a little rough at first seeing as it's been a while, but now I have a complete hang on things. I mean it is just simple math. Too bad it wasn't just simple math on the ACT. Both times I took the ACT I scored lower than an 18 in math. I think I made a 16 in math the first time, and a 17 the second. My best composite score for the ACT is a 21. Even though I am already in college I signed up to take the ACT again, because I know I can do better. I also plan on transferring to main campus, and maybe a higher ACT score will look more attractive to them when I apply. I take it this Saturday and I'm starting to get really anxious. I hope I did not screw myself over by deciding to take the ACT again. It's been a while since the last time I have taken it. People tell me you almost always do better with every time you take it. My first score was a 20, and my second a 21. I did do better, but by only one point. I'm hoping to at least make a 25 or higher this time around. I would even be happy with a 24. I just hope my nerves will settle down before Saturday..

Trends/Ads

When I was a little kid, I guess you could say that I was a little spoiled. But that was mostly my grandma's doing. Every time I went to her house she would always buy me all kinds of toys. I played with stuffed animals, barbies, and Polly Pockets mostly, but I remember when a toy called "Betty Spaghetti" came out. The commercials for Betty Spaghetti always made her look so awesome. She was completely made out of a rubbery material, and she had stringy hair that you could do whatever you wanted to with it. And unlike the Barbie Doll limbs where there are not flexible, you could move Betty Spaghetti's rubbery arms and legs how you wanted. She could be put in virtually any pose. So of course I beg my grandma to get me a Betty Spaghetti for Christmas. When Christmas came around I got my Betty Spaghetti doll. I was so happy because she even came with her own koala bear. I got the "safari style" Betty. On the box it talks about how flexible the doll is and how it is nearly impossible to break her. Well it wasn't long before I started playing with the doll that things went wrong. Her arms were not as flexible as the commercial made it seem. Before I knew it the doll was ruined from me trying to fix it so many times, and eventually just getting frustrated and not even caring any more what happened to it. Looking back, I don't know why I ever wanted a Betty Spaghetti, or any kind of doll like that. But the commercial made it seem like you just had to have one, and if you didn't, you were missing out.

As far as trends go, when I was in junior high, and my early years in high school, I saw a lot of people with the Northface jackets. These jackets looked so clean and nice, and came in tons of different colors. Everyone talked about how comfortable they were, and how warm they kept them in the cold weather, and how you could even wear them in warm weather and not burn up, which seemed weird to me, but I HAD to have one. To me, anyone that had a northface was "popular" or dressed nicely. I guess you could say all of the well-liked or popular kids at my school had a northface. So I begged my mom for a good while to get me a northface for my birthday(which is in August), and she thought it weird that I wanted a jacket in the hot August weather, but I had to make sure I had this jacket before school started back. I actually ended up getting my first northface on Christmas, not my birthday. It was aqua blue, which at the time was my favorite color, so I was definitely ecstatic. Over the next few years I accumulated an orange and a black northface as well. I absolutely cherished the black northface, because it was made out of a different, softer material. Looking back, I don't understand what the hype was about those jackets. Yea they're nice and comfy, but I feel stupid for going so crazy over them. I do still wear the black northface, but I wear it because it is comfortable. Not like back in the day when I thought I was so-called "cool".

Literacy Narrative: My Most Memorable Writing Experience

One of the most memorable writing experiences I have had occurred my senior year, when I was awarded Salutatorian. As you may know, Valedictorians and Salutatorians are both required to give a speech at the graduation ceremony. I was given one month to come up with the most convincing and interesting speech that could possibly come out of my head.
On first receiving the news that I had to give a speech, and there were no exceptions, I was overcome with anxiety. A million thoughts zipped through my mind as I tried to figure out what to include in my speech. Should I take a more serious approach and risk boring people, or be myself and put a goofy flareon this speech that would soon be mine? I also contemplated on whether I should talk about my classmates asa whole or individually. All I knew was that I had a rough month ahead of me.
Procrastination and myself know each other very well. I did not begin writing my speech until a week before graduation. Part of the reason was because I could not figure out what to say, and the few things I knew I wanted to say, I did not know how to put onto paper. Things sounded great in my mind, but it was just a matter of getting those thoughts written down. With time running out, I started to get desperate and began panicking. I had one week left and had to make this speech memorable.
My desperation started to get the best of me and I began searching on the internet for good ideas and topics to include in graduation speeches. When that did not help, I was tempted to take a graduation speech alreadywritten by someone else, and "make it my own". The thought of taking somebody else's speech seemed good for a split second, but I finally came to my senses. First off, that would be stealing, and even if nobody but myself knew that "my" speech came from the internet, I knew it was still not right. I started looking in different directions.
One of my favorite things to do is look up quotes that have a specific meaning. I searched on websites for good graduation quotes, and stumbled upon a few that really spoke to me. I decided to center my speech off of a couple of the quotes that spoke to me the most. Surprisingly, this technique worked very well for me. I was not stealing somebody else's work, but rather incorporated a few quotes from writers into my speech, and made it my own in a sense.
My speech was only a page and a half, but I felt that it was the best speech that I could muster out, and I was proud of my work. I got out every point that I wanted to, and discussed the things I found important. My speech was mainly for my fellow classmates, and consisted of mostly words of encouragement, which I felt was most appropriate for graduation. "Graduation is not the end, but merely the beginning" was my theme. I also decided to refer to my class as a whole, and managed to fit in a little bit of how much they meant to me, which was also an important part of my speech.
When graduation night rolled around, I was mixed with emotions. I was excited because I was finally graduating, but nervous because I knew my speech was ahead of me. The music started, and I made my way to the stage, my legs trembling as I walked up the stairs to the podium. I picked up the microphone, greeted and thanked everyone that came, and proceeded with my speech. As I started speaking, I became more and more comfortable with hearing my voice magnified among the many people in the auditorium. I had confidence in my speech, and myself, which radiated out of me into the crowd. I think having confidence while giving a speech is very important and helps to make one's speech more convincing, which is what I practiced about 50 times in front of the mirror the night before graduation.
After I delivered my speech, I felt relieved and proud of what I had accomplished. I had written an amazing speech and read it in front of a big crowd, which is something I have never done before. The writing experience for my speech may have been a grueling one, but all of the anxiety was well worth what I got to experience when it was over. I survived two things my graduation night: one of the hardest writing experiences of my life, and over-coming my fear of delivering a speech in front of a crowd. I can only hope that today my classmates still remember the words of encouragement I delivered to them, because giving my speech at graduation has been one of the most memorable moments in my life.

