Senior Sex-Ed

In Central Florida, reported cases of syphilis and chlamydia increased 71 percent among those 55 years and older. South Florida saw a 60 percent rise in those two sexually transmitted infections among the same age group. In 2010, the CDC reported that rates of STDs in seniors had doubled form 2000 to 2010. The most commonly found STD was HIV, followed by chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea. While the reasons for this development aren't well understood, more divorces and better health might be the reason for the boost in sexual activity. In addition to being more interested in sex, today's seniors are extremely under educated about STDs on every level. Senior citizens are spreading STDs like wildfire. They are in competition with young people between the ages of 20 and 24 in terms of the biggest increase in STDs. The rate of STDs in older men taking erectile dysfunction drugs like Viagra is twice as high as the non-medicated peers in the same age group. The problem however is that older adults appear to flaunt safe sex practices. For instance, seniors over 50 are six times less likely to use a condom than men in their 20s. The solution is simply to have safer sex. Getting regularly tested can solve a lot of problems, people over 50 are 80 percent less likely to be tested than 20-30 year olds. Choosing sex partners who you can have honest conversations with is very important. If you don't feel comfortable, stick to less risky, non-penetrative orgasm. And always, always wear a condom if you aren't comfortable with your partner.

The Heart and the Fist-Preliminary Discussion

The thing that stood out the most to me in the first half of the book was the scene where he is training with Earl and Derrick. I thought it was a really well thought out portion of text where he has to persevere through not really knowing much about boxing. It pushes him to work harder and he feels really accomplished when he is able to get on the Oxford boxing team. I though the way his coach related everything back to a life lesson was really interesting and really smart. If you are already going to be learning how to go through these boxing motions you should at least learn something important right along with it. I think the purpose of the book is to help people decide who they want to be. There are a lot of life lessons wrapped up in the humanitarian and military work. I think that Greitens has led a very amazing life and sharing all the lessons he's learned in a book that details all of his humanitarian work is great. It seems like every chapter and every adventure moves him forward more and more and it seems to have a pretty good lesson attached to it. I think it's also trying to teach a major lesson about compassion. I think it is very important to show compassion to everyone because you can never know what that person is going through or what they've had to deal with. I think that if everyone just assumed that the other person needed an uplifting word or a nice laugh, people would just overall be better. I think the audience is high school or college students. It holds a lot of life lessons and would be a great book for the high school senior unsure of what they want to do. It also makes a good book for me as a college student because the lesson is to be strong and caring. Sometimes college students work so hard at staying strong through tough assignments that they forget how important it is to be caring towards their fellow person.

What if computers were more user friendly?

If computers were more user friendly, they might be able to process our thoughts directly from our brains or maybe just hear a command and act on it. We have the technology, people do it with our smart phones every day, why not install something like that on every computer and make it very simple to use. Being able to process our thoughts directly from our brains is a little more advanced, but can you imagine that? People unable to speak or type would be able to use a computer. It might make them feel a little more normal. We could make a lot of advancements in the way of child care as well. Being able to “read the minds” of babies and toddlers. Never having to make the guess of what’s actually wrong. We might even be able to gain insight into the minds of coma patients. Are they actually “brain dead” or are they still able to process thoughts just not being able to articulate those thoughts. We might even be able to take the idea of a robotic surgery even further. Some doctors already use robotic hands for the more technically advanced surgeries, if all they had to do was think what they wanted, it would make those surgeries a lot less complicated. If the technology was in place for computers to read our thoughts, it might only be one small jump to making the computer artificially intelligent, giving it a brain of its own. Allow it to process its own thoughts. Robotic life might not be very far off. Certainly having a robot to do things for you would be a positive thing, but people might take advantage of it.

What if books were illegal?

If books were illegal, the world would be very dumbed down. And I’m not talking about just fiction books, I’m talking about medical journals, research documents, etc. I think that we would lose a lot of the advancements we have made. Society had come so far and I believe that that is mostly credited to books. Without books, we would have no knowledge of what people in the past had done. Word of mouth is a great tool but it isn’t very accurate. We lose something along the way when Bill told Sara that Mary told him that Jack was working on a new way to do surgery. I think that everyone has played the game telephone, the phrase gets so distorted after so many people hear it and relay the message. Without books, it’s very difficult to verify your information, especially if the supposed source is dead. A lot of the information we still use today is due to someone, long dead, that has given us those words. If they were never able to write them down, it would strongly change the way that society has advanced. We might not have ever even made the computer, the MRI, the lightbulb.

What if you could only use your smart phone for an hour a day?

