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.