I Miss The Colored Leaves

Fall is my favorite season for many reasons. I LOVE Halloween, it is indeed my favorite holiday. I love the changing of the leaves(even though it doesn't really happen here in montgomery), and Thanksgiving. And the weather is perfect. The weather is never too hot or too cold. You get just the right amount of breeze and sunshine. I miss when I lived in Virginia and South Carolina how the leaves actually changed color. It made Fall more enjoyable. You would walk outside of your house and it was like you were stepping into a living piece of art. And you couldn't escape it because it was all around you. Not that you would want to escape it unless you are depressing and don't like colors. I miss how pretty the Fall decorations looked. We would always get haybells and put them in the front yard, along with a scarecrow in the middle, with some pumpkins of various sizes to accompany him. And when it was time to trick-or-treat, it really felt like Halloween and that was what you were supposed to be out doing. Living in Alabama has been weird for me when it comes to Fall. I'm lucky if I find one red leaf within the whole season. And if I ever do stumble upon a red/orange leaf, I keep it because I'm weird like that. Going trick-or-treating in the past living here has been weird too. The trees would still be green and the skies blue as can be, and the weather was more warm than I'm used to during Fall. Whenever I would go trick-or-treating, I would feel confused or out of place. It just felt weird looking around. It was like going trick-or-treating in the summer. With the summers feeling like they are just getting hotter, each Fall seems less colorful. Is it really that hard to ask for some colorful trees? Not just a few, but EVERY tree! When I am older and graduate college, I plan on moving to North Carolina near the mountains. The Fall season up there should be beautiful! =P

Panda!

Mine and my boyfriend's 3 year anniversary is next wednesday and I have an idea of what he is going to get me. I already got his gifts taken care of. A few weeks ago I went and pre-ordered Halo:Reach for him, and since he is obsessed with the Resident Evil movies, I am going to take him to see Resident Evil: After Life next weekend. My boyfriend finally agreed that I could get a tattoo. (yes I know what you are thinking. you: "Why does she need permission from her boyfriend to get a tattoo??") He's just weird I guess. He said if I ever got a tattoo he would want to be the one to take me to go get it. Maybe because he knows how much of a low tolerance I have for pain, and would find it hilarious to see me trying to hold back tears as the guy starts tatting me. The tattoo I want is of the WWF panda. I want to get it on the inside of my ankle. I am literally obsessed with anything that has to do with pandas. I think the obsession started a couple years ago when my boyfriend got me the cutest panda stuffed animal. It's a panda with an orange back-pack that has a little baby panda in it. It sounds weird, but it's my favorite stuffed animal. And in case you are wondering, yes I still sleep with stuffed animals. I sleep with this panda every night. I am definitely a little kid at heart in many ways. Give me a box of brightly colored crayons and I'll freak out. Sometimes when I go to Books-A-Million I have to go down the kid aisles and pick up a kiddy book and read it. I'm sure people think I'm dumb and do not know how to read, but I enjoy the simpleness and colorful pictures in kiddy books. I guess I just miss being a kid, because that's really the only time I can remember never having any stress. These days I just stress and worry about every little thing. And I know you people are probably thinking "how the hell did she get on talking about stress and missing her childhood from what her boyfriend was going to get her for their 3 year anniversary??") Well, that's just me. I am random and I talk about many different things within a small time period. =P

BLAH

So I had an okay weekend. Sunday-Monday were pretty bad due to drama, but monday night things took a turn for the better. I went up to Auburn to visit my boyfriend and his friends in their apartment. I had such a great time Monday night and Tuesday that I did not want to come back home. Of course, next day, which would be today, I had to go back to school. And of course coming back from a long holiday weekend, my first day back at school would not be easy by any means. Let's just say I had a series of unfortunate events today. It just seemed like everything was going wrong. The thing that made me the most frustrated I guess was that my car stalled out at a major stop sign on campus, so it got backed up. And even though I had my hazard lights on and it was clearly obvious there was something wrong with my car, people wanted to act like idiots and started honking their horns at me like I could actually help it. Anyway, I'm at a loss for what to blog about so I thought I would ramble on about my day, which really turned out to be a bunch of complaining. It's just been a rough day..a lot on the mind and a lot of stress I guess.