I think that if smart phones had limitations the world would be a much friendlier place. If everyone put down their phone and only picked it up for an hour a day, can you imagine how much more work would get done? No more endlessly scrolling through Facebook, playing the latest game craze, and no more constant text messaging. You would have to meet with your friends to talk to them rather than typing. It would also allow our time on the phones to be a little better spent. Maybe filled with reading the news, answering work emails, catching up with long distance family. Maybe if we powered down those devices a little more regularly we would gain skills and traits we didn’t know we were capable. We could potentially become famous writers, actors, CEOs. I think there is a lot of potential involved with being less addicted to technology as a whole. When we think about communication, most people immediately jump to texting, skyping, or Facebook messaging. What if we took it back a few years, to letter writing, face to face communication, or even phone calls? I think people as a whole would learn a lot about themselves, meet new friends, and possibly even become something they’d never even dream of. Technology might be setting us back more than it is launching us forward. Technology is a very powerful thing, capable of vast processing capabilities and numerous scientific capabilities. But when boiled down to its most average usage, it’s merely a tool for Facebook stalking and looking at pictures of silly animals. Having a device capable of so many things stuffed in your pocket is something that most people take for granted. But not so long ago, cell phones were attached to your car or needed their own backpack to carry them. No one really stops to think about what they are really capable of. Technology is a wonderful advancement. But with that advancement comes a price, we are losing the capability of face to face conversation. We lose the ability to talk to strangers and become friends with them, too busy with our faces stuffed in our phones.

What if?

What if…

What if evil did not exist?

What if every turn you had to make was a left?

What if our computers suddenly revolted?

What if your face randomly changed every morning?

What if the internet randomly quit working?

What if you could only use your smart phone for an hour a day?

What if every single car looked exactly the same, except for different license plates?

What if everyone wore the same outfit every single day?

What if money was nonexistent (barter and trade)?

What if everyone had gills?

What if books were illegal?

What if women still weren’t allowed to vote?

What if everything suddenly doubled in price and wages were cut in half?

What if zombies roamed the earth?

What if superheroes were real?

What if your hair was snakes?

Traits and Characteristics

Her name is Sally. She is generally a very happy person; always tries to be very friendly, especially to strangers. Sally decided to take a trip to the hair salon one day, she was very tired of having boring, straight hair. As she was driving to her favorite hair salon, she paid special attention to all the people she saw as she drove. Many people just enjoying the company of friends, walking along the sides of the street. She walked into the salon and sat down in one of the chairs to begin her wait. She picked up one of the many various hair magazines, as she flipped through the pages trying to figure out what she wanted to do to her hair, she saw a couple kissing and cuddling outside. Being as bored as she was, she found it very funny and began laughing. After recovering from her laughter attack, she took a look around at all the people in the salon, some people falling asleep in their chairs, some employees listening to music, some writing down the things they need to order for the store. Sally finally gets called back to the chair and lounges back to get comfortable. The worker asked her what she wanted. Sally decided she wanted to do something a little different. Sally has a tattoo of a mermaid on her upper arm and a fish earring in her left ear. This gave Sally an idea. She decided to use all the aquatics as inspiration. Blue and green mermaid hair. This definitely matched her bubbly, giddy personality. She told the employee what she wanted and they began talking. They were both really talkative and talked the whole time. Sally began to get sleepy towards the end of the hair dying process. Sleepiness always made Sally very giddy and with giddiness, Sally got loud. They worker thought this was very funny. She finished up Sally’s hair and Sally left the salon to enjoy a lazy evening at home with her great, new mermaid hair.

Stress...From Different Points of View

I’ve always been told that stress is a bad thing, but I’ve never really let it get me down. I’ve never let stress hold me back. I believe that stress is necessary. It goes back to a life lesson: you can’t have the good without the bad. I strongly believe this is true, you need to have hardships to truly identify and appreciate all the good times. Stress is a hardship, but it’s one that you can’t really avoid. Everyone will face tough times and everyone will get stressed to the point of pulling their hair out. But if you learn to appreciate the good times a little more, it makes the times of extreme stress a lot easier to handle. Stress lights a fire inside my soul to make me work a little harder and push a little more. I think that if everyone were to view stress in a similar fashion, there would be a lot less of the typical stress related ailments like high blood pressure and heart attack. Stress can be negative but I think it’s only negative if you allow it to be. If you work really hard to enjoy and appreciate the little things that make life great, stress will be significantly less negative for you. It might seem kind of counterproductive to think of something like stress as a good thing, but apparently this line of thinking can actually save your life. The health psychologist found that stress, when thought about in a way that made it more positive, could actually lower your risk of dying in a stress related way. Something as simple as switching your brain from thinking of stress in a negative to a positive way could help you live just a little longer.

A major conflict I have is with my husband and it’s not a typical conflict, we are trying to have a baby. We are both all for it and both ready for it but it hasn’t been easy. We’ve been trying for about two years now and it just doesn’t get any easier. Every month, we think “oh, this is our month” and every month it isn’t. It gets to the point where we both want to give up but we haven’t. It’s very difficult holding out hope for something that just won’t happen. It’s very difficult listening to all of the “It will happen” “Just wait it out” people. Everyone seems to think that if we would quit stressing about it, it would just happen. But that’s not who we are. I wouldn’t even say that we stress about it, I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason, so our long wait has a purpose. The universe just hasn’t revealed that purpose to us yet. Neither of us will give up hope but it is a conflict. We don’t necessarily argue about it but it does create some tension between us. It’s mostly an inner conflict, I struggle with the fact that it might never happen. It becomes very difficult to see babies or anything baby related.

