11/18 Dear John

My older sister is a huge Nicholas Sparks fan. She has read almost all of the books he has written. I, on the other hand, am not very fond of reading. I feel like I read way too much for school, so I should not read more just for fun! But every now and then, I decide to read a book that I think I might like. About a year ago, my sister suggested one of Nicholas Sparks' novels called Dear John. I finally decided that I would try to read it over the summer :) I started it on my 26 hour road trip to Colorado..yes, I know..it wasn't the greatest thing I've ever done. The trip sucked! But the book was actually very interesting. I ended up reading almost all of it by the time I got back home. This is rare for me because I usually only read when there is absolutely nothing else in the world to do.
This book is a romance novel about a troubled boy who entered the military and came back one summer a completely changed man. He falls in love with a girl who is only in his hometown for a while for charity work. She is the only one that understands him. When he has to leave at the end of the summer, they plan to write letters back and forth until he can return home. Their plan works for a long time, until he decides to re-inlist after everything that happened with 9/11. It becomes to hard for her, and she breaks up with him in a letter. I don't want to explain the rest because I would ruin the ending for anyone reading this, and I wouldn't want to do that because this novel is being made into a movie!! :) I'm so excited about it. I can't wait to see it. John will be played by Channing Tatum..enough said!

11/16 Punk: Attitude. (cont..)

Bands like The Clash came onto the scene and began playing and asking what are we going to do about what is wrong instead of just yelling about it like the Sex Pistols did. Reggae also became a huge part of punk and an influential sound. It also introduced "smack" to these rockers and replaced the previous drug of choice, "speed." Many people didn't know what to think about punk when it first started in America, but punk became a huge hit in London! People in the U.S. were a little scared. Bondage pants and weird clothing held together by safety pins became the basic clothing of these punk rockers. The people who weren't scared sometimes made assumptions about what it was and began dressing in clothes that they "thought" was "punk attire" when in fact, it wasn't. People started wearing safety pins in their cheeks and leather jackets. Punk rock got nasty towards the end because of tabloids making the public afraid of these "disturbed" people. The Sex Pistols became known as "the craziest band in history." People were so afraid to bein the same room as them that most of the gigs on their tour were cancelled! The first place they played at was Atlanta. As they ventured on they ended up on stage with hundreds of people throwing whatever they could find at them and booing. They even through whole cans at their heads! They kept playing and won over the crowd :)

11/13 Punk: Attitude.

I was not very excited about watching this video when the class first chose to watch it. I have never really been a big fan of rock or punk music. Don't get me wrong, I like some songs, and I have nothing against the genre, I just don't really know much about it and never really cared enough to do anything about it. My older sister is a huge punk/rock fan. She even enjoys the "screamo" music or whatever it's called, so I was forced to listen to it when I was younger and she drove us everywhere. Surprisingly though, I really enjoy the video. It's interesting to learn about the different people and the history behind a genre of music. I like learning about how it got started and where it all took place. The attitudes of these punk people are ver siimilar to the attitudes of a lot of young people of that generation..even this generation in fact. At first, punk meant "a fucked up guy in prison. Rebellion." Punk-rock music came into existence when angry, frustrated people just wanted to be heard. They used lots of curse words and did a lot of screaming and yelling rather than singing. Many of the first punk bands came from England. People were angry about and sick of the Vietnam War in the 1960's. There was a lot of feelings and repressed attitudes that people began expressing.
CBGB's was one of the only places that punk groups could actually get up and play in front audiences. Bands such as Television and Patti Smith played here. Most of the bands weren't even very good! But that wasn't the point. They weren't there to be great. They put bands together to express how they felt in a fucked up world and to have fun playing music because it is what they liked to do.

11/11 Rupert Murdoch

What is this guys problem? Rupert Murdoch seems like an intelligent, driven man. He has to be to accomplish all of the things he's done in his lifetime. But if this man is so smart, then why is he freaking out and bashing Google? He believes that Google and other search engines are stealing his news! He is "talking" about how he is going to set up pay walls to keep Google from using his material and benefitting from it without him getting any money from it. The key word is "talking" though. He hasn't actually filed any lawsuits and hasn't even added robots.txt to his sites. Why is this? If he didn't want his material being used by these search engines, then all he had to do was block it. One reason that he probably hasn't done this is because he knows that it wouldn't be good for business and would probably end up hurting rather than helping his cause. He wants money and popularity. Well, by blocking his newspapers from online search engines, he would be reducing the amount of viewers and prescribers to his newspaper. This man is all talk and is only threatening these organizations and causing drama to bring recognition to his news and make other news providers follow in his footsteps. There is absolutely no way that he would actually win a case against Google or any other huge internet site..and he knows it.

11/9 The Box

In this review of the movie The Box, John Swansburg discusses the negative and positive points of Richard Kelly's imagination and vision of the movie. I believe that Swansburg is a fan of Kelly's and that he wants Kelly to succeed, but he also critisizes him for his overly-imaginitive, weird, science fiction mind. This review paints a slightly negative picture of the movie while at the same time giving positive feedback and suggestions for Kelly in the future. The plot of the movie is that a pretty well-off couple has been having a few monetary setbacks lately and are given the oppurtunity to make $1 million if they push a tiny red button in this wooden box. This oppurtunity was posed by a stranger, an older man with a scare on his face, who randomly showed up on their doorstep one day. Sounds like an easy task right? WRONG! Apparently, if they decide to press the button, then another stranger somewhere in the world will die. This is defiinitey a difficult moral dilemma. What are they to do? How do they deal with the guilt of killing an innocent citizen just for their own economic benefit? If Iwas to be approached with the same offer, I really don't know how I would react. I don't really think anyone knows what they would do in a difficult decision until they're actually placed in that situation. In the end, I don't believe I would press the button. I mean, its not like this coupld was poor and homeless. They had enough of the good life.

11/6 another freewrite.

YouTube.

Where should I even begin with the topic of YouTube?! First of all, I think it is a wonderful thing. It has opened the doors to different cultures and experiences and given billions of people around the world something to do when they are bored. YouTube became an instant hit. People of all kinds make videos and post them on the internet in hopes that it will become a top-viewed video. Everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame! There was even an episode of the Tyra Show that aired about a year ago that dealt with some of the most popular YouTube video stars. It is crazy to think that millions of people watch a video that has absolutely no objective or goal other than to entertain and laugh. But some people may disagree with this. As YouTube has become more and more popular, educational videos and music videos have become a large part of the network. YouTube can now be used in school to show the history of jazz or punk or can be viewed by teenagers looking for the latest hit song. In turn, they can record their own personal remix and post it on YouTube for others to view.

Yes. I believe YouTube is a good thing. But sometimes, people can take it too far. The idiotic people that do grose and dangerous things just to be put on YouTube and get "famous" for a short period of time, bring a negative aspect of YouTube to light. When people start finding ways to set themselves apart from everyone else by doing dumb things that may harm themselves or others, attention must be paid and the madness must be stopped.

11/4 freewrite.

Photographs. The one thing that can capture a moment in time and freeze it forever. Have you ever heard the phrase "a pictures worth a thousand words?" If you have, then you probably understand what it means and would agree with the statement. If you haven't, now you have :) There is nothing better than looking back at old photographs you've found while cleaning out the attic, basement, closet, or any other room that was in need of spring cleaning. Photographs bring back memories of old friends and places you've been and also help us remember who we were at that moment in time, whether it was a year ago or thirty years ago.

Many times scrapbooks are made for friends or children as gifts. These can stay with you forever. I have a couple of scrapbooks and I've made one of my own. There was noghting like it. I loved being able to look back on my past and remember all the good memories and experiences that have made me who I am today. I never really thought that I would ever have the oppurtunity to make my own scrapbook, but high school changed that. I had to for a senior project, and I'm really glad I did now. I learned about my parents and their stories about getting married and their stories about me. I found long lost pictures of when I was little and all the friends that have come and gone throughout my life.

Photographs are remarkable. The guy/girl who made it possible for us to make them, is my hero.