I am the struggle of trying to conceive. I make good people wait too long to have something they’ve waited their whole life for. I love to watch the faces of people who have gotten so excited fall so rapidly when they realize it just hasn’t happened yet. It’s not always my fault, sometimes it’s something they are doing wrong. Sometimes, I just like to play around with them like puppets on a string. My favorite thing to do is give babies to people who aren’t prepared to have them or can’t take care of them properly and deny them to the people who would be great parents. It’s fun to watch the exasperation of someone when facing a baby who is being neglected. I like to wait just until people have given up all hope to grant them this wish they’ve wished for so long. Especially Misty and Michael, I won’t give them a baby until all hope has been lost, until they don’t want to get out of bed, until they can’t bear to see anything about babies. I live to cause trouble, to twist people up in my web of sadness.

The conflict of trying to conceive is a tough battle for women everywhere. Something they struggle with on the deepest of levels, this is something their bodies were made to do and they can’t seem to do it right. Women will go to all sorts of lengths to try to get that ever wanted positive pregnancy test. They will do all sorts of extremely out there things. The current trend is eating the core of a pineapple every day. It might actually work, who knows? But women everywhere that are trying to conceive find it necessary to run to the store and buy pineapple on the chance that it might actually work. This struggle is very real, women can become extremely depressed because of this. 

If I were a color...?

Yellow

If I were to be a color today, I would be yellow. I’m in a very good mood and very excited for the day ahead of me, so I’m sunshiny yellow! I woke up full of sleep and refreshed. I got in the shower, brushed my teeth, and got dressed. And I smiled the whole time. I fixed my hair and put my make up on and just kept smiling. I’m very excited to start my day after class. I’m being picked up by my wonderful husband and my awesome Milo. And then we are taking Milo to PetSmart to get a new toy. After that, we are going to Bass Pro because Milo likes to look at the fish in the fish tank. We are going to have a nice lunch, where I will share half of it with Milo and Michael will eat most of the other half (They are hogs!) After that, I’m not sure what we’re doing. But today I feel like nothing can bring me down, like nothing can burst my bubble. I’m very on top of the world today. The feeling of pure euphoria is very yellow to me. Anytime I see yellow I think of happiness and joy. How else do you write about a color? There isn’t much more to say. Yellow is bright and sunshiny, filled with warmth and bliss. There is nothing happier than the color yellow, but today I might just have it beat. Yellowyellowyellowyellowyellowyellowyellowyellowyellow It’s so weird how if you look at word, type a word, or say a word too many times it no longer feels like a word or doesn’t look like its spelled right. The human brain is so weird because it thinks things like that. Do you every stop to think about the fact that the brain named itself. Where do words come from? KddfkjdkdjdkDKLAFKDFJFKDLSL  KADFLKF ADLKJjadlkfjagna gaglkjLGhagalnlkj lkjljjlj;bhbijkbgl lhjlgl;hohkljgjkjhuikjhjkukjhkjhk kjkjjkjkjkjkjkjjkjkjkjkjkj klajdfkljakldf mkajkajkl;adsfjkl;asdf;lkjadfal;dkfjadlfkja;lsdkfjasldkjfal; faldkfjal;kdfj al;kdfjalk;djfalk; dkl;fjaakldjffja;jk

Slogan

My slogan is Go Outside. I really feel as though every problem can be solved by going outside. The feel of fresh air is sometimes all I need to rejuvenate myself. My favorite thing about being outside is late at night when you can walk outside, be immediately embraced by a crisp air and look up at the stars. I love feeling like I’m  a part of something bigger and looking at the stars always makes me realize how small I am in comparison to everything else in the universe. I really enjoy taking my dog Milo to the park and going on hikes with him, being outside just instantly improves my mood. It’s also my favorite place to argue with my husband, it seems to make the arguments really insignificant because we are so small compared to all the wonderful things to be witnessed if you just walk out the door. Spring is my favorite season because all the flowers in bloom make the outside so beautiful. It makes for the best hikes. This spring and summer, I’ve decided that every weekend my husband and I are going to take milo to a different park. Milo absolutely loves being outside so it always makes getting out of the house a priority because Milo is very spoiled. What do I write about now? What wlkjjfjfjfjfjdadfljkadfljkafljkdfajkl;adfsljk

Being outside is Fantastic

Being outside in the woods is amazing because everywhere you look is another beautiful thing to be seen. There’s’ always something to look at. Going into the woods and going on a long hike is my absolute favorite thing in the entire world. Usually when we go hiking, we always pack sandwiches and find some really secluded area to stop and eat lunch. What else is there to say about being outside I’m not really sure what else I can say about it everyone has been outside everyone knows what it’s like its not really all that different for me so what else can I even say about go outside being my slogan  go outside and find out for yourself. I don’t think I need to explain to anyone about going outside. I’d really like to go camping this summer because I think milo would really like that. I also plan on taking milo to the lake when we go fishing. He’s not a big fan of water but I think he would enjoy lounging by lake and seeing the fish as we reel them in. 