11/2 Poetry.

http://poems.com/poem.php?date=14563

The poem that I chose to read is called Robert's Lake. This poem is short and simple. It talks about a small fish caught in a small pond that ended up being part of the family. It uses lots of imagery and symbolism and makes me visualize the events in the poem. The flushing of a dead fish turned into "circled the porcelain vigorously on his way down and out of this

dazzling world.." Another reason I like this poem is because it relates to my life. When I started reading, I

imagined myself in Alabama at my grandparents house fishing in the pond thay have on their

land :) It was one of my favorite things to do back in the day. I don't get to do it much anymore

because as I've gotten older, life has become more complicated and busy. The whole family is

getting older and we all have less time for the simple things in life. Another thing I thought about

while I was reading this poem, was all the times I had to flush my dead fish down the toilet. It

was always sad, but neccessary. I think that poetry has lost a lot of importance in the modern

world. Not as many people care to read or write it anymore. I'm not exactly a huge fan of

poetry, but that is probably because I can't write a poem to save my life :( I wish I could, but

I can't, and it bothers me..

10/26 Music Genius and Insanity

The "tortured artist." We've all heard about it multiple times. We've listened to the crazy stories on the radio or watched the E True Hollywood story about the musician with the trouble past and the badass attitude. I believe that extroidinary musicians have a different kind of mind than the everyday average person. If they didn't, then the whole world would be able to bust out with a remarkable tune whenever they wanted! Musicians have a certain passion and love for their music that only they can understand. In the case of Sidney Bechet, he loved his music so much and had the desire to prove that HIS notes weren't wrong that he challenged another man to a dual. He was willing to die for what he blieved in.
Musicians are funny that way. They're kind of like UFC fighters. They're so confident in themselves that they don't really worry about the consequences of losing. They just assume that they're the best and that they can't be wrong. This may be for many reasons though. A lot of musicians have troubled pasts. They use their rough experiences and struggles to inspire their work. So do I believe that insanity and talent can be directly correlated? Yes, in some cases. Their troubled minds make them great.

10/30 Halloween

I've never been a huge fan of Halloween..until this year. Of course when I was a little girl, my parents would dress my sisters and me up like barbie princesses, disney characters, Barney, or witches for this "holiday." I guess it was fun for me back then, but I was so young that I don't really even remember going trick-or-treating or meeting up with the little family we have that lives near us. I do vaguely remember the days before Halloween which were actually enjoyable because of all the decorations and trips to the pumpkin patch. I loved the hay-rides and petting zoos, but as I got older, I realized I didn't enjoy these things as much as I used to. The middle school days rolled around, and I just never really got very excited about Halloween. I hated the idea of dressing up in a bunch of uncomfortable costumes and running around to a bunch of strangers houses just for them to give me a couple pieces of candy..if that. Most years I didn't even dress up! If I went out, I went out as a noraml everyday student. My family never gives out candy or decorates for Halloween. I've never even carved a pumpkin!
I don't really consider Halloween to be a legitimate holiday, but it's fun and entertaining for most people in America, so who am I to say it isn't important. Yes, candy businesses and costume/decoration producers earn a lot of money during this time, but I think that is true with any "holiday." Americans usually try to find reasons to spend money and have a good time. Plus, it gives a lot of families good bonding time. Halloween is no different than Cinco de Mayo, St. Patricks Day, Valentine's Day, etc. Why not let people enjoy themselves and declare October 31 a holiday. It isn't bothering me.
The only good thing about Halloween was candy, until this year. This year was different..I guess because it's my first year of college. I had so much fun :) I dressed up as a sailor! I don't really have a specific reason other than the costume was one of my teammates old ones, so I got it for free! Anything free is good with me. Honestly, if I had another choice, I probably would have gotten another costume that covered more of my body :/ but it was really cute, and most girls looked just as uncovered as I did, so it was okay. My Halloween started Thursday night, and I partied with my friends all weekend, except Friday, because I went to visit my sister at West Georgia. I loved every minute of it.

10/28 Music

I love music. I cannot imagine the world without it. Music has been an important part of history and entertainment for people all over the planet. Slaves used music and spirituals to cope with their everyday struggles. During the 1920's, new innovative music styles and jazz created fun dance music for flappers. And who can forget the disco era? Music can be traced throughout history and identified with different important time periods. Music also varies widely in the different parts of the world. People in Africa are listening to different music than people here in the United States. There is a huge culture difference in different areas or regions of the world, and music helps demonstrate that.
I believe that you can tell a lot about a person just by knowing what kind of music they like to listen to. I'm not saying that certain kinds of people only listen to certain kinds of music, but in many cases, you can determine moods and personalities of individuals just by going through their iPods. I know that when I'm upset or sad, I like to listen to rap or rock to drowned out all the million different thoughts I have going on in my head. The music somehow takes my mind off of everything going on in life and gives me an alternate reality to live in for a little while. When I'm feeling happy and everything seems to be almost perfect, I listen to country or upbeat tunes. It is waaay too depressing to listen to sad love songs when I'm already half depressed and discouraged with life, so I might even want to listen to an inspirational or motivating feel-good song when I'm upset, just to remind me that there will be better days.
Music is an important part of society. It can be heard everywhere. In cars driving down the road, movies, elevators and lobbies, restraunts, etc. The world would be a very boring and sad place without it.

10/23 decisions..

When it comes to making decisions in life, I am definitely not the best. I can't decide what to wear in the morning, what I want to eat, what I want to do in life, or pretty much anything else that requires choosing. I am pretty sure that I get this character flaw from my mother. I love her to death. She is a very intelligent lady, but she can't make decisions to save her life. If we go out to eat as a family, and we all try to make her decide, then we'll just sit on the side of the road or continue driving in circles until one of us finally decides to make the decision for her. I am a lot like her in that respect, but I'd like to think that I'm not as bad about it as she is. I've been trying to work on it. Other people in my life have even tried to help me because it is such a problem. Unlike other girls, I hate shopping. This is not because I don't like clothes or looking nice. I don't like shopping because when I go to the mall, there are sooo many choices (clothes, shoes, purses, perfumes, electronics, etc.) that I get overwhelmed and have a small anxiety attack! It's ridiculous! What the heck is wrong with me?! Why is it so hard for me to choose between the apple or the orange? It's not like my world is going to drastically change if I decide to eat the apple instead of the orange, and I know this, but sometimes I just can't realize it until after I've already spent so much time agonizing over the "right" choice.
I have recently realized something about decisions though: sometimes the hard choice and the right choice are the same. When this happens, man does it suck :/ but what can you do? Life is full of trials and tribulations, laughs and cries, success and failure. Without the difficult times, the happy times wouldn't be so great. Life isn't always fair, but it isn't fair for anybody, which kind of levels the playing field and in turn, makes the stuggles in life, normal.

10/12 "Art" Video

The video that I chose to watch and write about is called "Romance." The video showed several different arists and their style of art in the form of romance and why they saw it that way. The first chapter or artists had a passion for puppets. She liked to create a short film or story using these animated puppet characters that she had created on her own. She even had Meryl Streep star in one of her films. It was was about the romance between a puppet and a live woman. The artist wrote the songs and created the storyline. One of the songs was called "Lyric to a Melody" and it reflected the emotional flow of the film.
The second part of this video was about a woman who liked to come up with and direct plays. She saw beauty and meaning in things that other people would consider unimportant in love or romantic scenes. She had many "objects on legs" perform and audition for her plays. She picked the pocketwatch to be the main character over the beautiful and graceful cake. She believed it represented the starting/stopping of time, and showed regret is a prevailing notion. It leaves in the audience a feeling of "what might have been if one had a chance."
Another interesting artist in this video was a man who like to paint unique, bold works of art. He believes that his work is not confined to one demographic or audience. His artwork is very, very detailed and abstract and shows the problems and issues that occur in our contradictory world, such as homosexuality.

10/21 Stax Records

I had never heard of Stax Records until I had to research it this morning. I learned that apparently Stax Records had a huge influence on music culture and the music that we listen to today. It started in Memphis, Tennessee and soon became one of the most important recording studios in the world. Musicians such as Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, and Booker T. & the MG's were all recorded and established at Stax Records. This recording company was actually founded by a white American couple, but they allowed people of all colors and ethnic backgrounds to record and produce music there. Although Stax was only around for about twenty years, the studio played an important role in the creation and distribution of southern soul music styles, although they also released gospel, jazz, and blues records. It went bankrupt shortly after 1975 when it failed to beat its rival, Motown Records. But it is still remembered to this day and is considered an establishent that went against the odds in a time where most people saw everything as white or black, not both at the same time. It successfully helped integrate African-American music into a world of discrimination and prejudice.