Romance Story

They had known each other for a long time. Sally and Sam had been together for so many years. They still loved each other like teenagers and every time they looked at each other, they had such a big smile on their face. One day Sam was taking a leisurely drive to Sally’s house. Sam always said Sally’s eyes were just like dark chocolate, warm and dark, full of cheer. Sally thought Sam had the body of Adonis, long and lean, beautifully adorned with colorful artwork.  Sally was always bursting with energy, very childlike. Sam’s voice boomed with the power of thunder and lightning, much like Thor. Sam looked deep into Sally’s eyes and wrapped her in a warm embrace, their lips meeting and bringing down the power of a thousand Mjolnir’s. They pulled away from each other and jovially chortled. Sam ran his fingers through Sally’s straw-like hair. They both lowered down onto the couch in Sally’s front room and Sam turned on Netflix. They eased into the curves of each other’s bodies and settled in for a sluggish evening of slumbering.

I Believe...

I believe that Michael makes my day better.

I believe that Milo makes my heart happier.

I believe in keeping your head up when you don’t want to.

I believe that taking a deep breath can make any situation bearable.

I believe in hope.

I believe where there’s a will, there’s a way.

I believe that leisure time is very important.

I believe that people are good as a whole.

I believe that everyone makes mistakes and they shouldn’t be held against you for too long.

I believe in changing when necessary.

I believe where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Being strong is sometimes an extremely hard thing to do. When everything around you is breaking apart and you don’t really have any other option, it becomes even more important and somehow even harder. Making the choice of what to do with the things around you takes even more strength than actually being strong. Simply choosing that you will be strong is a tough decision. Choosing the other option is even tougher. When presented with any tough situation, I like to take a deep breath in and then push it (and all my negative feelings) out. After that It makes it a little easier for me to choose being strong. I’ve always made that choice. Be strong, keep everyone else together. Be strong, you have to set an example. Be strong, someone else might be feeling weak. You must find the thing you are fighting for and think of it all the time. Use it to keep you strong. I believe that where there’s a will, there’s a way. You can make it through anything. Any tough decision, bad news, heartache, ANYTHING if you truly want to. If you have the will power to pick yourself off, dust of the negativity and fight, you can find a way to beat whatever is holding you down. Fjfadkfjadwhat else do I write I have no idea how to continue my writing what more is there…..it’s a simple statement. Jkla WRITE WRITE WTIEE Simply saying that you are strong isn’t’ enough sometimes, you must prove it to yourself and to the people you are staying strong for. Some people may need the example you’re giving to help them make the choice to be strong the next time they are faced with a tough decision. If you believe in yourself, believe you have the will power, you will be able to get through anything. Ughhhhhhhh 

Fear

My biggest fear in the world is not accomplishing my goals or aspiring to be more than I can achieve/ I’m always worried that my dreams are too big and I won’t accomplish them. My husband often tells me that I’m just fine the way that I am and that if I don’t accomplish anything it won’t matter. My biggest goal is to have a successful family restaurant with my husband. We want to own a southern style restaurant hopefully soon. I’m always worried that we won’t accomplish that and that we will have to work at jobs we hate just to support ourselves. It’s very important to me that we achieve this goal so that our future children see that you can do anything that you set your mind to. I want them to realize the value of hard work and dedication. And hopefully when they get older they can work at the restaurant as well. I’m terrified of the possibility of not being the perfect role model for my children. Because of this, it is a little unsettling to hear the voice in the back of my head say that these goals might be a little too large or a little too far down the road.

Another fear that I have is losing any of my loved ones. My parents aren’t in the greatest of health, my dad has been the victim of many heart problems and my mom’s health has been declining due to taking care of my dad for so long. I constantly struggle with the fact that my parents might not be around long enough to meet or enjoy their grandchildren. I know that they would love having a grandchild but so far, it hasn’t been in the cards for me and my husband. I also fear losing my husband. I often have nightmares about losing him in a freak accident. I know these fears are wildly irrational but it’s hard to shake that feeling.

Fear is a big part of, I believe, everyone’s daily life. It is just a matter of rising up and striking down that little voice in your head. Unfortunately that is not the easiest thing in the world. At a certain point, you have to either beat your fears or get buried underneath them. Fear can be a good or a bad thing. Some people see fear as a way to better yourself, thinking that if you can conquer those fears, you will be stronger. Others use fear as a kind of negative reinforcement. Either way is fine, though I believe that

We will have to work at jobs we hate just to support ourselves

The voice in the back of my head is constantly telling me to better myself so that my husband and I won’t have to work forever. It is always telling me to make sure that every decision I make is something that will benefit our future. It’s the reason that I’m in college and the reason I have plans to further myself after a business degree. It’s the reason that I’m constantly pushing my husband to try new things in the kitchen. I want for us to be successful business owners so badly but things like that don’t just happen overnight. It takes years of hard work and dedication to that dream. I just don’t want to waste my life doing a job I hate to make ends meet. Waste my life working rather than pursuing dreams, crossing things off my bucket list, or spending time with my loved ones. I want to make sure that I do as many things as possible, learn as many things as I can, read and dance and love until my heart overflows. I want to give my husband and my future children everything I can. I want to make sure that they want for nothing. That they are fulfilled and content without being spoiled. Doing this requires me to work as hard as I can now to ensure that I won’t have to later on. It requires me to push my husband to work overtime so that he can open his dream restaurant and be able to retire whenever he wants. I want to enjoy the time I have left with my parents, so that I never have to wonder if I did enough for them or worry that I didn’t say the right thing. It’s very important to me that I’m able to enjoy as much as possible in the world and never have to regret not doing anything.