10/16 Jon Stewart vs. CNN

I watched the video where Jon Stewart makes fun of CNN. He basically makes fun of the people reporting the news, without actually reporting on any news himself. Yes, he talks about the topics and stories that go on throughout the week, but he spends more time making fun of the news than informing his viewers. I do believe that he may be correct in criticizing CNN for not fully finishing their reports on topics such as bills being passed, healthcare, and other things like that, but he is also somewhat of a hipocrit for bashing them when he doesn't necessarily report reliable news either. He spends more time trying to make people laugh and less time focusing on the news itself.
I don't understand why so many watch his show as a reliable source of news. I understand that his show is funny and entertaining, but it isn't a good news source. Nothing is perfect. It would take years for any news station to report ALL the details of EVERY story or event that occurs around the world. News stations do the best they can to inform the public of recent events and issues. Jon Stewart is first and foremost a comedian. His main objective is to make people laugh. He doesn't take the news-worthy events seriously and obviously doesn't respect other news stations like CNN.

10/19 Cold Weather :(

I decided that since all I've been doing all day is freezing my butt off, that I'd talk about how the weather is changing. First off, I need to explain how much I dislike cold weather. It is the worst! Many people say they would rather be cold than hot because they can always put more clothes on to stay warm, but I think this is ridiculous because I personally hate layering on clothing. I feel like my movement is restricted. Another problem about wearing tons of clothing is when I walk into a building and they have the heat on or its warm inside, so I end up sweating like crazy and being miserable! It really bugs me that businesses and schools want to keep their buildings cold in the summer and hot in the winter. I don't want to have to bring a scarf and gloves everywhere I go during the summer and then strip down during the winter. It makes no sense to me. I am a naturally cold person, so me and winter don't get along. My hands, nose, and ears are always like icecubes. I love the outdoors, but I hate being outside when it's cold, so I don't spend a lot of time doing outdoor activities during the winter. This makes me sad, because I love sports and nature.
I also hate winter because it's hard to play ball in the cold. It's hard to find motivation to play when it is 30 degrees outside :( I don't want to move to catch a ball. I dread hitting because it hurts my hands, and most of the time, coaches won't let their players wear hoodies when they're on the field so it's even worse!
The only good thing about this season is that Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, and New Year's fall during this time. I always look forward to Thanksgiving because I get amazing, home-cooked meals when I visit my family in Alabama. Everyone loves celebrating a birthday, unless they're over-the-hill that is. Christmas is a joyful, happy time with lots of lights and decorations. Families come together. For the most part, Christmas is a good time of the year for me until my mom starts freaking out about presents and plans. Then, the new year roles around, and I feel like I get to start all over :) Spring comes, and I get to be excited!

10/14 Music

I think that the idea of a computer deciding what is good music and bad music is ridiculous. First of all, not everybody has the same taste in music. A song that one person loves may be a song that the person next to them cannot stand. There are hundreds of different cultures and races that also influence the kind of music that is listened to in the United States. This is why there are plenty of radio stations that play different kinds of music. If artists begin trying to generate "hits" based on Hit Song Science or Uplaya, then the variety of music that American's listen to will begin to deteriorate and transform into one genre of redundant, over-played tunes.
There are a number of hit songs in history that probably wouldn't score anywhere near a 10 on these computer-generated ranking systems. When a song is played for the first time on the radio or performed live on stage at an important event, nobody knows the effect it may have on the audience. Some people will probaby love it; some will hate it, but what if the majority of people love it, and it becomes a #1 hit single but on Uplaya it only scored a 5? Nothing can predict the affect a song is going to have on society, not even a computer. A computer can't take into account emotion and life experiences. Popular music isn't always based on a catchy beat. Sometimes a song with a inspirational message and meaning are favorites.
I just think that having a computer decide what kind of music should be played is a bad idea. It discourages creativity and uniqueness, and it may make listeners miss out on what could have been classics.

9/30 Religion

This article is explaining how Americans are losing their interest in religion. Americans have become so absorbed in other things in life and been influenced by other religions and beliefs that many aren't sure what to believe in or worship anymore. More people are becoming "spiritual" rather than "religious." People are confused and choose to believe in a higher power or a certain god, but not exactly the God that most of the population in America once believed in. Fewer people attend church. The younger generation don't have the same strong religous beliefs and family ties as the generation before them did. Teenagers worry more about the next crazy party they're going to attend and not about living a righteous life. It can be assumed that as the years go by, more and more people will lose faith and religion will become less and less important. What will America become and how will "religious" people handle the rapidly-changing world?

9/28 You Can Write Whatever You Liiiike..

Can I just talk about how my days seem so long, but I never seem to get anything done? I feel like I'm awake for 22 hours a day, but I can't find time to get anything done! I have a huge to-do list that keeps getting longer and longer. The problem is that I am ridiculously busy throughout the day, and I never really have down time, but I don't have time to get anything either. My days are so consumed with classes, weights, practice, individuals, and therapy in the training room that I really can't find the time to work on my relationships with people or see my family or get anything done for myself. By the time I fit in food, showers, and sleep, my day is already gone, and I just end up frustrated and stressed out about the things that I still need to do and the people I've neglected because of my crazy, busy schedule. I'm going to have to get better at time management. I've let things get a little out of hand. I'll probably go home today, see the family, do some laundry, and study for my sociology exam that I have tomorrow :( ugh! Sounds like a fun day huh?

9/25 Two News Sources

I don't usually pay attention to the news unless there is an ongoing, interesting story that a lot of people talk about. I used to watch the news every morning before school, but I realized that it is waaaay too depressing to watch all the time. I'd have to say that the source that I get most of my news from now is AOL. This is a good source for information because it is a respected website and source of internet all around the world. It is the homepage for my computer so everytime I log on, I see the top stories posted right there in front of me. I always read the summarys, and if something looks exciting or I become curious about a specific article, then I'll sit there and read about it. Another place where I get my information from is FOX news. I hear that all these news stations are biased in some political way, but I don't even watch the news for that reason so it doesn't really matter to me or effect me in any particular way. I just watch the news to find out what is going on in the world and to see how many people have died. It's also a good source for weather. FOX news is a credible news station that has been around for years and continues to provide people with accurate information and update current events.

Learning Lab

Learning lab is a pain in my side. I'm actually in it right now. Why should I have to sit in a room with ten million other athletes that dont care to be here? They expect me to concentrate and actually get work done with all my friends sitting right next to me? Riiiiight..that's definitely good logic. I'm required to have 6 hours of learning lab a week, but the hours are counted on Fridays..so I really only have four days to get six hours done, because lets get serious, I'm not coming to sit in here on the weekend. I don't even have time on Wednesdays to get some hours, so I really only have three days! It's ridiculous..a complete and total waste of my life! I'd get ten times more studying and work done in my own room. All I find myself doing here is socializing and finding ways to entertain myself so that I don't go absolutely crazy. It's exactly12:47 right now..I've been here since 10:45. That is waaaay too long :( anyway, it's just something that frustrates me so I figured I'd talk about it. I feel much better now haha.

Articles

The first article I chose was from the Atlanta Journal Constitution. It is called "Health officials: Assume floodwater is contaminated." This article is representative of the newspapers contents because it catches the readers attention and informs the reader of recent events occurring. The AJC is known to be a credible source and can be used for information or good reading. This article was warning people to be careful around the floodwater.

The second article I chose was from The New York Times. It is called "Obama Is Considering Strategy Shift in Afghan War." This represents the newspaper's contents well because it is discussing a national issue. The New York Times is known throughout the United States as one of the most dependable newspapers in the country, so it only makes since that this newspaper reports on national news. The article is explaining the new strategies and ideas that he has about how to improve our progress in the war.

Peer Review

I'd like to comment on Ronald Sorto's blog! I loved reading his posts. They are original and hilarious. He knows how to incorporate humor even when discussing a serious topic. Ronald has a strong opinion and sticks to it. It seems like he doesnt care about how other people feel about his writing, so he writes what he thinks is true and does a good job of convincing the reader. I feel like I know him personally just from reading his writing, even though we've only spoken a couple of words to each other.

Game Time!!