The future is a very scary world. It’s unknown and real and very overwhelming at times. Knowing that it’s coming no matter what I do is terrifying.

It’s the reason that I’m in college and the reason I have plans to further myself after a business degree.

Right now I’m pursuing an associate’s degree in small business management. I am pursuing it because I want to be able to manage the business my husband and I start up. That is my dream job. Unfortunately, a small business management degree doesn’t get you a job right away. It looks good on a resume but doesn’t get the door open all the way. I think that after I finish this degree, I am going to try to go into a nursing program or a veterinary tech program. My whole life I wanted to be a veterinarian and work with animals and then one day I just woke up and decided that I wanted to own my own business, so from that point forward all my gears shifted towards achieving that goal. But now that I’m on the right track for my business, I’ve kind of started looking at the veterinary idea again. I’ve sort of been able to uncloud my head from being so wrapped around business. I’m now able to look at it in a way that my business degree is for the future but I could be a vet tech for my present. Have a dream degree and a practical degree. And who knows? Maybe after the restaurant is open and successful I could open a veterinary practice or a dog shelter. And use those skills as well. After taking a break from school and now being back in, it really makes me want to pursue more education. It makes me want to learn as much as I can but use it in practical way. Fadfakldfakdjflakjdflkajdlkfj;aldkjfa;ldkjfaldkjfa;ldkjflajdfajfjfdjfddfdfdadfadfadfadfadffffffffffffff

Education is really important to me because of the way it just fills you up inside. I get very fulfilled when I think about learning and potentially bettering myself for my future. Fadadadf this is very hard to put my ideas into writing…….

The moment that kind of sealed the deal on moving in the direction of a vet tech or even a veterinary degree was when I told my parents about my ideas and the way my mom’s face lit up with the words veterinarian came out of my mouth. She always wanted that for me.

Personality

Magic

I started playing Magic the Gathering about 4 years ago. It was a way for my now husband and I to bond. We had stuff in common but we wanted an activity that we could share together. He already liked magic and played a lot with his roommate. His roommate saw my getting into this hobby as a loss of guy time with Michael. They would go out and do it every Friday as there way of catching up after the work week was done and when I started playing they didn’t have that guy time connection ( or something I never really understood why his roommate didn’t like me playing magic with them). I decided I was going to fix this problem, I was going to go the store they played at and I was going to bring them pizza, not just any pizza but their favorite: cheese stuffed crust, barbeque sauce, bacon, hamburger, and the works. So I got a couple pizzas and headed to Eclipse, I walked in and Michael was very excited to see me, his roommate mike, not so much. So I set the pizzas down and stop to talk to Eric, the owner of Eclipse. We talked for a while and then once Michael and Mike were done playing I took the pizza over to them. And being my normal clumsy self, I trip over my own two feet and launch the pizzas through the air and land face first in all the pizza sauce and toppings. I stand up, barbeque sauce dripping off my face and hair and just burst into tears of laughter. I run to the bathroom and clean myself up and then come out to clean up my mess. Everyone is dying of laughter and I see Michael about to pee himself. I walk over and start to apologize and he stops me. He says “Its fine, it was a nice gesture but we can order another one.” (This is coincidentally the moment I decided that I loved him) Mike stomps over to me and starts telling me how clumsy I am and saying things like “how could I mess up something as simple as getting a pizza?’  I proceed to tell him off and order a pizza for me and Michael. After that, Mike and I never really got along. Mike knew I was there to stay so if he wanted to remain friends with Michael he would have to get over his hatred of me and I knew that I had to accept Mike. Luckily we never really had to deal with each other much after that. After that night, Magic became a bond for Michael and me. It has remained the case to this day. We still regularly play together and we’ve gotten quite good at it. When we moved from Salem to Springfield, we were quite nervous that we were going to lose that bond.

Being my normal clumsy self, I trip over my own two feet and launch the pizzas through the air and land face first in all the pizza sauce and toppings.

I have always been very clumsy but the clumsiest thing that stands out in my mind happened when I was 6 years old I really wanted my mom to buy me a pair of ballerina shoes and a tutu but she just kept saying now. Six year old Misty was not a fan of the word no. Mom and I went to run some errand s and pay bills and I though t that at the end of all of it we were going to go to Walmart to buy my tutu and ballerina shoes. We finish paying bills and we head down to Walmart. Before we out of the car mom decided to say “sorry but were just here to buy groceries” I was so unhappy that I just sat in the car and ran errands for hours just for nothing. So I drudge my way through Walmart and mom ends up sneaking the tutu into the cart without me seeing. We get to the car and she gives it to me to put on. I was so excited until I realized I didn’t have any shoes to go with it. B ACKWARDS mom gives me the shoes but I was upset that the tutu didn’t come with it. I was throwing a tantrum the whole ride home. once we pull into the driveway I refuse to get out of the car “no, no no” I scream and mom had had enough she starts storming over to my side of the car and I start kicking my feet in the process of kicking my feet one of those plastic ballerina shoes I loved so much flies off my foot and straight through the front window of our station wagon. The window shatters. Mom snatches me out of the car and throws me over her knee, all I remember is pain and yelling. She spanked me and yelled at me until we were both blue in the face. Dad comes running outside and I start screaming for him to help me dad was always the good cop in our house he says” you got yourself into this mess I’m not helping you get out of it” I’ve never been in so much trouble as I was that day and anytime I think about being clumsy I think back to that day. Luckily my clumsiness has subsided quite a bit. I’m even spill free at restaurants now! Which is a big improvement compared to how bad I used to be.  Every single time we went out to eat somewhere I would always spill me drink all over the whole table. It was terrible my parents didn’t’ want to go anywhere

Don’t Let the Little Moments Pass You By

I believe in appreciating the little things. In a world that moves at such a quick pace, too often people overlook the “little things”; those small things that punctuate daily life. Before I explain this belief, I should elaborate on my definition of little things. The things that make you smile throughout your day without you even thinking about them, the feel of a cool breeze on a hot summer day, catching the ice cream man when you really want ice cream, the feel of wet dog kiss as they greet you when you come home from a long day. I believe that everyone should stop and take the time to appreciate these little things in life.

        One of my favorite moments that has led me to this belief is going to the Donut Hole with my Grandpa Dale. The Donut Hole is a locally owned donut shop in Webb City, Missouri, where I grew up. Every Tuesday during the summer, my Grandpa would take me down there and we’d spend hours eating donuts and reminiscing with some of his friends. When I was younger I didn’t fully appreciate the hours I spent there every summer. I was a child and my Grandpa and all of his friends were 90 and up. And every Tuesday, they would tell the exact same stories and laugh at the same jokes. I stopped going after a few summers and I still regret not going. I’ve learned now to appreciate that time, to appreciate the smell of fresh donuts, and to appreciate the coffee-breathed old men tell those worn down stories.

        The story that has always stuck in my memory is my Grandpa’s Bonnie and Clyde story. My Grandpa worked for Empire Electric Company for around fifty years. During these fifty years, he loved to tell the story of the time he was ran off the road by Bonnie and Clyde. He was dispatched to a call in a rural area, remember that at this time the electric trucks were very different, more similar to a regular pickup truck. He was on a ladder 20 feet in the air working on a telephone pole when he heard the garbled transmission from his truck walkie-talkie to get out of the area because Bonnie and Clyde were coming. He got off the pole and into his truck just as Bonnie and Clyde zoom past nearly running him off the road. A few minutes later, sirens and lights flash by as the police try to catch up to them. I heard this story almost every Tuesday for the entirety of my youth and I will never forget the big smile that my grandpa got as he gauged everyone’s reaction, relishing in the gasps and chuckles.

        I think back about that story and smile. I love remembering my grandpa’s wrinkly face tell those stories, love the way all the old men dressed really nicely for their weekly visit to the donut shop, love the warm feeling of sticky donut holes as I made a huge mess with all the sugar. All those little moments are the things I remember about my Grandpa and I honestly love them much more than any big moment I can remember.

                Learning how to appreciate the little things in life has proven to be extremely valuable to me. Finding joy in the simple things is a wonderful tool to have. One of my fondest memories is a rather recent one. Almost a year ago, my husband, Michael, and I adopted a dog. We had been looking online for a few weeks trying to find the perfect companion for us. Michael pointed out a chubby, wrinkly dog that I didn’t like at all and I pointed out a slender, furry dog that Michael didn’t like. We found out that both the dogs we wanted were going to be at a little meet and greet in town and we decided to go. We walked into the meet and greet not really knowing what to expect. As we walked around, taking in all the dogs just wanting to find their forever home, we stumbled upon the wrinkly dog that Michael had fallen in love with. Upon first sight, I knew he was the dog for us. He was stumbling over his own feet and constantly greeting everyone with what looked exactly like a smile. We walked over to the cage that he was in and just asked to start filling out the paperwork to take him home. Connie, the lady who is in charge of Route 66 Adoption Center, told us to take him out and start walking him around to see how well we clicked with him. When we opened his cage, he rushed out and almost knocked Michael over with his wet, sloppy kisses. It was almost as if he knew we were his.

                Most dog owners find those wet, sloppy kisses to be a burden, always cleaning up drool, but I cherish each and every one. Milo is an English bulldog, Shar-Pei Mix; basically a brown, 80 pound, wrinkly, drool machine that snores so loud he can wake you out of the deepest sleep. Both breeds are rather prone to health issues so I know we won’t get to spend as much time with Milo as we would like. The owners that Milo had previously were not very good to him. They neglected and abused him. When they had their new baby, Milo fell by the wayside. He was left outside on a collar and chain and because of this he had a lot of health issues when we got him, lots of sore spots and raw skin. In the short year that we have had Milo, we’ve tried very hard to make him feel loved and his health has drastically improved! We even included him in our wedding and he got his own bow tie! Almost every weekend, when it’s nice out, we go hiking with him. And usually we take a lunch and Milo gets more food than Michael and I do. Milo also enjoys his visits to Petsmart, we take him there often and every time he struts through the toy aisle, head held high and gets to pick out whatever toy his stubby, little snout can find.