We had our first softball games yesterday :) it was soooo much fun. The girls are amazing and so supportive. The fans were cheering and the coaches were enthusiastic. We kicked some Young Harris butt! The weather was pretty nice..it wasn't too sunny and there was a soft breeze, but it was kind of humid too. All the looong, tiring practices finally paid off. We won the first game 8-1 and won the second game 11-1. They didn't have a chance. I don't know if we're a really good ball team, or if they are just a really bad one. Maybe it's a little bit of both, but we'll find out soon enough because we play Georgia Tech next Sunday. Hopefully, we can pull out a win :)

Mississippi

I've never really thought about how people live in Mississippi because I've never planned on living there. I know it's a southern state, so I figured it's similar to the rural areas in Georgia and most of Alabama. I believe that there is racism in every state throughout the United States, and emphasis is only put on the southern states and the racial events that occur there because everyone in America already steryotypes them anyway. I can understand that there are probably more rednecks and racists in Mississippi because its more rural and conservative. The videos just prove that in every region, there are people with different values and beliefs. I think that people may be influenced by the people they grow up around and the lessons instilled into them all their life, but it doesn't neccessarily mean that they won't be different.

President Obama's Speech

I don't know why everyone has to make such a big deal about every single thing that Obama does. He's the President of the United States, and all he was trying to do was encourage children to stay in school and get a good education. I can understand parents may be a little cconcerned about someone else preaching to their kids about how to live their lives, but as long as the message was postitive and benefited the kids, I don't think there should be an issue. I believe Obama is a family-oriented man who just wants to help make this country improve and make people happy. There wasn't anything wrong with his speech!

Outdoors.

Sunday, I spend most of my day outside in the hot, humid air at a 5 hour practice. It was ridiculous! As soon as I stepped out of the car and made my way to the locker room, I knew it was going to be a long day in the heat. With zero clouds in the sky and a beaming sun, I stepped onto the field ready to put in a hard days work. It smelled of dirt and freshly cut grass, a very familiar smell to me. Trees stood tall and still above the field due to the lack of wind and, other than the team around me, the place seemed deserted. The sunscreen on my teammates' bodies brought back memories of the beach and gave me a short-lived break from my present reality. I was already sweating by the time I put my cleats on and helped put bases down, so I knew I had an intense practice ahead. As I was leaving, the sun was setting and everything seemed peaceful. I think I felt more at peace with the fact that I got through the first practice, but the smell of the outdoors always helps my mood anyway.

Favorite Song

I don't think I could ever pick an all-time favorite song, but if I absolutely had to choose one, I think it would be "Don't Take the Girl" by Tim Mcgraw. It makes me feel so many different emotions in only 3 minutes. It's happy, scary, sad, and hopeful. It's one of those songs that will never get old. I love it, and I love Tim McGraw :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YG2p96Yk_U

Long-lost Bestfriend :(

I love the college life. I love living on my own and making all kinds of new friends, but something is missing. Her name is Kat Baize, and she's my best friend. We've been through so much together, and it's hard to believe that I'm experiencing college without her. We always planned to go to the same school and be roommates, but we found out shortly after junior year that we were headed in two different directions. I planned to attend Georgia State and play softball, and she quit playing ball and was ready to venture out to start a life at Auburn. I know Auburn isn't that far away, but my life is so busy here, and she's so busy with her new sorority, that we don't really find much time for each other. It's really sad and disappointing. People always told me that I probably wouldn't end up staying friends with the people I went to high school with and that college is where your life-long bestfriends come from..but I thought we'd be different. Hopefully, after we've adjusted to the college life and things become more normal to us, we'll be able to rekindle our friendship and remain friends.

Home sweet home :)