                One summer day, Michael and I were taking Milo on a hiking trip. We get to the park and walk around to greet all the people and other dogs before we run off into the woods. Milo does his usual happy trot around the park, so excited to see other dogs and get to run around the woods. We head off into the woods and Milo leads the way like normal. After he’s had his normal lunch of half a turkey sub, he always wants mine, never Michael’s, we head back to the car. He stretches out in the backseat and promptly falls asleep, snoring so loud the windows shake. He was unusually spoiled that day, he got a puppacino. We stopped by Starbucks for fruit smoothies and Milo of course got a tasty treat as well. I will always remember the way the whipped cream splattered on his face just far enough out of reach he couldn’t lap it up with his tongue. Michael snapped a quick picture and it remains my favorite.

                Anytime I’m sad, I can call up on these little moments and be reminded about true happiness. I can think about donut holes and old man stories and remember that one day I’ll be telling my grandchildren about my stories over a round of chocolate milk and donuts. I can think about Michael running around with Milo in the backyard, Milo gleefully barking and running away as fast as he can. I honestly don’t know what I would do without having these moments to call up on in times of need. I feel as though everyone needs these little things in order to make it through even the most normal of days. These things make me so happy so quickly that it’s difficult to be upset about anything. They instantly refocus my attention to simpler times of extreme joy. Who can be sad when thinking about a big, slobbery pooch?

                I think it’s extremely important not to take these fleeting moments for granted. They come and go so quickly that it’s very easy to not even notice their passing. I find it very humbling to seek out such seemingly insignificant moments and relish in their simplicity. It has overall made a very positive impact on my life. I find happy moments even more pleasurable and sad moments much easier to move past; it’s also much easier to find simple joy in rough times. Enjoying these small moments is so fun to me and I only wish that the entire world would share my view. If everyone stopped to enjoy one little thing, celebrate a little victory, the world would be a better, much more positive place. If there’s one thing the world can benefit from, it’s being a little more positive. In a world with such negativity, appreciating the way a moment can make you feel is of the utmost importance.

                When I think of happiness, these little moments in time are what come to mind: the smell of a fresh donut, my Grandpa’s weathered hands waving around to punctuate a story, the friendly barks of hello, the wag of a tail that shows how excited he is for the simplest of things. These little moments are so easy to find if we just take a second to look around and it’s never too late to look around and find things to remember. To look for positivity in a world filled with so much negativity is a truly wonderful skill. I believe in the importance of taking a deep breath and celebrating the little things. To me, these little moments are what keep me humble. They remind me to slow down and not take the small things for granted. They show me how simple life can be if you take the time to truly appreciate the little things.

Using a Personal Dictionary

While taking a leisurely, cool drive around Crimea, Hubert looked up to the sky to see a storm brewing. He was on his way to his friend Philip’s house to help Philip with his bullshit math homework. Hubert turned down Roubideaux Street to get to Philip’s house. He got out of his kick ass car, a white Nissan Versa to walk through the crazy path of Palm Trees that lined Philip’s sidewalk. Philip greeted Hubert, “Hey dude, palalalala.” This was their way of greeting each other. Philip’s Pekinese dog, Turkey, trotted over to greet Hubert. Hubert was quite the bumbnerd which was why he was helping Philip with his difficult homework.

“How much homework do you have to do, ya dingus?” Hubert asked.

“Literally a freaking ton.” Philip replied.                     

“Pazuzu. Really? That sucks” said Hubert.

“Yeah my math teacher has a real passion for my making my life as hard as a horcrux.” Whined Philip.

Hubert and Philip shushed up and started working. The math homework was as weird and random as a jellyfish.

As the finished up, Hubert stretched out his arms and said, “Sweetness, we’re done. We are some real legit homework crushers!”

“Yeah that totally rocked!” said Philip.

Hubert asked Philip if he had any more homework.

Philip said, “eheheh, I have another assignment about osmosis, I could use some help with.”

“Yay” said Hubert as he pumped his fist in the air.

Defining Word

Laid-Back

My adopted Grandma and Grandpa taught me so much. They taught me to take everything with a grain of salt and not worry about the little things. Every day as we would share our chocolate milk, Grandpa would tell me stories about his past. Grandpa died when he was two days shy of his hundredth birthday so he had plenty of stories. He would tell me about working on electric lines and running into Bonnie and Clyde. He had so many stories and had experienced so much and when he shared it, he showed me that no matter how bad something was, if you didn’t worry too much you could get through it. Grandma would do the same, she was a few years younger than Grandpa but still had plenty of stories to share. They had been married for around 80 years and died within 3 days of each other. Grandma would often tell me stories about their marriage and her different experiences being a wife and mother. It taught me a lot about the kind of woman I wanted to be. She would share stories about them building their house from the ground up and raising their son. They taught me to embrace everything with a smile. Soon I learned that if I embraced everything with a positive attitude, that’s what I would get in return. It’s not always very easy to remember those life lessons when faced with adversity; but I can always think about them and remember that it is so much easier to be cheerful and relaxed than to get too worked up over anything life throws at you. 

Pigeon: Impossible

This is Pigeon: Impossible. A short animation made by Lucas Martell, who wrote and directed the film with the help of hundreds of volunteers. You can find more information about Pigeon: Impossible or purchase some cool merchandise at his website: Lucas Martell Films

Today, we were tasked with the job of writing the story for this cute, short film. The story had to be from the perspective from a character, any character. I chose to write from the perspective of the other secret agent:

My name is Agent Smith [last name classified for your protection]. My target today is Agent Beckett. I will be handing to him a weapon of potential mass destruction, a weapon from the president himself. I turn down 1^st Street, rounding the corner where my favorite bakery is. I see my target, Beckett, he has a donut, maybe from my favorite bakery. He sees me, we begin to walk towards each other. I extend my hand with the briefcase concealing the weapon and he extends his to grab it. The trade goes off without a hitch. I begin back around the corner to take my post on the corner of 1^st and Central. I patiently wait for Beckett to perform whatever mission he has been ordered to do. As I’m waiting, I begin to hear quite the commotion. I round the corner once again to see the briefcase zooming around the air. At this point, I’m not sure what I should be doing, I stand there trying to maintain my cover, giving Beckett the time to correct whatever mistake he has made. The longer I give him, the more and more the situation gets out of control. A few more seconds pass by and I start to hear a low grumble and feel the ground shake beneath my feet. He’s done it, exactly the thing he wasn't supposed to do, I’m not sure what his task was but I know it wasn't to do this. I turn toward the Washington Monument in time to see the top open up. He’s past the point of no return. There’s nothing for me to do but wait. The monument is fully opened now and the top of the missile begins to appear. Bystanders are now turning to look, to see this secret that they were never supposed to know about. I turn to see Beckett looking at the missile, he looks to me, and I simply turn away. He made this mess, he has to clean it up. The missile is beginning to launch now. As it shoots into the air, I see Beckett extend the rockets out of the briefcase and take off into the air after it. A few seconds later, he is followed by a pigeon. I’m not sure why the pigeon is following him. A lot of the agents have pets but I didn't know Beckett had a pigeon. As he is flying through the air, I start to assess the damage he has caused. Bullet holes are scattered throughout the storefronts, cars are on fire; he’s really done it this time. A short time later, I hear a loud explosion, an explosion that sends a ringing through my ears. He must have fired his anti-weapon rocket. I turn in time to see the missile explode into a million pieces. Beckett has solved at least one of his problems. Beckett’s pigeon lands and about a minute later, so does Beckett. The pigeon has Beckett’s donut, Beckett must be congratulating him for a job well done. Beckett starts to conceal the weapons and rockets into the briefcase. He takes a quick second to look around before he puts on his sunglasses and blends in with the crowd. I’m not sure what will happen to me or to Beckett. I certainly wasn't expecting this to happen when I went out for my mission today. As I turn back around to get back to my location, the top of the missile lands on Beckett’s pigeon. Poor Beckett, first he messes up his mission and now he’s lost his pet pigeon.

Gilbert's Gobstopper: A Lesson About Essays

                                
We had a really interesting lesson in my English 101 class today, about essays and how they should be structured. We took the pages of this book out of context and put them in the order we thought they should go in, We were then prompted to write one sentence per page telling the story. My group got all the pages in the correct order! This is our story:
Willie went to the candy store. On his way home, Willie showed off his new red gobstopper to the neighborhood animals. While playing with his gobstopper, he dropped it down the street drain. Willie's gobstopper went on an adventure. At the end of the drain, Willie's gobstopper became fish food. Howard the fisherman went fishing with his grandchildren and caught a BIG fish. One night at dinner, Howard and his wife Martha were enjoying the fish that Howard had caught earlier that day. When Martha into the fish, she was shocked to discover the gobstopper. Martha hated gobstoppers, so she threw it in the trash. The Roubideaux space garbage men came down from outer pace and collected the garbage, gobstopper and all. Roubideaux number 1 was emptying the trash when he came across the gobstopper. Roubideaux 14 decided to taste the candy and didn't like it so he spit it in to the dark abyss of outer space. Space man Fred found the gobstopper floating in space. The gobstopper became famous and appeared on the nightly news. While at the museum, Willie discovered his gobstopper. One night, two robbers broke into the museum and stole the gobstopper. The next day, the news of the missing gobstopper made the papers worldwide. Willie tells the police how it's his gobstopper and the police chase down the robbers and the gobstopper. They go on a wild car chase to the airport. The robbers drop the gobstopper out of the plane. It falls and hits some innocent farm animals. Willie is now sad thinking he will never find his gobstopper again. At Willie's 50th birthday party, a bird picks up the gobstopper from her nest thinking that it is an egg. While carrying the gobstopper, the bird drops it and it falls and hits Willie's window. It bounces through the window and hits Willie in the head. Willie is happy again because he found his long lost gobstopper. 

Putting the pages in order could change the story so our story was unique from the other groups. It was interesting to see how the same story could be different just based on order. It demonstrated how different essays could be and how they weren't as simple as an introduction, a thesis statement with three points. three body paragraphs for each of the thesis points, and a conclusion to wrap it up. They could strongly vary, long introductions, no thesis, more than three body paragraphs. It was a really unique and interesting way to think about essays.