For the past couple years, my friends and I have talked about nothing other than getting out of Conyers, my hometown. We complained about how there was never anything to do and how all the people were lame. Honestly, I never really had a problem with where I grew up. It's home, and it's all I really knew for most of my life. I've lived there all my life, born and raised. It isn't a very big place, but I wouldn't call it small either. You could drive from one end of the county to the other in about 20 minutes. I know this because I lived on one county line, and my bestfriend lived on the opposite county line.
The city of Conyers is a fairly busy area. Restaurants, grocery stores, national and local businesses, fast-food places, and gyms line the main highway that runs through the city. Children, teenagers, and parents could always find things to do or places to eat at, but after living there for 18 years, the same things and places started to get old. Only one movie theater and one bowling alley had to accomadate a whole county! So yes, the movies were always packed and cost way too much to watch. Despite the cost, the theater was always a common place to go for middle schoolers and teenagers because, like I mentioned before, there wasn't very much to do in my town.
It wasn't until high school, when everyone could drive and people could have house/field parties, that we always had something to do on the weekends.
During football season, it was expected of us to be at the stadium every Friday night. If our high school team wasn't playing that week, then we were probably at one of our rival high school games watching them play and mingling with the people that we call "enemies" at the big rival game between them and us. Waffle house, IHOP, and Johnny's Pizza can't wait for football season every year, because I'm pretty sure they make more money in one Friday night in September than they do the whole month of January.
It's hard to describe in words exactly what my hometown is like. Nobody will ever know what it's like until they live there and experience the atmosphere themselves. My hometown will always be special to me, and I'm sure I'll never forget one thing about it. I wouldn't even be surprised if I ended up moving back and starting my own family. I miss the people more than I thought I would, let's get serious and admit that there are always people that you wish you could just get away from. It'll be fun to go back and visit every now and then while I'm here at Georgia State.

My Pushup Bra Will Help Me Get My Man...

"My Pushup Bra Will Help Me Get My Man" is a Youtube video that some of my friends found this summer. It is absolutely HILARIOUS! I die laughing every time I watch it. Yes, I've watched it multiple times :) and shared it with all of my friends. It's absolutely hilarious that this woman is actually taping herself while she's driving, admitting to the world that she's been dumped and making herself look like a complete idiot trying to get him back when he's already with another girl. Her language cracks me up, and believe me, I've spent a good amount of time quoting her. "Bout to go meet him at the PERK!..gotta tell 'em I been doin polotyes or yoga or somethin..make me sound more white, more edumacated.." Wow. This video is my favorite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtkU2ch0sRI

Today has been a stressful day. After spending a long weekend in North Carolina, I'm sleep deprived and worried that I won't remember all the things I'm supposed to do this week. My softball team is starting individuals and weights today. I've never lifted weights in my life! I don't even want to talk about how sore I'm going to be in the morning because I'll probably become temporarily depressed. To make things worse, before weights, I have to go all the way to Panthersville for 3:30 individuals where I'll work on hitting and infield skills. I also have to accumulate six hours of Learning Lab for the week, and I'm not really sure where I'm going to find the time for that. It's going to be a busy week, but I've decided that it can't possibly be that hard to manage all these things since so many people before me have done it. As long as I have time for dinner, I'll be happy.

And I still say that you should get your wisdom teeth out sooner rather than later, but then again, I've never had mine taken out, so I guess it's easier for me to say that. good luck!

first person narrative

The nonfiction, first-person narrative that I chose to read is called "On Principle." It is tertaining because it is a very unique story that has many different elements and characters that, at first, seem somewhat irrelevant to the actual story itself. However, the narrator finds a way to bring every part of the story together for a smooth conclusion. Another appealing aspect of this piece of writing is that it is written by a Russian author and takes place in a Russian community. Most of the stories I read take place in America or some other familiar country because it's easier for me to understand the culture and the setting in which the story is taking place. This allows me to imagine myself in the actual story and better understand the situation. It's amazing to me that the author was able to write a story about eels and grudges and still find a way to incorporate lots of humor. I enjoyed reading this narrative :) It was unique and different. As soon as I read the first couple sentences, I was hooked.

Horses

I've always wanted to be able to write about horses. In first grade, teachers let us write about our favorite hobbies, athletes, or even our favorite animals, but they basically just wanted us to practice our spelling and grammar skills. They didn't actually care about the content of the undeveloped papers that we wrote, and most of the papers were only five sentences long. Since then, I've always wanted to be able to write a paper about horses and express why they are important and meaningful to me. Most people could care less and may even be scared of them, but I have a strong passion for horses because they allow me to remember my grandmother and how she was before she was sick.
I love my grandmother, and I miss being able to talk to her or learn random things from her. It's hard to see such a wonderful woman suffer everyday of her life. Growing up, I spent most of my time next door at my grandparents' house helping them at the barn. I loved it working with the horses and fixing things with my grandpa. What would seem like work to most people, somehow seemed like fun for me. The memories that I have of my grandmother are connected to horses, so that is why it'd be interesting to me to write about horses and to inspire others while creating a piece of writing that is meaningful to me.

Yay.

I created my blog :)